apple cores and snowflakes

fluffy snowflakes are blanketing the view from my studio window. bodhi is dreaming of squirrels and the next door cat, so is unaware of his favorite playtoy romping about outside.

inside, where it is warm, there are tiny little 2" apple cores sitting on my table. ordinarily i would hand stitch these little fragments collected from past projects, but my wrists are sore so i am opting to try out stitching them with my hand crank Singer Red Eye. judge this first group going together not too harshly. machine stitching apple cores is best with two free hands to manipulate the curves.

this adventure of stitching apple cores with a hand crank machine requires that i do all my manipulation with my left hand. not my dominant hand. without any assistance.

i think i'm beginning to get the hang of it...

namaste'

when orphans are no more

"i feel akin to the platypus.

an orphan in a family.

a swimmer, a recluse.

part bird, part fish,

part lizard."

-trevor dunn

everyone knows how much i enjoy working with orphan blocks. they somehow seem at home in the selvedges of life and creativity where i reside. these all roads blocks (pattern by angela waters) are fast becoming a family of favorites!

my mother-in-law began making these half-sized from the original blocks in red and white a while back and then orphaned them as she grew bored with the monotony of them. knowing how much i love orphans, she gave them me, along with a stash of red and white minnick and simpson charms and jelly rolls.

after playing with them a while, soaking up their beauty and possibilities, i've begun to really have some fun with them. toss in some greys, blues, plums, and creams and all of a sudden they are coming to life and coming together in their new family! with each unit measuring in at only 4-1/2 inches finished, i've got several hundred to go before i can call it a quilt, but 4 dozen done seems like a great start!
.
namasté

creating rust

"i'm not the black sheep,

i'm the rust-dyed one!"

a lot of rust-dyeing and rust-printing has been going on around the studio these days.  i've been creating new techniques and exploring old ones further.  you'd think it would be a simple task, and perhaps it is. at it's core. but there are so many alternative options and nuances to be discovered here. things that go far beyond simply wrapping a rusty object in wet cloth.

for instance, in the photo above, i have what i have come to call a "dye plate" in use.  for me, a dye plate is any flat rusty object that can be used to print or dye rust onto fabric or paper.  this is different from dimensional rusty objects in that you are more able to control the pattern it creates.  my dye plates range from identifiable images (like the grizzly bear above) cut from raw steel with a plasma cutter, to flat panels of raw steel used for overall dyeing and in contact shibori dyeing (which i also refer to as "nouveau shibori" or "guerrilla shibori"), to cast iron objects with flat or low-relief designs.

the process is more involved than simply wrapping the rusty object in wet cloth and leaving it alone for a bit.  you have to monitor it. coax it. feed it.  the cloth must be kept wet. for even prints, sometimes parts of the cloth must be allowed to dry while other parts are kept wet longer.  the "dye blooms", which are what i refer to the bleeding or running bursts of migrating rust marks, need to be manipulated to create pleasing backgrounds.  this is done by saturating some areas heavier than other with vinegar water, by covering the cloth in plastic to encourage condensation, and other techniques.  a single print takes anywhere from 48 to 72 hours to mature.  more complex prints, with overprinted and axillary images can take a week, or even a month, to create.

i will be going more in depth into some of these, and other developing techniques, here in the blog as time progresses.  it has been a fascinating journey and i am eager to share it with you.

until next time...

namaste'

recovering a sense of play

"the creation of something new

is not accomplished by the intellect

but by the play instinct."

-carl jung

life can sometimes bog us down. adulting can be a very serious matter which can take over and rub the shiny off of just about everything.  in order to remain sane, we must remember to cultivate a sense of play.

play energizes us. enlivens us. it has the capability of renewing our sense of optimism and makes us open to new possibilities. in our art. in our lives. in general.

there are many ways in which one can play.  one of my favorites is to create and play with little people. needle chanting new spirit-filled people into existence and fanning the imagination with their stories.

here are three such people in their beginning stages. a perky boobed lady emerging from an old fragment of experimental batik. a woodsy fellow in winter holiday colors making his way from a vintage clothing fragment. finally, a peachy, flesh-toned dude taking shape from a "failed" dye experiment. beyond these few shreds, their stories are still transpiring. being whispered quietly in the background.

me? i'm carefully listening.
with scraps of cloth and fibre.
allowing.
being.

namaste'

ephalumps a'stompin' 'round

"i'm truly surprised

that we seem to get by

without polka dotted elephants,

serving us pie!"

