In less than 24 hours I’ll be on my way to California! I’m taking another workshop with John Marshall and look forward to new learning, and to seeing  Sacramento, Covelo, Eureka, the Pacific and the winding roads! Hopefully this will also mean a break from the heat and humidity 

Last weekend in Loring Park –  90 degrees both days, humidity about the same — very uncomfortable! Here are a few pics:

Friends -- do we look cool? It's still early in the day...

View out the back of my booth, with Basilica in background

I met another fiber artist working with natural dyes — Dawnette Davis of Grand Rapid’s Minnesota (no website yet….). I bought a beautiful silk scarf from her dyed with iron-modified cochineal and imprinted with rusted objects….the iron modifier created a beautiful grayish violet/blue. Here’s a photo. Beautiful work!

naturally dyed (cochineal, iron) silk scarf by Dawnette Davis

I’m busy in the kitchen in between trip preparation tasks trying to put away some of the veggie garden harvest. Yesterday it was two big batches of pesto. Today it’s salsa and cutting up oodles of zucchini for the freezer. My husband planted many Gladiola bulbs and so we have them all over the house as well as garden. Trimming bouquets and deadheading in the garden today it occurred to me to freeze some blossoms and then try India Flint‘s ice flower dyeing technique when I return. Don’t you think freezing flower blossoms for dye is a brilliant idea? I really look forward to seeing what kind of color these yield …

Glad blossoms for freezing

I am not bringing the computer so expect more on the blog after August 23rd when I return!

This week I bought a piece of handmade Japanese Kozo, cut it up into 10 pieces and then made my own momigami, or “strong paper.” This is done by coating the sheets with konnyaku starch, which comes from the Devil’s Tongue root. It’s a powder you mix with water, brush on both sides of the paper and then crumple the paper into a loose ball.

kozo coated with konnyaku and scrunched

While the paper is still damp you crumple it more and work the surfaces together. The more you work with it, the more like cloth it becomes. Then spread each sheet out to dry flat on a table.

kozo wet with konnyaku starch

This treatment makes it receptive to dyes, and easy to stitch. I get my kozo and konnyaku from Wet Paint Art in St. Paul, and they get it from the Japanese Paper Place in Toronto. (Check my Resources Links.)

dry momigami

I wanted it flat (not perfectly) so I could mount my silk pieces to it, so I ironed it. I really like the wrinkled surface and the color of the kozo. And it’s a dream to hand stitch.

katazome dove on silk broadcloth, natural pigments, hand-stitched to momigami

This Saturday and Sunday I’ll be at Loring Park Art Festival.

Gardeners & art lovers enjoyed good weather for last Saturday’s Art and Garden tour. I was situated in a garden in front of an historic (1910) St. Paul home, one of several Peace Garden sites  in the Twin Cities. The gardens and plants were the stars of the tour. This garden was all about the rich textures and colors of leaves, and the structures of plants and shrubs. Here is just one example.

wow! leaf color and variety

I set my runners and hangings on trellises, and placed my pillows on the brick stairs leading to the massive front porch. I really enjoyed them as garden decoration!

Garden view with katazome work in place

I got back to the studio yesterday as I have a couple of weeks left to prepare for the Loring Park Art Festival. This morning I discovered that I accidentally recycled one of my smallest stencils along with the newsprint used to blot and flatten it after use. This is something John Marshall warned us about, and now I have learned the lesson! The stencils are soaked before and after use, blotted with newspaper, and flattened under books before storing them away for the next use. So if you layer a bunch of stencils  between newsprint under a pile of books, tossing one away is a bit of a risk when you are ready to put them away a day or two later. On the up side, it forces you to improvise a little. Instead of pasting my usual minnow symbol on the back of this batch of pillows, I’ll be pasting a little Egret, which has also become one of my symbols!

Here are today’s stencils soaking in a tub of water before pasting.

katazome stencils soaking

I’m excited to be participating in this weekend’s Tangletown Gardens Art and Garden Tour in Minneapolis and St. Paul (invited by Swan Song Contemporary Arts, one of three galleries curating the work.) I’ll be set up in a St. Paul garden on Lexington Parkway with 5 other artists. Gardens are doing well in the Twin Cities this summer so I expect the displays will be stunning! And, weather is predicted to be great this weekend (we’ll see about that …)! See the Facebook page about the event for every little detail. Hope to see you there!

