Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday Tip - Stamping

Occasionally I enjoy stretching my creative muscles and delving into other art nedia's. I especially enjoy mixed media creations utilizing paper, beads, found objects...and of course stamps. Problem is, I don't do this as often as I would like and sometimes I go to use my (rather pricey) stamp pads and they are dry! One of the best ways I have found to keep stamp pads is to store them upside down in a plastic bag. This keeps them fresher longer and raises my chances of being able to use them when I want.

Monday Quote

Paint your world how you desire it to be, after all you are the center of your universe and all outside of you is an illusion until such time as you wave your brush and fill in those blank spaces with what you believe should be there. You’re the artist of your life, so if it’s not how you wish it to be, simply wash the canvas and start over again



Michael Murdock

Shibori T Shirt

For a while now, I have had vision of a TShirt with a vine twirling up the arm, across the back and down the front. Seeing the TShirt in this months swap seemed perfect to try this. The original owner screen printed some leaf shapes down one side of the T.

The next person did some green ombre dyeing to the bottom 25% of the T.
I decided this was a good time to try my vision. I sewed the design using 3 different type of stitches. For the vine I used a foldover running stitch on the arm & back and on the front I used a chevron stitch. The leaves on the arm and back are stitched with a simple running stitch outlining the design. The front leaves I folded in half before stitching half a leaf design.

Then I pulled the stitches tight to form a resist.

Now it is time to dye! I chose to continue the spring green up the arm and down the right side. I put all of the previous ombre dyed area as well as the left side of the shirt in plastic bags and bound them tightly.

After dyeing, washing, drying and removing the stitches I find the effect a bit subtler than I originally envisioned. But, I think the softer design works well against the stronger silk screened side of the T. I can hardly wait to see what everyone else does with this!

Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday Tip - Dyeing

Once you begin dyeing it in inevitable that someone will either ask you to teach or donate your time to a group. I have done both over the years. I like to arrive with the dyes pre-mixed (with no soda ash). It took me many times of having the dye jars leak in transit before I found the perfect container:

Water bottles.

Finally a good use for these throw aways! I mix up 500 ml of dye at a time and put them in 700 ml bottles. Knock on wood, haven't had one leak, yet! I mix up my soda ash in 3X the strength and carry it in strong gallon containers (I have heard stories of milk containers leaking - so I like old juice containers). I carry everything in old, clean kitty litter containers. When I arrive it doesn't take long to put the dyes out, add one of the gallon containers of soda ash to the kitty bucket + 2 more gallons of water and start the fun!

Monday Quote

Mondays are tough. All those things you put aside over the weekend rear their ugly head and need to be taken care of. Any lack of sleep really shows up on Monday. And the whole week is still ahead.

Anyway, since I am a big believer in positive thought, and a collector of positive quotes, I thought I would start sharing a quote a week on Mondays.

Today's quote is one of my favorites. I like it so much I display a copy of it in my booth at art shows.

Oh, never mind the fashion. When one has a style of one's own, it is always 20 times better.
—Margaret Oliphant

Fiberart For a Cause Auction - My Winnings!

I just got my auction winnings from the Fiberart for a Cause ( see my post of April 29) ! I just love it. Anyone who knows me (and my love of palm trees) would not be surprised that this is the collage that caught my eye.

It is a fabric collage by Loreen Leedy. Loreen lives in central Florida and is a children’s book author-illustrator with over 35 published titles. Recently, one of her books, Missing Math: A Number Mystery was awarded a state medal in the children's literature division. Hmmmm, I guess she does fiber art in her spare time. A look at her web site reveals that she is both talented with fiber and generous in spirit.

Be sure to visit Loreen's blog and scroll down a bit to May 4, 2009 - there is a FREE download there of 60 images from 10 fiber artist that are really inspiring!!!

Thank you Loreen for your donation to the cause

Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday Tip - Sectional Warping

It can be quite confusing to keep track of how many yards are on your sectional warp. I have solved this problem with coins. To start I determine how long the warp is. I usually work in 5 yard increments (I usually put 25, 35 or 50 yard warps on). I divide this by 5 and get that many nickels (5, 7 or 10 for above example) and 4 pennies. For every 5 yards I wind I place one of the nickels in a pile - when they are all gone I am done! If I am interupted mid wind I place that many pennies in the pile before answering the phone or whatever. I have gone back hours later and I always know where I am! One other trick I do is count to 5 (yds) out loud - helps to hear it, too.

