Marjie's Dye Studio

More testing of Sodium Alginate

2009-07-08T15:30:00.000-07:00

I worked on lessons three and four for the new QU class today. I cut some rough stencils and did some free hand painting on a dress blank. Pictured above are three stencils.

This is a rayon dress that I am testing by first applying a border to the lower edge. Tomorrow I will flip it over and do the other side. Friday I will apply the dye color to the rest of the dress and rinse. Stay tuned.

Last project for today was to test the simple stencils on a denim jacket. Louise- you may want this jacket back when I'm done. If you do just let me know. ;-)

So far, so good. This is going to be a really fun class. I had forgotten how versatile this stuff is and how fun it is to work with so thank you everyone who mentioned it over the last 11 years at QU.

More testing of Sodium Alginate

2009-07-07T17:03:00.000-07:00

I have made great progress testing the new lessons for the next Quilt University class on how to use dye thickeners.

Lesson Three will involve stamping and stenciling projects. Above is the fabric I printed today using wooden stamps. Love it, love it, love it. Easy to do once you get in the groove.

Here is a detail of the printed fabric. Hope you are getting as excited about it as I am to write it up and get it going!

Turned the fabric into a tote bag. Easy! Used the printed fabric for the binding and as an accent and hand dyed the other fabric using the left over dye from the printing process.

So- three lessons down; one more to go. Then the writing begins. It's not going to be hard but there are some fine tuning experiments yet to be done to ward off the "what if" demons that like to sneak up on me via the fertile minds of my QU students. If I don't try all the loop holes, someone else will and I want to be ready for any and everything that comes my way.

Happy dyeing everyone!

DYEING SILK CLASS- July 18th

2009-07-06T08:35:00.000-07:00

I skipped a class on the list to the right. Dyeing Silk is coming up July 18th. In this course we learn to dye silk using many wonderful techniques including painting with silk sizing to keep the dyes in place and how to use home made flour and water resists in the Japanese fashion which you will love. Join us at www.quiltuniversity.com. See you there?

Critique Group, shower curtain, and dye thickeners

2009-07-01T22:46:00.000-07:00

Busy day.

Met with The Critique Group; ate 1.5 donuts; finished the shower curtain and will deliver it next week and take a picture; and messed with the Sodium Alginate. Lesson One is finished. Moving on!

Have a fun July 4th.

See you on Monday.

Work started on new QU class-Painting with Dyes

2009-06-26T16:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I started work on the next Quilt University class that involves using Sodium Alginate as a thickening agent.

Thank you to everyone who responded in classes and on this blog. There has been a resounding "yes!" throughout the land so let the good times roll. This class should be ready early in 2010. Yes, it takes a long time to write and edit and then test and retest the information.

Mixing Procion MX dyes with the standard chemicals and the sea weed extract, we can turn the often fickle and stubborn dyes into paints. The colors remain brilliant and bold and best of all- they do not bleed or run (much).

If you have ever taken any of my classes you know that often we start out by making a sampler. For these classes, we will make two so that we can see what happens when we add more dye to a stable base and then more base to the stable amount of dye powder.

Look at all those yumm-o colors. Three primaries and black are all we will use.

These samplers have not been rinsed yet and are still damp but the cool thing about painting with thickeners is that when rinsed the color is very close to what it looks like wet. None of this "three shades lighter" stuff.

Here is a tablecloth I am making with the left over dye paints. I just made up a random design and painted the stuff as I made up the colors....way fun to do.

Close up. This piece is 43"x 47".

By the way, the shower curtain is heaped in the corner and pouting. Maybe Monday. Maybe. Don't you just hate it when something that should be so simple becomes this monster that runs after you with teeth barred?

Arrrrrgggggg...the shower curtain....

2009-06-26T08:55:00.001-07:00

I promised I would show you the dastardly shower curtain. I had to walk away from it three times yesterday. First of all the silk kept jamming in the bobbin shuttle which would make me scream and break needles and then I found a gigantic ball of fuzz that was fudging up the works so I pulled that out...it was purple velvet left over from that sound barrier project. Once that was out of there, it went a lot more smoothly but I would loose my concentration and let the tiny seams slip and in they would go again. I mean, Michael Jackson died yesterday so the radio news kept taking me back in time to less stellar days and my mind was not on the project. FOCUS!

