Solar Dyeing Season is Here!!!

Now is the perfect time to start a solar dye vat, all you need is a sturdy glass jar, a lid that'll seal tightly, and some natural dye elements such as coreopsis blossoms, oak bark, onion skins, etc. 

Add these items to the jar, add your scoured and pre-mordanted fabrics, top of with water, seal jar with lid, and place in a hot sunny location.

Depending on the temperature, and the dye stuffs used you should have lovely piece of naturally dyed fabric within one to ten days.

Remove from jar, rinse, and the give a good wash using a gentle soap, dry, and your fabric is ready to use in your next project.

To learn more about natural dyes click here.

Inspiration

A diamond shaped reflection on my driveway.

Studio Time

Spending time in the studio stitching this afternoon, enjoying the sunlight streaming through my window.

The Wall

As an artist have you and your artwork hit "the wall" yet?  More thoughts on this one tomorrow.

Is it All the Same?

If you have stopped recently and suddenly realized that everyone else around you is creating works that are similar or almost identical to yours remember this:

There is nothing new under the sun, only your interpetation of the sun makes it different. 

Others may be creating nearly identical but their intent will NEVER be the same, the true art lies in pushing a piece as far as you can and knowing when to stop.

Barn

“There are painters who transform the sun into a yellow spot, but there are others who... transform a yellow spot into the sun.” Picasso

More about this later I have some thoughts I'm compiling about teaching, and why I teach the way I do - I teach techniques and I teach the student how to bring out their inner vision, I do not teach students how to create artwork just like I do through those techniques.

Sunset and Pattern

Stopped at the end of a new development to take photos of the setting sun last night, these warning signs looked pretty good against sky.