Pigment Painting Live Stream

I will be Live Streaming this evening at 8 pm Central Time (Iowa), join me for chat while I paint fabrics with earth pigments for an upcoming solo show!

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/mark-making-with-nature

More Stitching

Adding more vine tendrils and bits.
Hand dyed french cotton threads, natural dyed flax, natural dyed painted silk chiffon, on white silk dupioni fabric. Machine and hand stitched.

Working with hand dyed french cotton thread, I'm using a single strand to create a background layer of delicate tendrils.

Working with a couple of colors of hand dyed french cotton thread.  Next I will add more vine bits (like the upper left hand corner) using the same thread only double stranded.

I'm using the ivy bits on my house as my inspiration.

I love how they crisscross defying the laws of design!

Desk Ideas

I'll have to clean it out first, but this lovely little secretaries desk sits right across from my computer table in my studio!  It won't replace my office desk, but will give me a place to put important stuff that I use on a daily basis in my studio.  Speaking of my office it's in sad need of cleaning, ever since I moved the computer out of there I haven't been spending any time in there, which I need to resolve and soon.

Sandman in progress

Stitching now with indigo dyed linen threads.

WIP ~ Sandman

WIP ~ Sandman

4x6 or so inches

Natural and rust dyed cotton scrim atop monoprinted muslin fabric.  Hand stitched with natural and commercial dyed cotton threads, wool batting.

I will be adding some machine stitching next and then will go back into the piece with more stab stitching, maybe layer some more cheesecloth onto the surface and then add french knots and some coils.

This is a small piece I started around 7pm this evening designed to get me back into the habit of stitching as I have a solo show to prep for that I'll be hanging in April, most of those pieces will be machine stitched and then waxed (encaustic).

Journal Cover

Went to Lowe's today to find black duct tape, and a new water heater, I found red duct tape with polka dots and no black duct tape.  The story about the water heater will be on my other blog.

I love the polka dot duct tape, my only complaint is that it doesn't come in the yellow, orange, or apple green, only red.  Oh and I still want some black duct tape for another project that's currently in progress.

Now all I have to do is go to Staples and pick up one of those ring binder doohickies for my journal pages and I'm set to go.  I have a back up plan, just in case I'm not able to find the ring binder thingy, I will add grommets to the front and back covers and then add some of those big rings thingies for the pages and dividers.  

Over all I'm quite happy with this project, it's been helpful in putting together my new business plan, my overall mission, and how I hope to get there!  I still have gobs of questions I don't know how to answer and will be thinking about those as I clean out the furnace room this week, in preparation for the removal of the old water heater and arrival of the new unit!

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Own $39.95 or Rent $19.95 

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Tired of your fabric looking like everyone else's?  In this video series I will teach you how to push the limits using natural dyes and traditional surface design techniques!

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Live Stream Events

January Live Stream Events

January 22nd, 2014 8pm CST
Pigment painting onto fabric and paper using earth pigments and stencils.

January 26th, 2014 8pm CST

Screenprinting with Natural Dyes using thermofax screens and deconstructed printing methods.

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/mark-making-with-nature 

Mark Making with Nature: Surface Design with Natural Dyes On Demand!

Mark Making with Nature:

Surface Design with Natural Dyes

Now Available On Demand!!!

Own or Rent it Today! 

Live Streaming Event Tonight!!!

I will be live streaming via Ustream live tonight at 8 pm central time.
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/mark-making-with-nature

Mixed Media Supplies

Mixed media nummies found at JB Knacker in Gilbert, IA!!!

The brass numbers are approximately four inches tall.

Stanely 110 Hand Plane

It's in need of some serious TLC but for $3 this is our very first Stanely 110!

The bottom is quite rusty.

Creating a Strategic Objectives Journal for 2014

Am working through Lisa Sonora Beam's "Creative Entreprenure" book again, last time was 2008/09, and am now just creating my Strategic Objectives Journal.  I have to say this has been a lot of fun this time around, it especially helps that I now understand most of what she discusses, this due to five years of reading and researching how to run a business. (Raven Stencil available soon!!!)

And what would a journal be if I didn't personalize it with my own artwork?  Blackbirds in Tree from StencilGirl Products stencil with FolkArt Indigo paint for the first layer of this journal section.  I found these old manilla folders in hubs office, when I say old we're talking 30-40 years old here, and am repurposing them for my new journal. 

How I dealt with the uneven edge of the manilla folder, I simply placed a piece of old reciept journal paper under the folder edge. 

The journal paper freshly stencilled.  I'll add more layers to this piece of paper and glue it inside of the journal somewhere.  More later, I have more birds to paint now that the first layer has dried, while I think about my objectives.

More Crows

Sorting t hrough some older monoprinted crows to see which one is calling me enough to stitch it up this week!

This Crow was mono printed onto silk dupioni (from India) that was originally dyed with indigo, as you can see in a high ozone enviroment the indigo faded and horribly so!

This one may be the one that gets stitched first.  I have a solo show coming up in April of which I need 20-24 pieces in the 8x10 size range in order to fill the space.  I'm thinking of a continuation of my Canyonland series (includes the hoodoos), and/or Prairie Remnant Series, and/or some new crow pieces.

I've stitched several black crows over the years, now I want to stitch a white crow.

Crow

It's calling my name, it wants to be stitched!

Academy Membership Special

 

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Black Birds in Progress

I'm still in the layering of paint and ink stage, I will be adding more layers tomorrow and then hopefully finishing out the birds.

Black Birds in Tree stencil can be purchase through StencilGirl Products!

Pansies and Posies

To get the dimensional look I crumpled the paper blossoms before applying shiva paintstik highlights.  Eventually these will become part of a new series of mixed media postcards.

Studio Delimma

Delimma:  How to keep Oliver out of my sewing area when I'm not using that space???  The chair with the pile of stuff is the current gate for my sewing studio, it's butted up against my spinning wheel which is butted up against a Singer sewing machine cabinet.  This all to keep a curious puppy safe.  A baby gate won't work in this situation since there is nothing to really attach it too. so am looking for creative ideas.

Holiday Sale!!!

Holiday Sale ~ 2013!!!

 

 

Holiday Sale in my BigCartel Shop!!!

 

10% Off

All Orders $50 or More!!!

Enter "Ten" Into the Discount Box.

 

30% Off

All Orders of $300 or More!!! 

Enter "Thirty" into the Discount Box.

 

Cyber Monday Sales!!!

**CYBER MONDAY**

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$299.00 (Regularly $599.00)

 

 

Mark Making with Nature

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