So the silk got chewed up a few times but the seams are finished and today- the button holes for the curtain rings. Glad this is a gift of love and not a contract deal.

I might have a picture to post today. For sure I will have some of the test lessons I am doing for the Alginate class.

I say "for sure" never knowing what the day will bring.

Using Sodium Alginate-new class??

2009-06-24T09:26:00.001-07:00

I'm taking a survey since there is a momentary lull in the fabric dyeing business-is anyone interested in me writing a new QU class on how to use Sodium Alginate as a thickener with Procion MX dyes? They can be used as paints; to do stencil work, and other fun things. Let me know if there is interest before I start testing and photographing and writing.

Tomorrow, I promise...

2009-06-23T15:58:00.000-07:00

Life got in the way today. Tomorrow I will finish the shower curtain and show you how it looks. I may not get a final picture in the actual bathroom until later in the week. No other pending projects on the horizon so sorry to be so boring at the moment.

Shower Curtain- getting it done

2009-06-19T20:09:00.000-07:00

Started the silk shower curtain today. The final size will be 70x70. I made it out of two 45" wide panels that were cut down to 36" each and then sewn together in the center using a French seam.

Rather than special ordering extra wide habotai silk, I am taking the liberty of using the 2 panels which will be fine for this project.

What you see here is the silk being dyed after it was sewn together. I want the spray of dye colors to not be broken up with a tacky seam so sewing first was in order.

Monday I will finish the side hems, bottom and top hem and make the button holes for the curtain rings.

I'll take a picture when I hang it in the customer's bathroom. It's a tiny space but I think I can get creative and get a shot for you to see.

I'll also show you next week my results from the full immersion soy wax experiments I did recently.

Hope you had a good week.

The Mundane- Vacuuming fun

2009-06-18T16:55:00.001-07:00

After a brief discussion about whether or not to show my "other life" on this blog, I decided that it might actually be interesting after all. Most people, I think, do not wait this long to do house cleaning. Am I wrong about this?

Above you can see how hairy the carpet is when I don't vacuum for 3 weeks. 3 dogs, 3 weeks, 3 times the allergy symptoms. Cough. Wheeze.

Now this is an interesting picture. When I bought my vacuum cleaner, I did a bit of research that simply involved trying the one my friend Karen owns that gets HER dog hair up REALLY well.... Plus...Martha Stewart owns one. When I bought it, the guy at the store who always has a toothpick clenched between his teeth said, "Be sure to keep the brush part clean. I had a woman come in saying her machine didn't work so I turned it over and the rod was absolutely jammed with thread and yarn! Can you imagine that??!!" Har. Well actually, yes, I could and here it is. I've never let it get this bad but the last time I used the vacuum was before the Critique Group came over (June 3rd) and I had to make the Dye Studio presentable. (See photos below).

It took me a good 15 minutes to cut off all the crap that had wrapped itself around the brush. Check it out! Gad ZOOKS! Some stuff I recognized but most of it looked like it came from outer space. Space Crap. Ozone Ooze.

So here's what the rug looks like after being vacuumed. I turned on the AC/Heat fan and ran it for a good 2 hours while I cleaned and wonder of wonders- my nose is clear and I can breathe and the coughing has stopped.

I moved Dog #3's bed from our bedroom into our son's room which is at the other end of the house. I mean if my sinus problem is dog related, as I strongly suspect, why keep her in the room I sleep in? Seems obvious, right? My sinuses are the worst at night.

I must say I am glad I didn't go to the doc or the allergy guy ("Boogie Doc") because this was a lot cheaper although it did take me the better part of the day to clean this mess.

Moral of the story-gotta get back into a house cleaning routine. But then again, I could have been down in the Dye Studio....tomorrow I will make the silk shower curtain. Wanna come down with me and watch? Okay. Way better than house cleaning.

I am amazed that I can breathe like a normal person. Tomorrow I will convince someone else that doggie baths are in order.

I hang my head in shame at this self disclosure.