Just my way of keeping track. Hope it helps you.

Designworks - Year Long Projects Revealed - "Openings"

Wednesday marked the end of the year project for my art 'support group' -"Designworks". This year we focused on 'openings'. It is also fascinating to see how everyone took this in different directions. Some thought about all the houses they had lived in over their lives and focused on that. Others took a picture of doors and windows and used them as starting points.

I took a picture I had found which looked out at the ocean from a window in Maui. Someday I plan on doing that- look at the ocean from my house in Maui. So, I decided to build my own dream window. First I printed the picture on commercially bought photo silk fabric - you know, the kind to make your own tshirts and stuff. The ocean didn't look blue enough for me, so I cut it out and backed it with my hand dyed silk fabric with jacquard waves. Then I painted the sky (it wasn't blue enough, either) and the distant mountains. I also added some more flowers and enhanced the palms on the left. I mounted this to the acrylic 'glass' that came with the frame. Then I took some silk chiffon, ironed it to freezer paper, cut it to 8 1/2" X 11" and printed the image again. This one I glued to the outside of the frame making the 2 images about 1/2" apart giving the image an ethereal 3-D feeling. I then covered the frame with shells - including some that I found when I was in Hawaii a couple of years ago. Now to put it somewhere that I see it everyday!

I also wanted to share with you some of the other interpretations of this project:

Sandy Mooney painted wooden houses and put them into a window frame:

Pat Thompson also depicted looking out a window but she chose to look at a sunrise. She used silk fusion to make her pillow.

Indy Bacon took an old windowframe, door plates, wooden folding ruler and other odd bits and assembled them to create this whimsical piece:

Gisela Bosch found a weaving pattern called 'windowpane' and wove a scarf:

Gail Rachor knitted a house, felted it, embellished the outside and added pictures of all the houses she ever lived in for the inside.

Ronnie Straus took a picture she had taken in the 70's of a shack and reinterpreted it in fabric and emboidery.

There were of course more wonderful pieces (there are 15 of us in total), but it really is interesting how 15 people can take the same concept and run in different ways.....Where would you have gone?

Taste of Shibori Class A Fun Way to Spend a Saturday

Yesterday I was privileged to teach a class for the Black Sheep Weavers on the subject of Shibori. Because it was only one day I could only give a taste of the numerous different methods the Japanese have developed over the years to resist fabric prior to dyeing.

I divided the day into 4 traditional resist groups: binding, stitching, binding and clamping, and of course, pole wrapping. I could make a 3-5 day workshop out of any one of these groups so we had to keep a rather quick pace.

Binding:
Essentially this is pinching a bit of cloth and wrapping thread at the base. In Japan a skilled artisan can make thousands of these to create designs. I must admit that I do not have the patience to pursue this, but I do like making circles on the cloth by putting beans or marbles in the cloth and putting a rubber band at the base. Can't get the small designs, but these can look pretty nifty. I also like the variation of taking a bit of the cloth and pulling it through a ring until it is snug and then dyeing. I like to use pony beads or straws cut to about 1" in length. You can put lots of these on a yard of fabric pretty quickly. This is a variation of a Japanese technique that used bamboo rings to create a resist.

Stitching:

One of my favorite techniques. I really like pole wrapping, but when I am doing the hand stitching there is a zen like rhythm to the process. For most of the stitching techniques all you basically use is a simple running stitch. Making rows of running stitches creates the mokume design- which translates to wood grain, a great description for the effect. There are also variations where you fold the fabric and then make a running stitch. Whatever method you choose, the fabric is scrunched on the thread prior to dyeing. This is what creates the resist design.

Fold and Clamp:

This method is one everyone has probably tried - either in art class at school or with some other group of friends. The fabric is folded in a certain way and clamped prior to dyeing. Many times only the edges of the fold are dipped into the dye creating lines on the fabric. Or a board in a smaller but similar shape to the folded fabric is clamped on top and the entire piece is dyed. Here is Jacqueline Gilbert admiring the piece she made using this method.