-marc johns

this past month has been a struggle at best. between another lay-off, job search, training, bodhi having health issues, piper growing older by the minute, and the ephalump of depression stomping about in my brain, it's no wonder i've managed so little stitching!  today, however, was an ephalump of another color: no, i still haven't managed to find a polka dotted ephalump to serve me pie, but i did manage a little needle chanting beneath a shady tree this afternoon.  a little romp through a cloth fragment stash and a little playing about with sharp objects.  not sure where i'm going with him from this point.  perhaps i'll work him into a little pocket. a zippered vessel for bits and bobs. a keeping pouch.  i recently salvaged some lovely old metal zippers that i should be able to harvest one from. there seems to be a little story there, somewhere. whispering quietly in the background...

namaste'

the movement of color

"colors are the smiles

of nature.:

-leigh hunt

a gentle smile is slowly forming here. soft. muted. timid, even. pale shades of purples, greens, and pinks peeking amidst the rusty hues.  hinting at the possibility of larger smiles. or perhaps laughter in the near future.

this has been an interesting journey that i have embarked upon with you. sharing the emerging cloth from start to what will eventually be the finish.  not that i have ever intentionally avoided it. but that i generally skip around a bit. ok. a lot. from cloth to cloth. sometimes putting one or another away for months. even years, on occasion.  allowing the creative muse to draw me to wherever she pleases. i still allow her that license. only now, i'm trying to tie down at least one cloth at a time. see it through in a more chronological manner, rather than my usual rabbit trail method. hopping first this way. then that way.

of course, this doesn't mean that i'm not still exploring. beginning other cloths. like this rather large fragment of salvaged vintage cotton brocade.  it is nearly three times the size of the moose cloth. i was attempting to capture the sweeping nature of montana's landscape without losing the sense of the big sky we are so well known for in these parts. i look forward to working on this one, too. i can already see the blue waters of the lake. the piney greens of the trees...

and something a little different. a grizzly brizzly bear.  i've no idea what to do with him as yet. but i'm certain he will begin whispering once i have a chance to listen...

namaste'

"clouds come floating

into my life,

no longer to carry rain 

or usher storm,

but to add color 

to my sunset sky. "

-rabindranath tagore 

a little color is gently stitching it's way across the rusty sky, insinuating new depth. hinting at hues still to whisper across this quiet scene...

every new cloth is a journey. some are chaotic. filled with color and noise and celebration. others, like this one, tip toe softly across the imagination, instilling a more meditative sense of joy...

namasté

a fail is not a failure

"you don't have to

change your goal.

change your path,

be willing to, and

do not see that

as a failure.

that's just life."

-diane hendricks

there seems to be some sort of rusty or corroded metal that does not transfer rust to other things.  whatever the particulates were in my rust mush is of this metal.  it left absolutely no marks on the fragment.  rather than counting this as a failure, i figure i've learned something.  i'm not quite certain of some of the details of that learning. ha! but learning was had.

next step was to pull out some rusty bits from my other stash and star rusting a ground line. also, to grab those new swirly bits from the newly plasma whacked steel plate and rust some stylized clouds with them.  in this process, i found several of my rusty bits that are of the same particulate structure that populated the rust mush and ended up with blank spots.  aaargh!  ok.  learning was had again.

rusty old hand-forged square nails came next to create some tall grasses.  oh, and a tiny rusty moose acquired at a craft show or through etsy or somewhere no longer remembered.  i figured i'd really montana this fragment up a bit!

tadah!  a foundation of rust depiction is achieved!  now to liven this cloth up with some thread chanting and stitch sketching.  maybe some beads. a little piecing. who knows what all else will put in an appearance by the time this fragment is fully realized?!?

but for now...i am at peace with the direction it is taking and quietly enjoying the serene tableau...

namaste'

like alchemy...

"my work

is like a dialogue

between me and 

unseen powers,

like alchemy.'

-cai gua-qiang

delving into unknown territory today...  first "what if" was to rust dye in layers.  wrapped my salvage fragment around the band from an old whiskey cask to dye a large, summer moon.  once dyed, i dunked the fragment back into the vinegar water and then stretched it out on a plastic sheet and laid the metal tree cut out on it, smoothing the wet cloth gently to remove wrinkles and distortions, then carefully folded the fragment back onto itself to get the second tree image rusted in....all the while, being meticulous in keeping any part of the cloth off of the moon so as not to accidentally transfer the first image back into an unwanted area of the cloth.

i was very happy with my initial results...except that all this carefulness left the image a bit stark for my taste.  what to do? what to do?  okay....here's a thought...grab some of the rust mush from the bottom of the dunk tank and spread it around to create clouds and ground after another dip in the vinegar water!    i'm liking this so much better already.  only thing is...i have no idea how this will turn out.  i've never used rust mush to dye with before.  it's just the rusty flakings from the floorboard of my international that i dumped into the dunk tank to act as a rust starter.  it's black.  i don't know why.  but it is.  i don't know if it'll turn orange and rust like any other rusty metal. or if it will dye the fragment black or grey.  or if it will just sit there stubbornly. sticking its tongue out at me and do nothing to color the cloth.  i shall just have to wait and see what happens tomorrow...  isn't it exciting?!?

namaste'

squirrels and other distractions

"i often imagine

that your mind wanders

through the same

forest as mine."