You know the movie, "Finding Nemo" and the little shrimp Jacques gets caught cleaning the side of the tank and he says, "I am ashamed". That's one of my favorite lines and it cracks me up every time I see it. Unfortunately, it's the opposite situation but the shame is the same.

Back at it

2009-06-16T10:47:00.000-07:00

I took a vacation from blogging. Did you notice? I had high and lofty intentions of posting my mundane life for awhile but it was boring even to me so I skipped it. You don't want to see me vacuuming the house and doing laundry. Do you?

I have a scattering of projects that are coming my way that you may be interested in watching. The first one is a silk shower curtain. Some people live the luxury life, eh? I will start that today.

The other projects involve two chuppot (wedding coverings) that will be made and also photographed in my back yard before being offered on Etsy for sale. The fabric for both involve large cotton runs that went bad for various embarrassing reasons I will discuss later. Even after 40 years of dyeing "stuff happens".

One more large silk sale is pending which is wonderful but will be monotonous to do. I'll tell you about that when and if it happens. Too much pre-talk about a project is anxiety producing.

Felting in the Dye Studio!

2009-06-05T19:45:00.001-07:00

Wednesday the "Critique Group" composed largely of members of the California Fiber Artists group I belong to invaded the Dye Studio and proceeded to tear and twist and rub and mangle wool into submission. Here is Peig and Pam showing off Peig's newly acquired jacket courtesy of Louise. I got about 10 jackets myself out of the deal. You will see them soon as I figure out what to do with them. Awesome deal of the day.

Louise and Pam discuss bowling techniques. I don't know....you tell ME what they are talking about! Marcail and Marjan start digging through the supplies...Notice the opossum fur on the design wall?

Deb begins the demonstration of how to felt wool. First you lay it out, crossing the fibers.

After adding some dyed wool, you sprinkle HOT, soapy water on the wool.

Then cover it and press firmly...

Next, roll up the bamboo mat...

And then start rubbing it back and forth. This is the secret to success- friction and heat!

Then roll it the other way and repeat the rubbing and rolling process.

Next step- shock it with cold water rinse.

Cool! The colored wool has joined forces with the undyed wool and the piece is ...well...felted!

The next project was brought to us by Marjan. She likes to make felted balls so you start with the base which can be Styrofoam or a whiffle ball.

Wrap the felt around the base.
Once it is completely covered, carefully slide it into a knee high. Tie a knot. (Notice how enthralled we all are??)
You can put many balls into one knee high or thigh high. Aren't they cute?

Into the washer they go. HOT water. Then cold rinse. Synthrapol was added.

Fun and messy!

Some end results. I learned a lot about how to not do it. The key factor in my failures was not enough friction so now I know.

The large piece I made on a silk scarf has fabulous parts and still some loose parts I may redo. I combined 2 different qualities of wool and it's true- the better the wool, the better the felting. I am thinking I will do some machine stitching over the wool to secure it better and to add some interest. It will make a great winter scarf. Or a Santa beard.

It was a fun day playing with my fiber friends. We packed the house and are looking forward to next month when we play with silk shredding for paper making!

Visit the CFA web site: www.cafiberartists.com

Thanks for looking!

Shibori Dyeing Students!

2009-05-30T19:13:00.000-07:00

If you have taken Shibori Dyeing with me at Quilt University and would like to take the second part of the course please let Carol know ASAP so that she can give you the invitation to join the fun starting July 3rd.

Back at it today!

2009-05-28T08:34:00.000-07:00

For students in my Quilt University class- Gutta Resist on Silk- here is Curt my office manager. He has taken some falls and really bunged up his lip this year in a series of dives he took while modeling for me.

Here is the gutta stole I told you about with the purple lines that supposedly were "washable". See area in the white dove. I confused this stole with one I also made that year that had scenes from the person's childhood on it. It doesn't matter- the dastardly deed was done on this piece so I had to make two. Live and learn.

So today I am back from the dead. The only good thing about what happened is that I lost 2 pounds. I'm so vain.