Pole Wrapping

This is the method many people think of when they think of shibori. Essentially, the fabric is wrapped around a PVC pipe, thread is wrapped around the cloth and the cloth is scrunched on the pipe to form a resist. I then have people soak the pipe in soda ash solution, apply as many colors of dye they want, and wrap plastic around the entire piece to let it set overnight. This insures a better dye set, but it is the most frustrating! I can not see what everyone has done! Hopefully, some of them will share their pieces with me at meetings we both attend, because as a teacher that is one of the best parts - to see what others have done and to have them happy with the process.

The pace of the day was quick, but everyone got to go home with some great samples and a pole wrapped silk scarf. Many people said they were glad that the class covered all the different methods as there were some gaps in their understanding of shibori that they can now understand.

Overall it was an exhausting, but terrific day!

T Shirt Round Robin Challenge

Occasionally I get involved with group round robins. A subject is decided upon and we pass each item to the next person after adding a technique. I have done dolls, purses, cloth, clothing and now T Shirts. This one is from the Yahoo online group, Complex Cloth. In this challenge we each bought 100% cotton T shirts and did the first layer of design. This more or less sets some perimeters for the colors that we like to wear. I am across the board in colors I wear, but if push comes to shove I tend toward the purples and blues. Here is the t shirt I sent. I fan folded the shirt on the diagonal, rolled it like a cinnamon bun and painted blue dye on top and purple dye on the bottom. Since 6 more people have to work on it, I wanted to leave plenty of room for others to add their own touch. It will be exciting to see what it looks like when
it comes back.

The tshirt I received came with it's first layer already done. A nice and sunny piece to work on for a spring with very strange weather (we go from 80 degree sunny summer one day to 50 degree cold and wet the next and back again). But I felt I could add some red to jazz it up a bit. So, I did the same folding as above, but instead of using 2 different colors I only used a red. Again, there will be 5 more people working on this piece after me, so I wanted to leave room for options so it will be quite interesting to see where it goes...

Fiberart For a Cause Sale

If you want some wonderful fiber art and help a great cause at the same time take a look at the Fiberart for a Cause Collage Mania web site. While I did not donate a collage this year there are several I have my eye on. So, pour a cup of tea, sit back and take a look at all the wonderful fiber collages that were donated. Don't forget to have a pen & piece of paper by your side to jot down your favorites!

All 384 fiber collages donated by 161 generous artists are now available for
your viewing here:

http://www.virginiaspiegel.com/CM2009Collages1.html

Collage Mania, a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society, opens May 5
with a minimum donation of $80 for each artwork and continues May 6 and 7
when the donation minimum drops to $40.

Please read over the directions on how to participate in Collage Mania. NOW
is the time to send me a note if you need special accommodations in any way.
Once Collage Mania starts it will be wild and crazy as all artwork is
available on a first-come/first-serve basis.

All donations for artwork are made directly to the ACS through Fiberart For
A Cause. Patrons receive an immediate electronic receipt from the ACS.

Our goal for this final Fiberart For A Cause fundraiser is at least $20,000.
We have already donated over $170,000.

A Taste of Shibori

I am presenting a workshop this weekend on Shibori. Only one day from 10-3 so that is why it is just a taste - I think of it like eating lunch with the free tastings at Costco- they are generous and tasty but not quite a full meal. But, that's all we have time for.

I have been doing various forms of shibori since 1998. Using the book Shibori, The Inventive Art of Japanese Shaped Resist Dyeing by Yoshiki Wada, Mary Kellogg Rice & Jane Barton (which is THE definitive book) I made samples of every technique and kept excellent records. So, I have been having fun going through them. Amazing the information I took away the last time and what I utilized. There was SO much information in that book I think I absorbed and used only a fraction. That fraction has served me well, but it is nice to visit 'my old friends'.

I especially forgot how much I enjoy stitching designs. Ironically, loom shibori was created by Catherine Ellis because she didn't enjoy the stitching process and wanted to recreate the idea on her loom. But, I find it meditative - and a lot easier to carry around! The designs that can be created are endless and beautiful. One of the major kimono pieces I created used strips of 4" wide silk matka - each of which had a different stitched design. My inspiration for this came from an exhibition in Rochester, MI on Japanese Indigo dyeing. One of the kimono's they had was a salesman's sample. Each strip had a different design that the shibori house could recreate- all in different techniques. Now that I am writing this I remember how much I enjoyed carting the strips around and having something to pull out of my purse when those odd moments of idleness occurred. Maybe it's time for another.......

