a studio journal
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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
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My birch bark dye experiment didn’t result in pink. I got a rather pale, warm, gold-ish parchment color. (Birchment?) I like it. I’m sure there are so many variables with plant dyeing, not the least of which is my inexperience dyeing with raw plants. The age of the tree (old in this case), soil, mordants, dirt, temperature of the water, time, etc. The silk organza at the top of the photo took on the most color. The linen on the right took on the least. These will ultimately be over-dyed.
top-silk organza, right-old linen damask, left-silk broadcloth
I washed the paste out of my rabbit design yesterday . Here’s a peek.
rabbits, sans paste
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Last week the Crab Apple blossoms burst open all around our neighborhood, including the front yard. They come in shades of white to pink to fuschia. It’s the most beautiful time of spring. This year, everything seems to be blooming simultaneously — tulips, crab apples, lilacs. Even the peony buds are starting to emerge!
Crab Apple blossoms
shore blossoms
Meanwhile, in the basement, I tried an experiment with some 12 oz. cotton duck (canvas) that I had on hand. I pre-washed it, sized it with soy, pasted it with my minnow pattern, and dyed it with indigo pigment using the JIZOMEBAKE, or ground-dyeing-brush, which I normally use just for the soybean milk sizing. Here you see the pigment mixed with soybean milk, the brush in water, and the mortar and pestle that holds my indigo pigment. When I need indigo, I add a bit of water to the dish, measure out a little of the liquid and mix it with the soybean milk in a different bowl for dyeing. That way none of the pigment is wasted. It just dries in the bowl.
indigo dye paint, indigo pigment, jizomebake
I mixed a dark indigo – applying 3 coats to ensure even coverage. I plan to sew this into a cover for a rolling cart that I will bring to art fairs this summer. I’ll be participating in Art at St. Kate’s on July 11th, and Loring Park Art Festival on August 7 and 8.
minnows on canvas; still pasted; 3 coats of ingigo pigment
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I am a textile artist from St. Paul, Minnesota. I make decorative and functional objects, hand-painted in the Japanese tradition of katazome, or stencil-dyeing, using natural dyes on linen, cotton and silk. My work celebrates daily meetings with the wild birds, plants, and lake breezes of my local urban surroundings. Welcome to my blog, where I share notes, images and inspiration.