Rabbits, kale and moon runner, katazome (stencil-dyed), natural pigment dyes on linen

Meadow rue runner (detail), katazome (stencil-dyed), natural pigment dyes on linen

I had a good day at the art fair — Art at St. Kate’s. Before the gates opened, I captured a few views of my booth. One of my customers commissioned a rabbit runner for her meditation room! It will hang on her wall, with all the rabbits ears up (as runners, they change direction in the middle). I will have it ready for the next show (Loring Park Art Festival in Minneapolis). The most interesting comments came from people who are frustrated with the rabbits in their gardens!

Booth view 1, katzome pillows, runners, and descriptive display

Booth view 2, katazome runners

It’s July in Minnesota.  The day started out hot and humid, and ended with two thunderstorms. A great adventure!

Storm clouds

Downpour

I’m getting ready to show my work next Sunday at the St. Paul art fair, Art at St. Kate’s. Come and say hello if you are in St. Paul! For more information, check the Artist’s Circle website.

Owl pillow, 100% Belgian linen, katazome (stencil dyed) with natural pigments

I talked to my sister Fran today. She shared with me that her color decisions on painting and dyeing projects are based on whether or not she feels the color is “edible,” i.e. as appealing as good food. This is an interesting idea. I’ve often said how much I love the smells of the katazome process — the stencil paper, the rice paste, the sweet smell of the soy dyed fabric. I would probably eat my work if I could!

minnows mussels natural pigment dyes on linen/cotton blend

Speaking of edible ideas and colors, two Minnesota arts organizations — Springboard for the Arts and MNartists.org created a wonderful new project — CSA’s — modeled after the popular community supported agriculture movement but in this case it’s Community Supported Art. It’s the most exciting idea to promote local art and artists that I’ve heard about in a long time. You can read about it here. I’ve put in my proposal!

UPDATE April 6, 2010

I was not selected for this event (I’ll try again next year). You can read about the participating artists and the program here:

Tomorrow is Fiber Frenzy, a fund-raising event at the Textile Center of Minnesota, 10am-3pm. Buy  handmade textiles and help the non-profit Textile Center.

I have donated two items from my inventory – a Coneflower pillow and minnow runner.

minnow runner

Coneflower pillow

BirdxBird Silent Auction and Benefit

Don’t miss BirdxBird 2010 this coming Saturday evening, February 6th!
The 8th annual exhibition and silent auction featuring work by 130 artists in all media to benefit
Audubon Center of the North Woods & Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden and Bird Sanctuary!

Reception and silent auction
Saturday February 6, 6:00-9:00p.m.
With music by Mary Klueh and Norman Andersen
Open to the public ($5 donation requested)
Northrup King Building, Gallery 322
1500 Jackson St NE, Minneapolis, MN
See BirdxBird.org for more information!

With my submission, I claimed the Barred Owl, Athena, who is part of the Adopt-a-Raptor program at the ACNW.

Katazome (stencil-dyed) Owl, silk with Japanese cotton border

(if you are looking for the Happy New Year Giveaway just click here. You may enter ’til January 15th!)

I’m participating in a show opening this Sunday from 2-4 pm at the River Falls Public Library in Wisconsin (approx. 45 minutes east of St. Paul). Nine of us came  together three years ago to support each other in making art.  The group includes Mary Perkins, Alis Olsen, Gloria Larsen, Karen Klein, Erin Jordahl, Karen Gustafson, Amy Egenberger, Judy Bracci and me. The work will include photography, sculpture, mixed media assemblage, painting and textiles.

The exhibit opens Sunday, January 10 and runs through February 7, with an opening reception from 2-4 p.m. on January 10th. There is no admission charge for the gallery, which is located in the library’s lower level at 140 Union St. (at the intersection of Main and Union streets) in River Falls. Call the library at 715-425-0905 for more information, or see  www.riverfallspubliclibrary.org

here we are