Three Creative Links I Like

Thought I might share a few links that have been passed my way recently.

1. Bruno's Art Sculpture Garden
http://sz0023.ev.mail.comcast.net/service/home/~/BrunosArt%26SculptureGarden.pps?auth=co&loc=en_US&id=1283&part=2

This was one of my must sees when I go on that trip to Australia - you know the trip I want to go on but can't swing quite yet but someday... Well, another lesson on why you should make sure you do things when you can - on February 7 there was a devastating wild fire there and yes, this garden was affected. Bruno and his family are safe and report that they are rebuilding the garden. He created a garden path with wonderful wood sculptures at every turn. Some will make you laugh, others are poignant and some will make you tear up ever so slightly.
Meanwhile, click on the link above, toggle it to the full screen and enjoy. When I need a quick break from my everyday I find this link to be quite refreshing.

2. Elizabeth Gilbert on Creativity
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html

I have been a fan of Elizabeth Gilbert since I read "Eat, Pray, Love". I enjoyed reading the book so much I requested as a holiday gift the audio of the book so that I could listen to the words read by author herself. I have since read another book and continue to follow her. This is a 20 minute lecture she gave talking about nurturing the creative spark we all have. Well worth a listen, but I will warn you that there are many intriguing links to other talks on similar subjects that can keep you going.....

3. You Are Worth the Time
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EaUb4zk0Ow

The shortest of the 3, this is a 7 minute YouTube video that reminds us that no matter what is going on in our lives we are worth taking time to honor our creative muses.

Hope you enjoy these links!

More Loom Shibori....Or the sister is off the loom

Putting a special warp on the loom is always an exciting experience. I like to make at least 2 items per warp and showed the first half of this warp in an earlier post:

Handwoven Loom Controlled Shibori

This week I finished weaving the last 5 yards which I lovingly call 'her sister'. Right now, she is destined to become another shorter kimono. This time I went a bit color crazy with the middle section and most every color is well represented. I enjoy going from the somewhat quiet and contemplative project to one that is more vibrant. To make it even more exciting and I decided to vary the spacing between pull cords : I would throw 6, 9 or 12 shots in between merely depending on my mood. I suspect that after pulling, painting and discharging the shibori 'flames' will look pretty much the same to most people. But, it made for more interesting weaving and reminded me how much I enjoy weaving painted warp with black weft. Perhaps I will follow up by painting the entire warp, not just the middle.

Why Are You Here? A Favor Requested

No, I don't mean that in a larger, spiritual sense. I mean it literally. I have taken a personal vow to keep up with my blog by writing at least once a week. I see the blog as a way to communicate about my artistic process and everything that goes with that. But, I am having trouble figuring out WHAT to write about. So far, I have written about my shows, workshops and exhibits I attended, a tutorial & new work. I enjoyed writing about all of these. I am curious though about what YOU are looking for when you click on my blog. Would you like more tutorials? Or how about seeing experiments? Or perhaps you feel there is a good mix and I should just keep it up and post more often.

If you could leave a comment for me I would appreciate it!

Thanks, Debbi

Handwoven Loom Controlled Shibori

Sometimes a customer likes my work, but wants something different. I welcome these challenges - although at times they seem daunting. A customer saw my new silk kimono's and really liked them, but as a petite she needed a different size. She also wanted it to be long and mainly black. Here is the one she tried on :

This one was done entirely with Procion dyes, but the only way to really get a good black on silk is with Acid dyes. So, that is why I decided to use Lanset dyes for the middle warp painted section. I wrote about this last week:
http://artweardesign.blogspot.com/2009/04/warp-painting-with-lanaset-dyes-in-10.html
From there I warped the loom as normal. I had 10" of hand dyed black, 10" warp painted, and 14" of hand dyed black (the extra 4" was to create a band to go on the front center). I used a monks belt threading. After every 12 shots of plain weave in a hand dyed black silk weft I raised either shafts 1-2 or 3-4 and put in a 'junk' weft.

