Snow Pattern Inspiration

Red Oak

Some much needed snow fell today, the red oak is beautiful!

Spring is Coming!!!

It really is!  Until then I'm still moving snow and will live stream tomorrow evening!

Snow Inspiration

Snow!!!

Unexpected snow, we were supposed to get an inch of the white stuff, if that, instead some six inches fell.

Red Ochre

Combining archival photos with new and found footage, Red Ochre is a personal, impressionistic rendering of what it's like growing up Mi'kmaq in Newfoundland, while living in a culture of denial.

Summer Legend

Summer Legend by Françoise Hartmann, National Film Board of Canada

Summer Legend Françoise Hartmann 1986 This animated short retells the Mi’gmaq legend of the great spirit Glooscap, who in the cold white dawn of the world, battled with the giant Winter in order to bring Summer to the North.

Indigo Fermentation Vats

My 150 gallon stainless steel vat, yes it is possible to keep a vat going for years even decades.  Learn more about dyeing with indigo in my Introduction to Indigo Dyeing Class at The Natural Surface!

My 30 gallon stainless steel indigo vat.  Both vats came from a defunct dairy farm.

WIP - Silvers and Grays

On my wall, the silvery gray strips are now stitched together.
Natural and slurry dyed silk fabrics.

WIP - 022213

More later... natural and compost dyed silk fabrics.

Inspiration - Rearranged

My Valentines Day gift this year from hubs is for him to make me a couple of trays, like the one in the image above, for displaying my nature items.  Until then... enjoy.

A box of rocks.

My studio bestie.

And matching is way over rated!

Frozen Pumpkin

It finally started to decompose so I put it out on the porch this past Monday, the flesh is rather cool looking as it starts to break down. 

 

 

Frozen Inspiration

Rock Inspiration

Needle felted wool and silk fibers and silk organza fabric dyed with indigo and natural dyes.  Agate type rock for inspiration.

The rock is mostly purples, red violets, golds and cobalt blues, though you'd never know it from this photo.

Since this is the last piece of my machine needle felted constructed cloth I thought I'd do something special with the piece, lots of hand stitching and knots.

I just need to decide which side I want to use, it's about six by seven inches in size.

Sample of Wonder

This sample piece is working on becoming something special, after dinner I will retire to the wet studio to surface the pink piece which may or may not be of the same colors as the one in the lower left hand corner.

Dyed and painted cheesecloth that coordinates beautifully with my sample piece.

A basket filled with coordinating threads, trims, constructed yarns, etc.

Indigo

Indigo dyed wool strips.  Introduction to Indigo Dyeing begins February 15th, this class is self paced.  Cost $75 USD plus $29.95 subscription fee to The Natural Surface!

Why Make Art in Series? Advantages for Artists

If you are an artist, or a collector, then this article is a must read by Susan Sorrel "Why Make Art in Series? Advantages for Artists"!!! I myself love working in a series. Doing so allows me to work out a design idea/theme but very often it allows me to see how far I can push the surface within a series as well.

Inspiration

Am looking forward to spring this year!

Taken north of Ames, sometime early summer 2009.

Hoodoos No. 5 aka Hot Flash

I could enter this piece into an exhibition as it stands but there's so much more I want to do to this piece so it hangs on my studio wall for another day.

Hoodoos No. 5
Natural dyed silk fabrics, batting, machine stitched.

WIP - Barn Detail

Natural dyed silk fabrics, machine stitched, shiva paintstik on silk.

Hoodoos No. 3

Hoodoos No. 3
16x24 inches
Natural Dyed silk fabric, wool batting, cotton backing.
Machine Stitched.

Am working on my monthly newsletter, stay tuned I'll be posting later today about the exciting events coming up at The Natural Surface! 

Prairie 2002

Prairie
2002
45x38ish inches
Natural Dyes
Silk Crepe de Chine

This is "Prairie" I found it last night in a wicker trunk with several other pieces to my 2002 Prairie Rermnant Solo Show.  I'm thinking of cutting it into four sections, after pressing, and machine stitching, maybe push the surface a little further, and work them into my Canyonland Series.  This while I wait on my indigo vat to do it's thing!

Organizing Fabric Stash Leads to Found Samples!

Believe it or not the fabric in that suitcase really is organized!  While I was searching for piece of unfinished silk fabric I found my long lost stitched sample I had been looking for late last fall. 

Due to the sample of the rights disappearance, deep into a pile of folded fabrics, I made another sample to pratice some machine stitching on.  Both sample pieces consist of cochineal dyed cotton fabrics and are machine stitched.  The left sample, however, has been surfaced further using fabric paints, oil bar, and ink.  I'm thinking the sample on the right could use a good dose of color as well.