Well, close enough: it’s actually the 24th this month, but i’m enjoying the beauty longer this way.
A medley of naturally dyed threads on indigo, 9×7″, and seriously joyful!!!!!
And yes, this is in the shop! SOLD
Category: FybreSpace the shop
trotting her out again
Samara has been patiently waiting “in the wings” for 2+ years, created during my 2016 residency at ACAD. I’ve gone through so many revisioned ideas, that my head whirled, and i’d get lost, and hang her back up on the studio wall to stare at , then to ignore…….
Above, as she is to date, a bit of stitching with walnut and madder dyed threads.
Below, several of the ideas i had for her wings.
Nope. Sort of like both feather treatments and the scrappy look, but not enough to get on with them.
Now what if i
a. cut her wings out also, separate from body slightly, with colour underlay in gaps–but how do i treat the wings themselves?
b. covered the background with scraps, not quite boro, but the idea of rough edges and colour layering—not solid or what is the point *of* that background colouring/patterning?
c. vines, seeds, grasses, grains and leaves everywhere, solid? autumnal
d. wing treatment? the layered feathers?
e. introduce more colours–approach? “blocking”? blending?
f. treated the hexes dimensionally, motif wise and presentation/placement ?
Because rather than do all neutrals like i used to/usually do on these deliberately “designed” wholecloth rust and dye pieces, i want more colour now. It’s part of why too, i’ve been dyeing so many threads with natural dyes. This was part of my original inspiration for the feel of autumn:
I’ve been working on small moons again, behind the scenes, but i need to get back to the Big Serious Work as well. I have to stop second guessing myself: the summer has been one of low self esteem, exhaustion, depression and doubt, and it’s hard to get out of that rut. Dyeing suited the mood swings, creating colour where there was none, but a full bin of un-used beautiful threads would be a waste as well.
How does one boot oneself in the arse without hurting one’s back?
going soft
Because sometimes, small can be big.
reality check
Okay, time to be blunt. FB is doing me no good as a business. No one sees the posts. If you pay for an ad, no one sees the post. If no one sees a post, no one goes to the shop, and no one buys. No support=no business. No business=no products being made. No-one goes to the shop from here either, honestly, though for one last time, i am adding the link here–>shop
All products that are in the shop will remain until sold, but no new ones will be added either. The shop will remain as it is, until a. everything/most is sold or b. i fucking give up. If you see it, want it, please buy it. As a small business owner, i cannot afford to keep paying for a shop or a passion, that does not pay for itself. This is not a whine, or a rant, this is a reality check. I could probably make more money standing on a damned corner, as raddled and old as this body and personality is. If no one supports small businesses, artists, entrepreneurs, why should we keep on going? I’m not going to discount anything except to the faithful few (you know who you are and already have that discount) because the prices are more than reasonable for the amount of work and effort i have put into them. And as always i refund any extra postage paid.
I see people going all ga-ga over mindfulness, slowness, natural and eco, but few who actually put their money on those products. I see badly dyed or overpriced products fly out of some shops. Should i raise my prices? Should i slap things on cloth and call it wabi-sabi? I pride myself on well done, properly done, reasonably priced.
You think i’m whining? Nope. Honestly, i am DISGUSTED. I’m not even going to bother with the “Buy my art before i’m dead” route, because too many think that’s funny. I have never cheaped out on the quality of my work. I’ve put every lesson learned, into producing cloth that should be valued. I don’t whack things out in multiples using the crummiest method that will impart a modicum of colour.
I’m not just disgusted either, i’m fucking furious. At myself. Wasted time, wasted effort, wasted resources, wasted money. Screw it, head is now out of ass.
To the customers who have supported me over the years, i do thank you for the support and faith you have put in me. You are truly a lovely bunch of people.
If you disagree, well, ’nuff said. Over it and out of it.
a serious love affair
Such sunshine from this one pot of Osage Orange! Bought from Maiwa, a dependable, high wash and light fast dye made from wood chips, it’s such an antidote to the grey smokey skies we’ve had for the last three (?more? seems like it…) weeks. My tansy results were poor again this year, not sure why since i followed the same recipe i always have, one i always got good results from, but not in the last two years. Locally, as i have mentioned before, the soldiago/goldenrod is sadly a stunted, mingy little plant, that i now leave alone, for pollinators. Weld is spendy, though highly rated, but the budget allows for Osage in plenitude.
I’m building up a stock of these fabrics, for overdyeing, for playing with post modifiers, for shibori and because i have little yellow in any form in my stash!
And greens too!
