I'm Dyeing…..

to get back into the studio.  It's been quite a while since I've either had paint or dye on my hands. It seems they've been more in the dirt this summer than anything else.  Lots of planting, digging and reworking this summer going on around the homestead in an attempt to spruce up the place for Autumn.

After a long trip up to CT, PA and NYC, it's
good to be home and back in the studio.
And while I really, really don't like NYC, I did enjoy visiting Central Park, Strawberry Fields, the Dakota and the NY Public Library.  I've come to the conclusion that I just don't like the Northeast and all it represents.

 I don't think I will be going back there again - so I was glad to see it one last time.

On the creative front…. I plan on submitting a piece for consideration to be placed in the  Reminiscience exhibit in the winter so I'm working on coloring some silk, cotton and gauze for this project with natural dyes I bought during my journey to Alaska.

My outdoor dye space

On the way home we stopped in Vancouver, Canada and I had the pleasure of stumbling upon Maiwa at the marketplace.  Very cool store run by a super knowledgeable and informed mother daughter team - geared toward natural dyestuffs and education.  I have two vats of  heir indigo fermenting, and various jars of earthy colors  (henna, madder, walnut, pomegranate, and tannins) brewing.

Flour Paste Resist - my FAVORITE

While that's going on - I have been scouring fabrics and preparing various resists of Cleanline (which is some kind of "root",) flour, and glue gel (which is hands down my favorite). I have a nice stack of stuff ready to go into the dye baths and as soon as our weather dries out (hopefully by tomorrow) they will be taking the plunge. But because I couldn't wait, I used some Liquitex Inks and Jacquard Dyes that I thickened with sodium alginate.  Love how these came out.  A nice preview of things to come.

clean line resist -nice results

Fabrics with flour paste resist
still on, and dye painted over

On the home front: Brina is going back to college this week but she will be commuting, as she now has her own home and will not be living in the dorm.  Dorm life wasn't for her (which I knew it wouldn't be.)  Too noisy, too hot, too chaotic, etc., etc.





Like her mom, she appreciates peace, quiet and order and  has really turned into quite the  homemaker.  So proud of her.  I see so much of my mom in both my kids.  THAT makes me happy.

Life has been upside down for quite a few months.  I am looking forward to settling in to Fall and all the good stuff that comes along with that - including a trip to the Upper Pensinsula of Michigan,  and a few trips offshore for some deep sea fishing before the big ones head out when our coastline turns cold.  Really want to catch some Dolphin.

I depart here with a picture of Gizmo (and Toby) that Sabrina took as she was taking him out of  the back of her Mini Cooper after she picked him up to babysit while we were traveling North.

Goofy dog.  

Neocolors A"muse" Me......

Neocolors - water soluble "wax" crayons.

Who doesn't LOVE crayons? I've had a love affair with crayons since my grandmother bought me my first box of Prang. To this day when I see a box laying around (and we've got them all over this house) I open the box, pick out my favorite one (teal, or magenta) and stroke it across the nearest piece of paper. I even love how they smell. Wierd, I know.

My "leafy" blog header up there ..... was my first experiment with Neocolors. Suffice it to say - I think I'm in love.

I played around by drawing some flowers and leaves on a piece of canvas home dec fabric. Scribbling blues, teal and greens around the leaves, I filled up the white space around the leaves and flowers. After loading a paintbrush (I used a sable hair fan brush) with water, I lightly painted it over the surface -- THAT is when the magic happens.

Depending upon how much water you load on to the brush, as well

as how absorbent your fabric is, AND whether or not you air dry, sun dry, or heat applied dry - has a lot to do with how your colors run and blend. I just let mine dry on their own - slowly - as I wanted to see to what extent they would run and bleed. How cool!

After the picture dried, I loaded my sewing machine with

variegated threads (to match each

leaf) and just did a little threadpainting. Then I put an aqua, green and silver variegated thread in the machine and stitched windy swirls in the blue background. I kept my stitching to a minimum, because I didn't want to cover up the beautiful colors . I can however, see enormous possibilities threadpainting over a Neocolor base.

I am absolutely head over heals in love with the color saturation I can get with these, as well as the blending and layering capabilities. In recent months I've been experimenting with Tsukineko Inks, acrylic paint, Lumiere paints, etc., and while they all have their merits -- I truly think I have found my muse in these little crayons. You can also do encaustic work with these -- which is next on the agenda.

Don't worry Crayola and Prang - I still love you.

You will always hold a special place in my heart!