Scrap Pack Swap #1

I'm into doing scrap pack swaps! All the small stuff! I have put together a bundle of off-cuts of fabrics (ranging from 1-10 inches squared) that will fit in a CD sized Jiffy envelope. Any takers?... The one who accepts, then mails one back to me :) Swappping is useful for folk who do crazy patchwork, applique, and other small-scale and/or detailed art fiber pieces. It's a great way to get little bits of diverse fabrics, stuff that perhaps one would not choose oneself ('coz, if you're anything like me, you set out with the intention of breaking away from your normal selection, but come home with exactly what you said you were NOT going to buy this time!), for free, and it also helps to use all of those scraps. Interested?... Post your comment (with a contact address).

A little light indulgence

Another beautiful sunny day. The menfolk have gone snorkeling. Think I'll take advantage of the peace and quiet to begin stiching moth#1. But for now, here's a little light indulgence. A fallen leaf of Cecropia peltata (Cecropiaceae). They're all over the garden. I have always been fascinated by these leaves and the ornate forms they make as they dry and curl. Don't know whether the form will figure in my work at some point. Probably! But if you feel inspired by these images, then you go right ahead and work from them (just remember to share the results with me!) I have a small leaf on my work table with the light playing upon it. Through it. I'm watching what happens to it over time. Transformations can be subtle... or not. Interesting palette. Have a peaceful day.











































































The following image, of the same leaf but further into the process, was added on the 7th December.

Moth #1

A good day. I feel satisfied with how this new piece is shaping up. Slowly. But surely. Some of the photos of the in-between stages of the construction are rather beautiful in themselves, so I'm including a few of them here. These were photographed held up against the light, and it made them look very delicate... hmmm... something to think about for future pieces. The various layers of fabric collage, which make up the form of the moth, are mostly cut and basted now, ready to be properly stitched.

Long Night Moon #1

The 1st of december was full moon. This month is exceptional, in that there will be another full moon on the 31st. A "blue moon", since to have 2 full moons in the same month is a rare thing.














Last night (2nd of december) we watched the moon come up from behind the Golfo Dulce, big, golden and stretched, like an African sun.



















I have put my blue butterfly embroidery piece aside for a while, and have something new on the go...

The wingéd eye

"...all you restless things,
That dance and journey in the fields of air:

Your secret's out! I know you for the souls
Of all light loves that ever caused heartache,
Still dancing suit as some new beauty toles!
Nor can you e'er your flitting ways forsake,
Till the just winds strip off your painted stoles,
And sere leaves follow in your downward wake...."

(don't know the origin of this verse, found it on the internet, with no reference. people, cite your references!)

lately, i've become intrigued by butterflies and moths. i continue exploring this subject...symbol?... with cloth. the beauty in reinaldo's photo shown here was flapping around the house on saturday night. i only heard it and supposed it was a bat (we get alot of those here). sunday we found the moth in some small bush at the front of the house. see... and be amazed!

Kitchen color

Making natural dyes from rainforest resources is not as easy as one might first imagine, or as the media would have you believe, because there just aren't brilliant, jewel-like colors shining from every corner of the jungle! Yes, they exist, but their occurrence is infrequent, and when they happen, they're often hard to find/see/access. Finding what makes a good dye, and how to liberate it and then fix it, is perhaps even more of a challenge. A challenge which I have recently taken up and you can follow these experiments HERE.

Right now, however, my best success seems to be coming from the kitchen, not the forest!















Onion skins on various cotton based fibers, a soft golden glow.















Red cabbage on a plum/admiral blue shot silk taffetta (below). The resulting color (on top) is so rich and autumnal, and the image doesn't do it justice. What happened was that the blue thread turned green, and the plum thread just got a little browner. I love this! It's such a small silk scrap that I will probably use it to make an Indie-Pendant.

Blue, Blue Electric Blue...

Thanks Angela Braun for bringing the following to my attention.

"Blue pigments of the past have often been expensive (ultramarine blue was made from the gemstone lapis lazuli, ground up), poisonous (cobalt blue is a possible carcinogen and Prussian blue, another well-known pigment, can leach cyanide) or apt to fade (many of the organic ones fall apart when exposed to acid or heat).

So it was a pleasant surprise to chemists at Oregon State University when they created a new, durable and brilliantly blue pigment by accident...."

Click here to read the full article from The New York Times