Today I will start to do a bit more experimenting with soy wax to see how it holds up with full immersion dyeing during the batik process- not supposed to do well but I have to test it because 1) students are going to try it and 2) Carol is wanting the info for an upcoming QU newsletter.

I also have to clean the toilets and paint a frame. Shall I post pictures of that? What else? Oh yes- I have to pull all the laundry out of my closet and wash the sheets.

If I get this artist in residency grant for next year they pay me but the biggest part of my agreement is that I let them film the month long art making process. What on earth will they have to shoot if I can't clean toilets or make shopping lists? Guess that's the point of having an air tight proposal.

UUUUUUUuuuuhhhhhhh-day 2

2009-05-27T08:50:00.001-07:00

Thought I was better. High fever returned. Stayed in bed. Popsicles and ice water.

Well I didn't bargain for THIS-

2009-05-25T12:26:00.000-07:00

Talk about mundane. I woke up last night with either food poisoning or the flu. No, I will not post pictures. Going back to bed. arrrrrrrrrgggg.

What happens in the in between times....yawn....

2009-05-24T07:34:00.001-07:00

I haven't posted anything in a long time because nothing exciting has been happening. Perhaps this is when I SHOULD blog the mundane; the every day; the things that happen in between exciting projects. Might be pretty boring...It took me three days just to clean the dye studio. Maybe you would like to see the process of getting organized for The Critique Group which meets here June 3rd. It should be a Big Snore but is all a part of what I do as a professional fiber artist.

I spent a bit of time reviewing an art magazine I bought a long time ago but hadn't read and saw a lot of work by fiber artists I know and there is a temptation when looking at those glossy, perfect, amazing spreads that can make one feel sick! I realized that it all looks SO perfect that you get the feeling that everyone is racing ahead of you and leaving you in the dust when in fact- no one has really arrived anywhere ahead behind or along side anyone else. We are all on a journey. The face we want to present to the public is that we have hit the top of the heap right now and there's nothing left to pursue. What we do not see is the mess in the studio; the food spoiling in the 'frig; the art work that never made it past the first step of the process.

Okay. So be it. This week I will blog the boring side of fiber art. Should make everyone feel better about themselves. Ready? Get out a pillow as you may need to snore a little..... You've seen the fun stuff. Now you'll see the real stuff. Yawn.

Banner pictures from Sierra Vista United Methodist Church

2009-05-15T09:18:00.000-07:00

Awhile back I made these banners for the Sierra Vista United Methodist Church in West Texas. I document their construction earlier on this blog.
Here is how they look up and finished- ta-dahhh..... Mission accomplished.
Here are the "Fisher of Man" panels located on the left hand side of the sanctuary.

"Flames" panels located on the right hand wall of the sanctuary.

Here is what Gwen said about the first church service after they were installed:

Hi Marjie!
Here are some better photos of our new lovely banners! Two are a bit darker than others - I wanted you to see how well they compliment the stained glass windows that some of us created years ago. This morning, Ben and I sat in a new spot - where we can easily see both windows at once. What a treat! Toward the end of the service, I watched members as they went to the altar rail for communion. While kneeling at the front, many just stared at the banners with such a peace-filled expression on their faces, rather than bow their heads in prayer. We could not be happier with your work! Thank you.
Blessings and Peace,
Gwen

It doesn't get any better than that!

It is my privileged and honor to make art for the sanctuary.

Thanks for looking!

Mini portfolio

2009-05-12T12:01:00.000-07:00

BBQ

I am applying for acceptance into an artist in residency program here in California. The paper work has been filled out so all that is left to do is transfer these images to a CD and send it.

The pieces I selected attempt to show the range of mediums I enjoy working with as a fiber artist.

This piece you have seen before on this blog. I took our old Weber BBQ and sewed hand dyed silk into glowing coals beneath the grill; made silk stuffed hamburgers with fabric paint lines for the grill marks; made silk stuffed "dawgs"; and made the BBQ sauce out of fabric paint which was poured into the Tupperware container.

I had a blast making this and it went well in the show that contained work by my fellow California Fiber Artists at the Artery in Davis last summer. Size: 20" x 46" x 26"

Gutta Resist Poncho

This poncho has also been documented on this blog in August of 2008. I photographed the process of applying the resist and the dyes. It is made out of Crepe de Chine silk.