-raine cooper

a dear friend of mine opened a wondrous resource for creating new artistic tools.  it is amazing what a plasma cutter is capable of making from a flat sheet of raw steel!  these lovelies are still shiny and as distracting as chattering squirrels, but will soon be coated in lovely rust and ready to go to work!  i have some very specific ideas in mind to try out with them this weekend...

she also had this delightful rust dye tank created for me.  created from raw steel, it will soon be rusty and ready to go to work.  my idea when discussing the possibilities of such a thing with her was to create a rust dye tank that i could use to get an all-over dye bath brewing in.  my hope with this experiment is to be able to create softer rust dye results than direct to metal rust dyeing.  i'm also hoping to see if it will lend itself to more of a shibori dying technique with rust.  i don't know of anyone who has tried this as yet so don't know if it will work, but the theory seems viable.

to this end, i have already dumped a starter rust dye mush into the tank, created from the rusty bits and rust dust collected from the floor pans of my 1960 International Harvester B112 truck that were removed in the process of fabricating shiny new floor pans.  this rust dye mush has been cooking in a bucket with rainwater for a few months already.  now i'll add more rainwater and some vinegar and really get the tank cooking!

as a happy serendipitous surprise, she also found this lovely small rust dye tank for me.  we are not sure what it was intended to become before it was abandoned in the scrap pile, but it is water tight and made of raw steel, so it is now my new experimental rust dye tank.  the perfect smaller size for one offs and mad experimentation!

so many new squirrels to chase after!

namaste'

bunnies and bernards

whenever i find myself sitting idle, i long to grab a fragment and needle chant a while.  i don't always act on those longings these days. sometimes i breathe into the idleness and just sit with it. relaxing and simply being. i know, for me, this can be an escape.  from what, i'm not certain. so i remind myself how fulfilling the needle and thread can be. allow it to become the meditation that it can be.  to that end, i found myself stitching away at my little purple bunny this evening.  

after an enriching bit of of time with cloth fragments and thread, i took bodhi for a ride.  my little teacup saint bernard. or so i keep telling him.  only 16 months and already 150.6 pounds of puppy. he takes up every bit of bench seat in my truck that isn't already occupied by my own butt.  he loves to spend time with his daddy.  the feeling is mutual.

namaste'

laying a foundation

it's strange, sometimes, where a tear will appear. center back of the neck. ripping stealthily. sneakily. but the opportunity to play with fragments of cloth and thread will not be missed!  first, a foundation to strengthen. next will be a layer or three of stitch and fragments. perhaps a skull? a crow? whatever, it will be a fun diversion. creating a quiet little secret hidden beneath the hood of my coat. except for when my ears get cold...

namaste'

twang deep...twang darkly

what does a creative mind with a musical bent do with 130 year old coffin-style violin case? re-purpose it into a mountain dulcimer, of course! i have purchased a couple others in the past and turned them into sewing boxes for my slow cloth fragments, but this one had something entirely different in mind... having housed music for so long, this time it wanted to make it's own music!

very little was done to the box itself, aside from removing the side panels on the two curved shoulders at the top to create a surprisingly resonant sound chamber after removing felt linings and dividing walls. add to that a hand-cut, scrolled headed fret board made of oak, stained to compliment, and...twang! instant dulcimer! okay, so maybe it wasn't quite *instant*...but you get the idea. given its dimensions, this unique beauty has a lovely, dark bass timbre. why don't you pour a little of its magic into your ear?

namaste'

awesome crap this way ---->

what better way to spend a hot day than digging through someone else's crap in hopes of finding a treasure or two? it's one of my favorite ways to waste away a day off. and what better way to help your neighbors dig their way out of ending up on the next episode of hoarders? at least until it's their turn to help you do the same next month...

of course, the only sure way to keep yourself from becoming the next hoarders poster child is to make of list of what it is you are actually in the market for...and stick to it like a three legged fly to a dingy fly strip dangling in the hot summer sun! let's all practice now....say it with me....no. one more time...with feeling this time...NO!

of course, when i stumbled across this little vintage 1940's or 50's silvertone mandolin last saturday, my lips just couldn't seem to form the word. what's that? twenty five dollars, you say? (looks in my wallet stuffed with tens and twenties) all i got left is this one lonely old twenty dollar bill. would you take that? you will? awesome!

