A New Day is Coming!

I realize that it is still August and that it is very hot and humid for many of you, but it is time to start thinking of a new Dye/Print Season beginning in September.  My first workshop will be held at the Pioneer Florida Museum on my birthday, September 20th.  I thought it a good way to celebrate my birthday with good friends.  We will still be doing eco printing on paper and fabric for those newcomers, but most of the workshop will be dedicated to indigo.  We will continue the lessons in Shibori techniques and will venture into resist dyeing using Cassava paste resist and introducing clay resist.  The workshops will continued to be held on the 3rd Sunday of each month from 9am to 4pm.  Contact the Pioneer Florida Museum at (352) 567-0262 to make reservations.

We are coming to that time of year when color pigments are nearing their peaks and harvest time is not too far away.  Keep your eyes open to what is happening in Nature around you and you will be able to identify dye sources and good printing materials. If you don't have time to print or dye now, youcan preserve by drying or freezing the materials until better opportunities present themselves.

 

A change is in the wind!

Good morning!  It is such a lovely day here in my neighborhood that I really didn't want to come inside to make a blog post.  But I have to reach a lot of people in a hurry because of a scheduling change, so here I am.  I am still bubbling over from taking the Adire/Indigo workshop with Angie Knowles at the Life Enrichment Center in Tampa, FL.  A million ideas are running through my head for using the Casava Paste Resist.

First of all, I had better let everyone know that the date for the next Eco Dye Workshop at the Pioneer Florida Museum in Dade City, FL is going to be June 28th instead of June 21st.  We forgot it was Father's Day when the schedule was made up.  So be sure to change the date on your calendars.

Now, for a little treat, I would like to show you some of the beautiful work done in the workshop with Angie Knowles.  If you have never heard of using Casava Paste Resist, you may look up Adire on Google.  By all means look up "images for Adire" on Google and see the stunning designs possible with using Casava Paste as a resist.

Casava Paste Resist through several stencils on cotton, then indigo dyed

More lovely resist patterns after dyeing and rinsing. and removing the resist.

Cecilia Ferrer's stencil & paste work was lovely

Dianne Gardner-Rhoden's large stenciled Adire piece beautifylly done.

How to love the Blues!

One of our local teachers rewarded the students in her 4th grade class who made the highest grades this year with a chance to take one of my indigo dye classes.  It was a really fun day, and the children were really pleased how their pieces turned out.  I made the larger piece as a classroom memento so they could take their individual pieces home with them.

No Comment!

I just noticed that there has been a change in the template for my blog.  I was wondering why I was not getting comments or questions on my posts, and I finally figured it out.  The old button for reply has been replaced with the words No comment.  If you wish to reply or ask a question about my posts, please click on the words No Comment and a box will drop down where you can type your question or comment.   Thank you.  Look forward to hearing from you.

And then he said...."Let's Do It Again!"

It is unbelievable how time flies!  It seems that we just finished our last workshop at the Pioneer Florida Museum and it is already time for another one.  Our next workshop will be on Sunday, April 19th, 2015 at 9am.  It will be held as usual at the Pioneer Florida Museum in Dade City, FL  If you would like to attend, call Jessica at the Museum at 352-567-0262 for details..We will be working with indigo, cochineal and some eco printing also.  This will be a busy week for me.  After the workshop on Sunday, I will be teaching school children how to dye with indigo Monday through Friday.  It is going to be a busy week.  It is part of the National Endowment for the Arts Grant that the Museum received.  The children have a lot of fun and ask some very good questions.  That keeps me on my toes!  

Nothing boring about Shibori!

We had another great workshop Sunday, and Amy Grief did a couple of outstanding pieces that I want to share with you.  The first piece is indigo on cotton using a nearly exhausted vat.  Instead of dry folding before clamping, Amy decided to see what happened if you wet the fabric before folding.  I like the softened edges, and the way the dye was able to creep into the white areas.  The 2nd photo is also indigo on cotton, but using a new vat.  The piece was folded into a triangle, then accordion pleated in that shape, then two 2-inch ceramic tiles were clamped across the triangle before dyeing.  The clamped bundles were immersed in the indigo vats for 3-4 minutes, then oxidized on the clothesline for 20 minutes before rinsing then unclamping.  The 3rd photo is a close up detail of the 2nd photo.  Great job, Amy

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Another Dye Workshop on the Agenda!

Don't forget to mark your calendars.  Sunday March 15th is the next Eco Print/Dye Workshop at the Pioneer Florida Museum in Dade City, FL.  Start time is 9am and we should finish up around 4pm..   Please call Jessica at the Pioneer Florida Museum at 352-567-0262 to let her know if you plan to attend.  Lunch will probably be pasta e figiole (pasta fazool).  If you attend, please bring a half yard of cotton fabric that has been pre-mordanted with alum.  I have a small amount of other cotton pre-mordanted with yogurt, milk, river tannin that will be available.  Looking forward to seeing you there, the weather is supposed to be beautiful.