I love this picture. The outline of my daughter's face against the black background is beautiful. Size: 55" x 76"

Hiroshima

This fiber art piece has also been seen on this blog in the early days of my blogging attempts. The piece has morphed and morphed again several times and for now it is finished.

The motivation behind this piece comes from a day I spent in Hiroshima with my husband and two adult children. It was a remarkable experience that changed me forever. I have not been able to talk about it without crying even though we were there 2 years ago. The Peace Memorial and the city; the people; the quiet; ground zero; the horror of it all is not something I can let go of and as a consequence- I make art about it. This is the second piece to commemorate the event. There are more to come. Yes. Perhaps many more to come. Size: 72"x 47.5"

Batiked Iris

This is an example of the batik process using direct dyeing. It is simple and one of a series I did using a minimal amount of wax. The size is 31.5" x 36"

Layered Fish

You've seen this piece as well. I documented the evolution of an idea on this blog.

I like this piece but am not 100% happy with it.

I was thinking about the concept of layers and wanted to show that through the theme of fish. You have the water depth, the fish, the surface of the water and the lilies floating on the surface of the water. Breaking through now and then are the fish backs and their mouths.

On this piece I used fabric paint, tulle, and hand dyed raw silk. It almost works but falls short. What I really want is a layer of glass with holes cut in it where the mouths are. That will be the next piece. Size:21" x 33.5"

Tribute To Joel

Some people bronze baby shoes. I bronzed our son's jeans and t-shirt. Well, not exactly bronzed it. First I dipped the entire thing in house paint and allow that to dry. No small feat. Then I used 4 cans of copper metallic spray paint and finished it off with a bamboo rod to give it an oriental kimonoesque flavor. Like a shogun. Like a samurai. Like a ninja. "Call me Dragon." "Call me Night Hawk".

What I love most about this piece is that even though it has been awhile since my son wore these clothes, his shape remains. The neckline is the best but you can't see it very well from the photograph. It's all stretched out and saggy. Perfect. Size: 51" x 66" x 3"

Tribute to Marcail

This piece was a lot of fun to make. I knew that I wanted to work more with ready made garments and this beautiful Chinese silk blouse came to mind. I called our daughter to make sure I could swipe it from her closet and then diluted Paverpol fabric stiffener and dunked it into the mess. I then draped it over my mannequin Curt who had temporary boobies taped to his chest. You can see the pictures on the blog somewhere below. Anyway- Curt was patient while it dried. Then I made the base and here she is. Size: 30" x 24" x 6". Lovely lotus blossom.

That's all for now. I will send in the paper work this week and hear back sometime in August. I'll tell you what my proposal is later. The residency is for 1 month and will be either in the San Francisco Bay area or Los Angeles. What I need is a rather large population of women from India and/or Pakistan to make my project work.

It's going to be a wonderful experience but I am competing with hundreds of other artists for the chance to work on our own proposals so we'll see. We'll see.

Shibori dyeing 4 yards of silk

2009-05-11T09:01:00.001-07:00

I had some habotai silk that had been dyed beige from another project. It would be the perfect base for my experiment.

I started to hand baste the entire 4 yard length from selvage to selvage. Took me several days to do this procedure as I have a lot of other things on my plate at the moment besides this.

Finished and ready for the dyes. My goal was to make the silk a more attractive color and to add detailing with the dye and fabric paint. I didn't want the yardage to be too busy but certainly more interesting than flat beige!

I applied the darker brown with a 2" wide brush. I lightly applied the dye along the raised folds knowing that habotai silk absorbs the dye quickly and will most likely not show much mottling. That's okay! I wanted the most detailing to come later as you will see...this is primarily to redye the fabric and when dry, get the brown to pool in the creases and be a darker brown enhanced with fabric paints.

Here is a terrible picture (sorry) of the silk with the dye applied to one side and then flipped over for the other side to receive the dye.

Once both sides were dyed, I then applied a layer of diluted metallic fabric paint along the raised folds on both sides. The whole thing was allowed to dry completely before opening, ironing and rinsing.

