Marigold Dye

Today I dyed cotton fabric with marigold (Tagetes patula varieties). 

 I used flower heads that I gathered and froze last summer and fall as well as a few fresh flowers gathered today. I also made a dye bath with the frozen leaves and stems.

I simmered both for a half hour, let it sit for an hour, then added the fabric.

In the marigold flowers bath are copper-mordanted cotton on the left and alum-mordanted cotton on the right. A better look at the different results from the mordants:

 

with copper mordant

with alum mordant

The marigold leaves yielded a soft green which is difficult to see in this photo. This is on copper-mordanted fabric. I neglected to take a photo of the alum-mordanted.

These are the color results after immediately immersing the fabric in the dye baths. I left them to soak in the baths for a few days to hopefully produce a more saturated color.

Eco Bundling - OMG!

Now that I have completed the work for Inspirations, my first art showing at The Silo Gallery, I have moved on to other projects. Namely papermaking and continuing to experiment with natural dyes and dyeing.

On Sunday afternoon, I mordanted two of the four batches of cotton fabric (old bed sheets) which I treated with tannin back in March (see post here), one batch with alum and the other with copper. I let the batches sit in the mordants until yesterday when I wrung them out, rinsed the copper and half the alum- treated pieces and hung all to dry.

I cut up some of the rinsed, alum treated cotton to experiment with.  I am testing "cold water dyeing" with walnut hulls and oak bark, so a piece of fabric went into a small dye bath of each. Will let those sit for a few days to absorb the most color.

I have been wanting to try "eco-bundles", which India Flint describes in her book on natural dyeing, Eco-Colour.  Now that the fabric was ready, I was able to do so.  I rolled fresh flower petals from Othello roses, pink Pelargoniums, Tithonias, petunias, cosmos, rudbeckias, salvia and catmint. Leaves of woad, orange mint, lemon balm, broadleaf plantain, Lysimachia, sage, beet stems and leaves were also rolled and all were bundled with rubber bands.

These were then steamed for one hour and left to cool overnight.





 India suggests leaving the bundles for a week to let the colors fully develop, but I could not resist taking a peak of each today! And OH MY GOSH how gorgeous that peak is!! I unrolled a few. Here are some photos. We'll see if I can wait a week to unroll the rest!

Othello rose petals

top layer: rudbeckias, cosmos, salvia, catmint (see above)

bottom layer: rudbeckias, cosmos, salvia, catmint

Pelargonium petals

beet stems and leaves

tithonia flowers

As a papermaker and printmaker, you know I will be experimenting with achieving these results on paper!

Inspirations - Opening Reception

Here is the invitation to The Silo Gallery show, Inspirations, of which I am a part:

I hope to see you there!

Papermaking Adventures: Water Retting

Back in March (see post here), I set out several fibers in buckets of water and wood ash to ret for a few months. Today I strained the fibers and and thoroughly rinsed them with the power wash setting on my garden hose.  To my delight, three of the four had broken down to form a wonderful pulp. Here are the before and after photos:

               Gampi

             L: before

             R: after

             Kozo
        L: before
        R: after
 

              Mulberry
    with bark attached
         L: before
         R: after

                Willow
           L: before
           R: after





The only unpleasant part of this process is the foul smell of the pulp, though that is to be expected. The kozo is the most smelly and the willow has no foul odor at all, in fact it has the same pleasant, aromatic scent it always has. To help mask the odor, I added lavender essential oil to the pulps. I am storing the gampi, kozo and mulberry in the buckets and hope to make paper with them in the next few days. The willow I laid out to dry. I will try cooking this with lye to see if it will break down.

To be continued...

Getting Ready for the Show

Daucus in the Garden

Last year I received an invitation to show my work in the New Talent Gallery at The Silo Gallery at Hunt Hill Farm Trust in New Milford, CT. The show date is swiftly approaching (August 11th) so I have been busy framing the prints and creating a list of titles. I don't know yet what the name of the show will be. (The show is being held in conjunction with a group show, in a separate gallery.) A fitting title for my work might be Seasons In the Garden.  I've got work entitled Blueberry Summer, Summer Morning, Summer Leaves, Summer Series, Springtime in My Garden, Garden Beauty, Autumnus tempestas and more.

