Oliver Files Week Six - I Think

His favorite place in the house is the family room surrounded by his toys and with Angel of course.

Here he is still sorta damp after his walk in the pouring down rain.  I love his coat, like Angels it dries and very quickly.

We're still learning to not pick on Pepper, Thomas can hold his own and for the most part Oliver is scared of Thomas.

He matches the rug and quite well, don't you think!

My princess, Angel.

Last but not least, Thomas who still refuses to hang out in the family room since Oliver arrived, but it's only been six weeks and he's finally coming into the kitchen again. 

Chipmunk Update

The chipmunk is deceased and is no longer eating my madder root, bran, or cochineal bugs! Oh and it's safe to say the the organic soy beans are safe as well now, as am I!!! No more jumping chippies from a corner!

Thursday evening I discovered that I did indeed have a chipmunk in my basement and subsequently my wet studio.  The little bugger has now met his maker.  How can I justify this you ask? Easily they carry rabies in addition to three different forms of the plague, that's how and this little bugger was so comfy living in my house that the pets (two cats and a dog) were treating it as if it was another family member.  And that had to come to an end!

Wet Studio Clean Up

Moved some of the paints to the corner shelves, these are fabric paints, so that I could have better access to my mixed media supplies.

I moved my mixed media bins to the shelves, who knew that having them more accessible would mean I'd actually use them!  The crates hold various types of papers and constructed cloth for using in mixed media projects.

Another view, that's Deer Slayer on the table. I need to have John create a rack so that I can put the computer up next to the ceiling, won't go under the table too much stuff there already.  Luckily the Gateway was is a rack server style unit and is meant to be flat not verticle!

Brushes, tons of them everywhere!  This weeks adventure includes a trip to the dollar store in hopes of procurring a couple of those cutlery baskets, I will use them for my paint brushes.

Gesso Central

Wet Studio Clean Up

The niche grave yard!

Encaustic painting area has become a niche holding station.

WIPS- niches in various stages of completion.

More niches!

I cleaned up a bit for this last push, it'll be a huge mess within hours if not sooner ;-)

State of Affairs

What my wet studio looks like at the moment! The pile on my screenprinting table is some what reduced now, see previous post. My plan is to work late into the night tonight and get this mess cleaned up for tomorrow's big reveal. It'll happen I'll probably be sore but it'll happen! ;-)

Everything that is stacked on the table WAS stacked against the far wall, BON, or I should say stacked up against the old cabinet and chest of drawers. I'll post improvement photos tomorrow.

Wet Studio Clean Up

In the boxes Printing blocks, old printers letters, inks, stencils, and fabric paints. Sinew and rawhide for basketry and other 3D fiber projects on top of the shelf.

Collage items on the wooden shelf.

Basketry materials, fibers for dyeing and pfd fabrics for dyeing and painting! And the obligatory surface design supplies: rollers, stamps, sponges, squeegies, etc.

Wire cages/boxes I'm not really sure what they are called they are really convient for corralling lots of little things. I'm hoping by tomorrow I'll be able to stand on the far side of my studio and see across the room! Right now it's looking pretty bad.

Wet Studio Clean Up

I've been working on my wet studio this afternoon it's in sorry need of organizing but it's also giving me time to ruminate over the questions in The Creative Entrepreneur and some of what I've just started reading in I'd Rather Be in the Studio. I'll post pictures of my studio later tonight.


John and I took the old dresser and cabinet, that I never used because they were always blocked, out of the studio and put my wire cages (you'll see what I mean later in the pictures) on that wall instead. It's about half full and I admit I'm glad that I have yet to run out of space! I now have space to walk around and have a place for my surface design supplies.

Wet Studio

I started cleaning my wet studio last night and by this afternoon had made considerable head way in there! Now I"m organizing supplies, stretching my art papers which were stored rolled tightly for the last two years and finding my dyes.

Goals for this week, aside from continiually working in the gardens, is to start skirting fleeces. Once that's done they will be washed and be sent immediately to the dye kettles - lots of natural dye colors. Photos to come soon.

Inspiration

Spring is an excellent time for me to gain fresh inspirations. I've been spending more time in the woods, especially after rain showers, and photographing wet and semi-wet surfaces. The lighting is wonderful and the contrast excellent. I see things in this atmosphere that I'd otherwise miss on a bright clear day.

Wet Studio

It's time to get back into the wet studio, for starters I'm running out of hot pink silk organza! But I also have a strong yen to do some pen and ink drawings and a bit of watercolor, you can pretty much expect to see it make it's way into cloth or onto an art quilt somehow ;-)