Having fun working on these as well, for little projects! The threads here are osage, sandalwood, walnut and indigo, or blends thereof, on osage over indigo over madder, all cottons 🙂
Just a hint too, there is only today and tomorrow left for my 8th anniversary sale in the shop. Enter 8AFS in the discount box (and make sure you click on the little black circle to add it), to receive 20% off EVERYTHING in the shop, sale items and art included. Someone remarked my shipping prices were too high, BUT i ALWAYS refund any differences in what you paid and what the actual postage is at the post office. One cannot guess at weights and costs to other countries/continents, but one does one’s best to be fair. I’m sure you’re all familiar with packages that you paid 15bucks to have shipped to you, and when it arrives, the post stamp clearly says it only cost 4.95……
I’m just mad about Osage
Osage’s mad about me
I’m just mad about Osage
She’s just mad about meThey call me mellow yellow
(Quite rightly)
They call me mellow yellow
(Quite rightly)
They call me mellow yellow
Paraphrased 🙂
8th anniversary natural dyes!
To celebrate my loyal customers who have supported me through this adventure, i am offering 20% off EVERYTHING in the shop–that includes sale items, Art and fabrics! As always too, i refund extra postage paid. The discount code is 8AFS, and because the instructions on the form are a bit confusing, after you add the discount code to the little box, make sure you click on the little black circle too!
According to my old blog, i started “messing with potions” in the form of natural dyes, sometime in July of 2010. From threads that faded in days, kvetching that most dye books mentioned only wool, smelly jars that resulted in copious ick and mold, and wondering how you knew what to mordant with what, i’ve come a long way to piles of naturally dyed fabrics in strong colours that last, a rainbow of threads and a library that is dependable and exciting. Along the way came knowledge about the history, economics, science, geography, arts and culture, and folklore and fact, so much more fascinating that any synthesized dye! (I won’t say “chemical” dye, as it’s ALL chemistry, even/especially the naturals! 🙂 )
I had hard lessons about the value of mordanting, above (i didn’t at all…), and of learning about fugitive dyes, below:
I learned about the quality of dyes:
And the correct WOF use:
I learned that cheaping out does not give good results–if i bought the dyestuff, obviously i should be using it correctly, but these were scoured improperly, poorly mordanted, and low WOF, madder:
And done correctly below:
Yes, it *was* fun, playing with whatever was handy, experimenting and mucking about, and it *is* a way to learn about natural colour, BUT all those poor results, fugitive dyes and improper procedures become expensive wastes of time and materials in the end run. “If it’s worth doing, do it right.” “When in doubt, read the instructions.” Because as my mother always says “You buttered your bread: now you have to lay in it.”
dot dot matrix (shop update), and the use of poisonous (gasp) plants in the dyepot
It’s hot, it’s sunny, it’s dry in Calgary, so while that lasts, i’m running a lot of indigo! Some of these babies will be kept for the stash, as i’d like to do an adjunct project with natural dyes this summer, not just the Summer Madder Study! Some will go in the shop***. I have listed only a few to start with, as it takes time to “match up” pieces, so they’re interesting :), and more time to photograph! There are MANY more to list, BUT once the ones in there now are gone, they are GONE, as these are impossible to replicate.
Indigo over madder:
Like a Monet painting!
Indigo over tansy and madder:
Indigo over ecoprint:
This one above i really love, as the indigo turned the ecoprint almost metallic!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I’m still in need of green threads for projects, and remembered i still had some dried privet berries stored away from last February. CRAP, this points up why some materials should be used fresh, rather than dried or frozen……
And OMG did the dyepot STINK. A deep dark brown, it immediately got poured out in a spot where nobody goes in the back alley! I want to point out too, that privet (Ligustrum vulgare), while an attractive garden shrub, is also TOXIC. (It’s also invasive, so you might be doing the neighbourhood a favour by grabbing the berries so they don’t turn into baby privets…) One wears gloves, and one does not go all airyfairy breathy goddess and hang one’s head over the pot, inhaling deeply and exclaiming about Mother Nature’s wonderful gifts.
I’ll have to modify those to get greens, or dip in some indigo….
If you forage locally, know what you are gathering, and any potential toxicities. Also, check to see if *your* country has a Biodiversity databank. Canada has an excellent one. They do also mention other areas, in the US. http://www.cbif.gc.ca/…/canadian-poisonous-plants…/…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
***Please bear with me as i update shop offerings. I know it may be annoying to continually see posts of “GO TO MY SHOP AND BUY BUY BUY”, but as an artist, and a small business owner, this is the way i help keep the groceries on the table, animal food in the pantry for the assorted beasties, and the occasional “luxury” like new socks and underwear 🙂 My hardworking Greyman is very supportive of me, but i still have to pull my own weight, as an even partner in our marriage! I have only 3 avenues to promote my business: here, on my FB “biz” page, and on Instagram, so i have to take advantage of that. I don’t do craft fairs, though i may do the Contextural one this year, haven’t decided yet, so online is where my business is. Yes, it may seem pushy in a way to keep seeing these “ads”, but a Woman Has to Do What a Woman Has to Do, and the Gawdz know i ramble, rant and rite write about other stuff often enough in other posts, that i hope you will understand.
Dot Matrix, coming soon
oxygenated
Dreaming and drowning in indigo
I truly love how it reacts with ecoprints 🙂
SOLD
~~~~~~~~~~~
SOLD OUT
~~~~~~
Available SOLD
~~~~
SOLD
albedo too 
You must be logged in to post a comment.