I am very happy with the results. I got just what I was hoping for- a much richer brown with very dark halos of brown around the gold paint. Not too much and not too little.

I learned a lot from this piece. The information will come in handy when I start studying Indian Sari.

This is the first in a series of yardage pieces that will begin the process of weeding out fabrics and techniques so that a more precise design can be achieved next time. It's all good!

Thanks for looking.

Etsy store has Fabric Designs stuff

2009-05-05T17:49:00.000-07:00

Remember all that hand dyed fabric I had in the dye studio? I had to move it off the table so while I was shoving it around I started sorting, ironing, piling it up and thought- "Man, I need to sell this stuff!"

Along with a boat load of cotton fat quarters, I also have over 100 hand dyed silk scarves. All of it was at some point in time either the end of some custom runs or practice pieces for other commissions.

If you would like to take a look at what I have so far, go to http://www.etsy.com/ and type in hand dyed fabric to see what I've posted so far. My name is fabricdesigns627.

I have NO idea how this works or how it will sell or even IF it will sell but it was fun fooling around with the stuff. I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks for looking!

Here's a picture for your viewing pleasure-

E-newsletter went out today-about soy wax

2009-04-22T17:20:00.000-07:00

Soy wax applied to PFD fabric.

Start to apply the dye.

Add more dye.

And then add even more dye to flood the thing and see how the soy wax holds back the tides. It did well.

If you did not receive your copy of The Dye Studio's E-Newsletter, please let me know and I will make sure your name is on the list. In it, I review soy wax as a substitute for paraffin or bees wax in the batik process. Let me know what you think!

Dyeing Diva Fashion Show

2009-04-21T10:15:00.000-07:00

Students in my shibori dyeing course are having a fashion show of the outfits they use exclusively for dyeing fabric. I will post my picture here and in the gallery in class.

Starting at the top of my head we have a silk rag used to hold the hair in place during particularly active dyeing adventures. It is habotai silk with flecks of gold fabric paint interspersed with bits of house paint that fell on my head while I wore it to paint the studio ceiling.

The mask is Dharma's Deluxe Rubber Respirator and is rated by NIOSH at N-95. $27.95. A must have for the serious dye artist.

The brown shirt came from a friend who wanted me to try and over dye it to get some tiny bleach spots out of it. It came from Target and cost her $3.00 on sale. I was unable to get the spots to cover with the bleach which was no surprise and told her to use a brown Sharpie on it but she refused. I got the shirt and as you can see it has much more bleach stains on it now.

The black rubber full length gloves are from an online store that specializes in safety wear. The company is called Lab Safety Supply (LSS) and not only did I get the cool gloves but they sent me a calendar, magnets, note paper and a catalogue that weighed 5 pounds.

The hideous stripped cotton pants were a gift from my mother for Christmas. I like them as they are comfy and can easily tuck into my thrift store knee high rubber boots. Quite a find. My husband tries to swipe them from me to rotate his compost so now I hide them where he will never find them- in the closet.

Oh- the eye wear- The Dollar Tree has magnifiers that I buy by the dozen. I like their selection. I'm sure these are cast offs that no one in their right mind would ever wear anywhere so for a buck, they are mine. I wear the 1.25 magnification but may soon switch it up to 1.50.

Tell us about YOUR dyeing duds.

8 yards of silk

2009-04-15T17:18:00.001-07:00

After those mega projects involving 150 yards of silk velvet or the large scale banners I finished last month, a mere 8 yards of custom hand dyed silk seems like a walk in the park and it actually is if you have the system worked out ahead of time.
First step was to drag out my telescoping tables. From one end to the other is 8 yards. I can add another table at a right angle to the farthest one and add about 4 more yards to the length if needed but on most runs it is best to NOT have a turn in the design. Some patterns can accommodate a turn but many cannot. Like this one.

Next step was to paint on the yellow, red, and orange dyes. This particular order is for "Flames". Can you see them? The artist this is for cuts the silk into lengths that she then turns into worship flags that are used during church services in Pennsylvania.

Last step after the silk is rinsed and dried on my line is to apply flecks of gold fabric paint.

