Studio Six Show

My critique group, Studio Six, is having a show at the Mikhail Zakin Gallery in Demarest, NJ, with an opening this coming Saturday from 2 to 4 pm. I'd love to see you! It's about 20 minutes east from Exit 168 of the Garden State Parkway. If you're in the neighborhood on Saturday, or any other time, please stop by. It should be a great show.




Visit tasoc.org for directions or further information.
To see works by the following artists, visit their websites:
Rachel Cochran: http://www.fiberrevolution.com/
Rayna Gillman: http://www.studio78.net/
Joanie San Chirico: http://www.joaniesanchirico.com/
Diane Savona: http://www.dianesavona.com/
Joan Dreyer: http://www.joandreyer.com/

It Finally Snowed

I knew we were due for a big snowfall at some point, and on Friday it finally came. All day. I think we got about 5 inches or so. But like all the other snowfalls, it ended with sleet/rain to give it that nice dangerous glaze of ice.

So now the dog can walk on it, as he's not fond of walking in it, as you can see. But the trees certainly do look beautiful.

On Monday I was able to do some dyeing. Here is a piece from last summer that needed more oomph, so I used freezer paper circles as a resist and then screen printed.

It was looking pretty good when I took the freezer paper off, and then, of course, I had to wash it.

Here it is after washing. (Once again, ignore the background. You know my design wall is treacherous.) This is pretty true to color and still seems a bit light to me, so now I'm trying out small squares that I might fuse on, although I am really trying to work "whole cloth." I'm planning to embroider some large circles--maybe orange--but I'm not sure that will be enough. Maybe I should screen on some dark circles when I have workshop space in a couple weeks.

Here is a detail. What do you think? Does it need more color? Let me know.

It also needs a name. Hmmm. . .some pieces are easier than others.

A Good Dog

Our experiences make us what we are and, I believe, what our art is. One of my most difficult experiences was the decision I made six weeks ago concerning my beautiful English Springer Spaniel Missy. Just before Christmas she was diagnosed with cancer and within three weeks it was significantly worse. She was fourteen years old and had given and received much love and joy. She loved swimming in this Michigan lake where we go every summer, and she always insisted on having her own beach chair.

A couple of years ago I made this small wall hanging, which shows Missy with her "brother" Justin, the Shih-Tzu, who does not like swimming in the lake. He was with her at the end, and we all miss her.

Has It Been Two Months?

I can't believe it's been more than two months since I last posted. My friends tell me they are sick and tired of looking at those pumpkins. So let's see if there's another image I can burn into their brains .

I found this tea just before the holidays. Despite the smiling snowman, the name described exactly how I was feeling: snappish. Too much to do, etc., etc. However, the holidays turned out just fine, I mellowed, and now I'm worried that I only have two boxes of this tea left until next Christmas because I really like it out of all the ginger ones I've tried.

As to what I've been up to besides decking the halls, etc., I hope you remember my "red blob" piece from previous posts. (Yes, you can go back and check if you don't.) I finally beat those blobs into submission and they have metamorphosed into pomegranates (I think). Here it is, ready for basting. Now I am in the quilting stage and am quite pleased with how things are going.

And here's a close-up that shows the many layers of dyeing and printing, and the embroidery.

I'm still waiting for a snow day, but I'd better be careful what I ask for. We haven't had that much snow yet. Who knows what February will bring?

More Than Frost Is On The Pumpkin

Much to my surprise, I woke up to accumulating snow this morning. Driving around town, this was one of the sights I saw.

But not all the leaves are off the trees yet.

Although my maple lost all its golden glow about a week ago, and now makes a stark contrast to the white snow.

Last week I did some more work on the red blob piece. This is the result after discharging, i.e., barely any change.

So I decided to put in some additional elements. It is still batching, and I hope to wash it out today. But now I must go out into the snowish weather and search for a Thanksgiving turkey.

It All Starts with White Fabric, Part II

Three pieces of fabric in process, most recently screened with the same image and color, then washed:

This one started with using up left over dye.

This one is the orange that won't die, but will dye.

Don't know what to say about this one as I can't remember how it started, although there seems to be some of that orange in it.

Who knows what will happen next? I certainly don't. Hope you stay tuned for further installments.

It All Starts with White Fabric, Part I

Yes, this is how it starts, and I never know how it's going to turn out. But I've been doing more work lately, so I'm going to post lots of pictures so you can see how it's going.

This is the one piece I've been focusing on. I've been working on it in a once-a-week class on whole cloth composition. The class is challenging me to think and work in a way that is different from how I usually work. I screened the whole piece using torn freezer paper as a resist for the red shapes. For once the red dye really took. I free-handed the black curve with a black Sharpie marker.

But the background color wasn't right, so I decided to discharge it. The freezer paper got a little burned and was difficult to remove. Some of it lasted through four hot water washings!

Then it looked like this. Lighter background, but still not right. That Sharpie marker seems to stay no matter what you do.

Then I screened in some chartreuse.

And it came out like this. (My back door makes for an interesting design wall.)

Then I decided to discharge a different shape and got this. I used freezer paper again to keep the red shapes from being discharged.

But the color was still bothering me, so I screened purple over all of it. It's interesting to note that--in terms of true color--sometimes the photos look better than the fabric and vice versa.

And this is where it is now. (Please ignore the background, it's all part of my archeological design wall.) I think the piece is much more interesting than what shows up every time I take a photo. On the whole, the piece is more complex than the photos indicate, and now I'm also concerned about how well it might ultimately photograph, assuming I continue to the finish with it. I can't believe how those red blobs jump out in the photos, but are much more subdued in reality. I think I'm going to have to do something to them, but I'm not sure what. Suggestions welcome.



For more quick views of other pieces in process, see Part II.