After weaving 5 yards I cut it off the loom and pulled the junk weft tightly and tied it off. The warp (a silk noil from Treenway silks) compressed from 34" on the loom to 4" pulled tightly. In the original kimono, I used thickened dye to 'paint' the top of the compressed fabric - each side got a different color. Because I used dye both colors showed on the fabric. But, using the black any dye I used would be totally lost. Therefore, I decided to use paint and discharge techniques. I lightly painted one side with red fabric paint. The other side I used discharge paste which I steamed. This proved a wee bit trickier than I thought. Naturally, the sample was perfect-but I don't have a professional steamer and the fabric took up most of my steam pot. The paste was quite stubborn in removing the dye. After the first try- with minor success- I repainted the discharge paste on half of the cloth and steamed that. Then I did the other half. This proved to work a bit better. If I were to do more of this, though I definitely would need a bigger steamer.



I never put just one project on the loom - so there is another 5 yards waiting to be woven off. It is also black, warp painted and black. I haven't decided what I want to do with the shibori bits yet, though. I just got some shimmer paints from Pro Chem that I am itching to try, so some of them might just sneak into the next piece.



This technique was created by Catherine Ellis and she graciously shared her ideas with us in a book: Woven Shibori. If you are interested in this technique, I highly suggest adding this book to your collection. I, personally, am looking forward to exploring other ideas on my new (to me) 8 harness loom!

Kimono as Art Exhibit - Canton, Ohio - Eye Candy for Fiber Artists!

I can't think of a better birthday present than the one my husband gave me this year - a trip to Canton, Ohio (a 4 hr. drive each way) to see the Kimono as Art - The Landscapes of Itchiku Kubota Exhibit. All I can say is if you even think you might like it - GO! It will only be there until April 26 and who know when or where it will be again?

SOME HISTORY:

In 1937, as a young artist, Itchiku saw a piece of 350 year old fabric in a museum that fascinated him so much he studied it for hours trying to figure out how it was done. It was shibori but it was different -more magnificent than the anything he had ever seen. The technique was called Tsujigahana, but the directions had been lost in time. As with most of us, life got in the way of artistic exploration. He married and was creating kimonos for a living. Then the war. Even as a POW in Siberia he was couldn't shake his memory. When he returned to Tokyo in 1951 he was raising his family and his kimono business began flourishing. But that little scrap of fabric still eluded him.

Then in 1977 - when he was 60 years old - he finally achieved what he considered to be an equivalent piece of fabric. He named his interpretation "Itchiku Tsujigahana" and spent the rest of his life working on his artistic vision of creating kimono's depicting the changing landscape in the four seasons. He fully expected to live to be 120 to realize his full vision (he had plans after the landscapes of creating the universe), but left us in 2003 at the age of 86. The kimono's he left behind are magical.

THE EXHIBIT

Starting with a good example of the work that goes into shibori as well as some fabric to touch the exhibit had a nice 15 minute or so movie depicting Itchiku and his exhibit that was in the Smithsonian over a decade ago.

Then on to the kimono's:

Itchiku wanted the viewer to have a personal experience with his work and the exhibit was generous as the viewer is not hampered by glass between you and the kimono. While, naturally, there is no touching you can bend over and look- getting to within a foot of the fabric to really see it up close! The first half of the exhibit had about 10 different kimono's to enjoy.

But, it was the next part that was so delicious words fail to describe how delightful. You enter the long rectangular room. In a 'U' shape on three sides are 8' tall kimonos arranged cuff to cuff in such a way that they depict one continuous scene - starting with the mountains in the fall and ending with winter. He wanted to do all 4 seasons, but with each kimono taking up to a year to produce time took it's toll. Standing in the middle was a spiritual experience - the majesty of the project and the mastery of the execution was enough to take your breath away. Even people who had no clue how much work went into each kimono were taken aback. You can get some feel for this in this YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rd6pixh7m2s&feature=PlayList&p=AF72090841EADF51&index=0

So, if you are even thinking this might be a good exhibit to attend , I can pretty well assure you that it will not disappoint.

For a different look at this exhibit here is another blog I found:

http://creativityjourney.blogspot.com/2009/04/kimono-as-art-landscapes-of-itchiku.html

The link to the museum exhibit complete with pictures to whet your appetite and all that stuff you need to know to go (hours, location etc.):

http://kimonoexhibit.com/exhibit.htm

Now, all I need to do is to take a trip to Japan and see the exhibit the way it was truly meant to be seen - at the museum that Itchiku built in the woods for his kimono's!