Setting the paint is easy and couples with the final ironing process. Beautiful! Done and done.

This week I will be sporadic in posting (as if you hadn't noticed). I am busy with life issues and aging parent issues. I may have to go south on Friday but that remains to be seen.

One very happy thing is that I am considering applying for an artist in residence program here in California. It would be a month long "retreat" sometime in 2010 to work on a prearranged proposal with a nice stipend. The agreement is that they be allowed to film the process of completing the month long project which then becomes a documentary logging the process of the selected California artists. There are hundreds of applicants and they only select 6 each year. I have my proposal ready and will tell you more about it soon. I am trying to not get my hopes up too high as I have already decided that chosen or not, I will still do it. It would certainly be a great opportunity to leave all the cares and woes behind me and dedicate a full month to art making but mind boggling at the same time. 30 days. No phone. No students? No order taking. Only dedicated art research and the completion of a project? Dreaming. I must be dreaming.

Painting a picture~

2009-04-06T12:47:00.001-07:00

I volunteered to paint a canvas to donate for a fundraiser for the Yolo County Arts Council's auction coming up next month. They supplied the canvas and paints. Great idea, yes?
So what shall I paint? It needs to be something that will attract the general public and get them to open their wallets and lay down their hard earned cash. I have had a lot of success painting iris. I needed a bit of inspiration so I went to the south side of our yard and took a few pictures of what is left of our purple blooms. This will be my starting point.

Here is the blank canvas which measures 20" x 20".

First step is to cover the white as fast as possible with paint. I do not like to see white staring at me. It tries to intimidate and I won't allow that. I have to show it who is in control even if I do not FEEL in control at first.

It has been years since I painted on a canvas. On fabric- yes, all the time but a crisp, clean, square, hard canvas? Not in years. Added some green to complete the coverage. There! Ah! That feels a lot better.

In the next 20 minutes, I knocked out the basic shapes and colors of what I wanted to see and where they were to be located.
Once I had the basic shapes in I started using my artistic license and digging out of my memory banks iris I have known and started to relax into the process. I knew I wanted to warm up the background so I started to mix ON the canvas, some red and yellow. The acrylic paints were drying fast so I just kept working and reworking the paint and adding water as I went along.

One very valuable thing I learned in college was to keep the painting in the same stage of incompletion at all times. It is important to not get fixated on one section at a time finishing it before moving on to the next section. Keep moving around and working on the whole piece until it finally comes to the end.

At this stage I needed to quit and give it some time and space and distance. Often this is a very smart thing to do because you want to keep it fresh and alive and not overdone. My personal thorn in the flesh is that I have a tendency to overwork projects. The saying that if a little is good then more is better is not true. The personal challenge I have put out for myself for this year is to push myself artistically to UNDER achieve. How to stop before I get to that tipping point is my goal for 2009. If it means putting on a timer while I work I may need to do that.

This is how it looked about 1 hour into the process.

The next day I came back after spending time looking and thinking and pondering what was good about the painting and what was weak. I liked the background color but it lacked depth. how to fix that? Attack it without a brush. Come at it with my fingers and move the paint around this time and make it more pinky.

Stop. Reassess.

I like it. I like it a lot but need to stop again and leave it for tomorrow.

It's at this stage of the process that I usually ask my husband what he thinks of the project. I have found that he has excellent suggestions if I want and need an opinion as to how "average America" views my art. This is NOT a put down. It's a compliment and necessary when I am making art that average America is going to be buying and putting in their homes. While I love the pink background, he did not. While I like the heat it emits, he did not. I knew I had to change it up so I started squirting yellow on top of the pink and working it in again without a brush but with my fingers.
There is still enough pink coming from between the objects and from behind and beneath the yellow that the heat is there but it will look good in your house and be something you can live with for many years to come.

Here is a detail of the iris. Lots of paint and lots of layers. I like the final results and think it will be sellable and guess what? It's already been seen and a larger commission has come from it! The piece will be larger and rectangular.

Because it is not going to be framed for the auction, I extended the composition around the edges so that it can be hung unframed or if the buyer wants it framed that can happen too.

Hope you like it. Thanks for looking. Happy painting!