Mark Making with Nature eBook Package - It's Bacccccccccckkkkk!!!

Mark Making with Nature eBook Package

Own all four eBooks for one low price of $30.00!

• Mark Making with Nature
• Compost Dyeing and Other Fermentation Dyeing Techniques
• Rust and Clay Dyeing
• Getting Started with Natural Dyes!!!

Details on my website!

More Birds

Digitally printed silk organza stitched to a timtex base.

Machine embroidery on painted timtex. 

More Crows

I stitched the digitally printed silk organza net to painted timtex, lesson learned the pink is way too strong and overpowers the digital print.

Backside of the digitally printed bird, the sad part is the brighter pink side was on the back side not up against the printed fabric.

Making Crows

Digitally printed silk organza fabric layered atop painted timtex.

It's best to stitch all of the finer bits of the bird before cutting out the shape, otherwise those bits will be damaged by the presser foot.

Cut away the excess fabric/timtex before cutting out hte final bird shape.

Trim away the excess threads for the final bird shape and add additional stitching if needed.

I still need to add the eye.

Auditioning the crow to see how it looks in the niche.

A closer look.

Barbed wire detail, backed with a piece of watercolor paper painted with gouache, watercolors, and ink.

Digitally printed silk organza fabric, machine stitched, aurifil threads.  Natural dyed silk organa, painted timtex, wooden clock body, and barbed wire.

Still Auditioning

I added a photo cut out of a crow, taken on the roof of my house, to see how if it would work in this piece, it has potential.

Auditioning Elements for a Work in Progress

Very simple, but lacking in additional interest.  The goal here is to avoid being cutesy.

The piece definately needs a pop of colour, but which colour and where?  If I attach the cochineal dyed silk organza I'll add stitching in a contrasting colour.

I'm not sure that this works either, but it's interesting... just the wrong colours and not enough of them. Acrylic on watercolor paper.

Here's a bit of gouache and watercolor, with ink sketches, on paper behind the main panel.  The main panel is still lacking, it needs a pop of something, anything... but it has to be the right element otherwise it just sits there like a lump.

So I will continue auditioning elements into the wee hours of the night, once I have this niche figured out the remaining eight niches will be a snap since I'm working in a series.  I will be adding additional elements to the outside of the niche in the form of copper and/or black brads and tacks.

Egg

Now to make the egg box for the niche, and then audition backgrounds for the egg box, I'm thinking copper or silver leaf.

Progress

This whitish egg will be replaced by one that has been painted to look like a crows egg, it's currently drying.  Now to make the sides for the egg niche and make a decision on the larger niche's background.  To paint the niche background copper or not to paint?  To collage vinage papers and fabrics or not to collage?

Experimenting

Machine stitch on painted timtex.

WIP - Niche's

Niches for an upcoming solo show, am still playing off the theme of Queen Anne's Crows from last year.

The door on this piece, and another similar piece, were confounding me.  This issue has now been resolved... the big reveal will be this coming Sunday at Cafe Diem, stay tuned. 

She was Third Class to the right of these two pieces.

Birds on a Wire Collage

Now that I have a few things figured out about Adobes Photoshop CS6 I'm back to working up new digital collage pieces.  Tonight I will be building some new works up for my newest niches, tomorrow I'll print them off onto fabric, stitch the collages up and then add them to the niches. 

Desk Surface Found!

In the spirit of accomplishing one of this months goals, get the bookwork done, clear off my desk, and deep clean my office, I am a third of the way there.   Found:  One desk surface!!!  I'll have to do is dust it and vacuum the walls and I'm ready to finish off the bookwork.

Yestday I worked on these three Corn pieces, they are still in progress.

Mystery Mixed Media Goodies

Today I will start putting together mixed media mystery bags, once they are put together and their photos taken I will be putting them up for sale in my shop.  I've decided on the direction I'm going so I'm parting with some of these yummies so that I can focus.