If you are free, please accept this invitation to the Opening Reception on Saturday, August 11th from 3 to 5 p.m. I will post more details once I receive the invitations.

Muscari botryoides - Grape Hyacinth Silkscreen Print

Muscari botryoides

This past winter while perusing past issues of Victoria Magazine I found a photo of potted Grape Hyacinths. This inspired me to gather other images of Grape Hyacinths I have filed and create a sketch for a silkscreen project. A month or so later I came across an old Cornell University Extension Bulletin #1190, Sequence of Bloom of Perennials, Biennials and Bulbs. The charts would make a perfect back drop for this print! I selected the page that listed Muscari botryoides and had it photocopied onto a transparency sheet. During the silkscreen class at Creative Arts Workshop, I used the photo emulsion method to burn the chart onto the screen. I printed enough of these backgrounds to create a series of three prints.Next I used a combination of photo emulsion and the block out method to create the Grape Hyacinths. I plan to create two additional drawings of plants from this chart and make silkscreen prints of them.

Details

This print is available for sale, double matted in a 16"x20" bamboo frame. Please send me an email if you are interested.

Letting Go - A Monoprint

This print began in 2010 when I was creating backgrounds with papers cut in several shapes and sizes and used as masks. It was completed this past spring while learning to use the photo emulsion silk screen technique. I posted about using the Queen Anne's Lace flowers on April 14, 2012. Looking at the finished print, I could see depth, almost as if the rectangles were falling down a well or being sucked away. Trying to come up with a name for this print was tricky - Falling? no. Deep Space? no. Letting Go seemed appropriate for the piece and for the journey that I am currently on (leaving my office job to pursue art full time). Letting Go of security, of routine, of living the same life day to day. Is it scary? yes. Is there much to learn? yes. Is it exciting? YES. I really am enjoying the ride!

Details

Contemplating Schooling Options and My Future

I posted this on Facebook last Monday:

"So I'm thinking that a certificate in Botanical Illustration from the New York Botanical Garden might be a better fit than a MS in Environmental Education from SCSU. Any thoughts?"

I had spent a few well needed days working in my gardens and my need to have "more" of this experience was awoken in me again. I was thinking that what I love most to do is be among plants, insects and birds. The sights, sounds and scents are so thrilling to me! The desire to recreate these sensations in some manner is strong. I really don't know how to describe in words what I feel. But I was thinking that it is a solitary experience and so, for the most part, is being an artist. Only I know exactly what I feel. I want others to experience the same pleasure I get from tending and being in the garden. That is my main reason for choosing to pursue a masters of science degree in Environmental Education at Southern Connecticut State University. But I was thinking that involves lots of planning and organizing and tasks that take place outside of the garden. So I was thinking that if I concentrated on creating art and taking courses at the New York Botanical Garden to further develop my skills, this might be the better fit.

I did receive some thoughts from my friends. One friend asked why I couldn't do both. That might be possible, but the financial investment would be considerable. Over the past few days I have been thinking and praying about the best course of action.  I realized that I already have the basic drawing skills, have all the equipment (papers, pencils, paints, etc.) and I certainly have the specimens! What I really need is to get outside and draw, draw, draw!! I don't want to be a botanical artist per se; I do want to get better at depicting the flowers, plants, trees, vegetables, butterflies, birds and other life that share this plot of earth with me and my family.

They say that beginning a new habit is more difficult than ending one. It is supposed to take three weeks of sticking with something before it becomes a routine.  Starting on Monday, I plan to spend at least a half hour each day outside - weather permitting - drawing! The reward will be better work and plenty of reference material to refer to during the long winter months.

Muscari sketch