of course, all the way home i'm thinking: let's see...appalachian dulcimer, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, cigar box guitar, diddley bow, zither, lyra harp, jam stick...and some as yet to be identified doubled 2 stringed zither-ish thing... yep! it's time to add mandolin to that playlist! ack! it's a sickness! oh yeah...that's my story and i'm sticking to it!

funny, too, cuz i just received (amongst other treasures from my folks) a new book for my birthday yesterday: constructing a bluegrass mandolin, by roger siminoff. it's considered the mandolin builder's holy grail and is my latest addition to luthier books in preparation of my desire to begin building dulcimers, banjos, guitars and mandolins in the golden years of my retirement (yeah, yeah...that's still a couple decades off in the foggy distance...but a boy can dream, can't he? not to mention that i now also have that mighty fine 1960 international harvester pick up to take all those wonderful folk instruments to festivals and street fairs in. add a vintage suit, bow tie and pair of suspenders and i'll be ready!). woohoo! old age, ready or not, here i come!

namaste'

mixing some media

i'm just continuing my thoughts about mixing free-motion machine embroidery with hand stitching and then taking it another step down that brambled path that is the intrepid "what if" trail by adding in some other media besides thread and cloth. i've tossed in some metal and buttons; safety pin and metal beads. before we are done journeying down this road there will most likely be glass and paper and who knows what all else added! all the while keeping within this year's focus: fragments.

i don't think i have really talked much about this focus yet. the intent here is to allow these seemingly "unfinished" pieces to stand on their own. they will range from simple cloth fragments with snatches of thoughts embroidered with simplicity on through the gamut to ones such as this one, exhibiting a riot of color and materials!

of course, i have much still to do with this piece and it seems to be full steam ahead, filled with passionate momentum! there is much embellishment to be done in the lower left corner amongst the metal bits, the knots running diagonally across the cloth are only just beginning to emerge, the bird is still largely untouched, and upper corners and borders need further development. the idea is offset the rather bleak fragment of thought with a counterpoint of joyous color and riotous activity to illustrate that even dressed up. decorated. a broken heart is still always going to be broken. of course, there are many ways one can go with this idea. but that travels well beyond this humble fragment's purpose...which is merely to pose the idea. compel you to think and draw your own conclusions.

namaste'

vintage french linens

there is nothing quite like stitching on vintage french linen! it is so soft yet has a wonderful body to it. with the new year finally here, i am looking forward to more hand work. more time. and great changes! i do so hope you will join me in their discovery!

namaste'

fragments of word and cloth

i have a mind to embark upon a new journey. a journey of cloth. and words. i am done with attempting to coerce myself into completing cloths that simply don't have their heart in being completed. that's not to say that they will never find themselves finished. it just means that i am tired of beating myself into submission to try and finish something that isn't ready to complete its cycle of metamorphosis. to this end, i have designated my great-great-uncle's old steam trunk as home for wayward cloths and will continue to visit, live with, and work on (as they allow) on my various creations of cloth and fibre, have pulled my travelling boots on and pointed them in a new direction.

i have an extensive collection of thoughts and words. my own. those of others both known and unknown. while sitting by the fire and allowing my shoulders and neck time to heal this past week, i had a thought or two that ultimately lead me to an idea. one where fragments of word and cloth come together and instill deeper thought by their seemingly incomplete natures.

there have been many whispers bantered about in mind with regards to what will be done with these fragments. incorporate them into something more? or simply allow them to remain in remnant form? i imagine the answers to these whispered wonderings will emerge at a much later time...

in the meantime, the fragments will flow and manifest and simply be allowed to be what they choose to be. transforming a seemingly impossible situation into a very possible one!

namaste'

a little background boro

snow has been promised in the next day or two...and the heat is not working in my truck so i passed some time today stitching a little speculative boro background cloth while waiting for the mechanic to call me with news of its repair. stitching together bits of cotton, linen, silk/linen blend, and rust-dyed cotton, all salvaged from clothes and household linens, to create a background for some embroidery.

i have in mind one of two things. either a continuation of calaveras (perhaps this time with wings?) or the beginning of a series of figure studies in cloth and stitch. once this cloth is finished being needled, i'll have to scan it and print a few copies out in color to play with by sketching in some shapes and figures to see what happens...

it's been really freeing of late, not worrying about what i *must* stitch. but, rather, allowing my hands free reign in creating whatever they are inspired to manifest. even if it is *only* a background cloth!

namaste'

silent sunday - 9/30/12

something completely different

took a little break from cloth and thread to attend to something completely different. you may remember me entertaining the idea some weeks back of de-constructing some old industrial pallets to use the lumber on my walls. after countless hours of de-construction, i finally had enough slats to get to work on my first wall. going is slow as the lumber is not large. but i am already loving the rustic results! i can't wait to see it completed and counterpointed with curtains, artwork, and furniture!

namaste'