Hearts and Hands

Angel Monuments

4heartsnhands — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 22:49:51 +0000

Today was an extraordinarily beautiful day, and because I managed to fix one of my open car windows, I celebrated by going on an “artist date.” Accompanied by Jenn, Jesse, and Olivia, I took photos of angel monuments in Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Nashville.

This beauty was on the Hughes monument!

Oak Leaf Prints

4heartsnhands — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 03:18:47 +0000

The leaf prints from bundles last Saturday have been washed, dryed, and ironed. I am impressed at how nicely the tumeric stayed on the piece of linen. Lovely little dotted texture from oak – perhaps because they were late in the season and beginning to dry. I kept them flattened in the freezer.

Oak leaf on white linen and tumeric dyebath.

Oak leaf on raw silk previously dyed with fresh parsley, then bundle put in tumeric dyebath.

Leaf Printing on Silk

4heartsnhands — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 23:57:16 +0000

My year-end dyeing did not yield anything exciting, but I learned some things and had fun. Mold was beginning so I unwrapped everything today. So that is only 4 days under pressure. The flowers did nothing. The eucalyptus was not too good -I need to learn more about preparation perhaps. This fabric is raw silk, first dyed in fresh parsley, and then after bundling, it was put in a tumeric bath (thus the bright yellow). This was my first time with tumeric and alum and cream of tartar, and it seems to be quite fast after washing. This piece is still wet, so it will change when dry.

Leaves on the left are black walnut that were frozen when green; the ones on right are oak leaves picked in late fall and frozen.

Rust Printing on Raw Silk

4heartsnhands — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 23:46:33 +0000

On January 1 I began this experiment with rusty objects (see post below). I waited 36 hours so that the light would be good for the photographs. I am not thrilled with what I got, but it is my first attempt. The vinegar acted very quickly and lots of lovely, nasty rust came off the objects…mostly nails. I won’t be able to use them again until some more rust builds up. Wonder if I should bury them for a while?

Again, this is raw silk that was previously dyed with chemical dyes – a pinkish orange color. These rusty objects and vinegar and water were left outdoors (40-60 degree variation) for 36 hours with a plastic cover.

This was before I washed it.

New Year Brilliance

4heartsnhands — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 20:46:37 +0000

As January unfolds, we are given a quite beautiful day. I am cleaning up after all the projects of the last few weeks, but now had better go outside to get some light and air. The above is the center of a vintage quilt top that i photographed from the back with the sun shining through. These are the colors of today!

HAPPY NEW YEAR for us all!

End of the Year Dyeing

4heartsnhands — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 23:10:01 +0000

It was a beautiful last-day-of-the-year here in my little yellow house on a hill overlooking the Harpeth River valley. I tried to do only things that I wanted to do, and documented as I went along. It really began Thursday afternoon with the cleaning and re-covering of my 4′x8′ work table on the screened porch (while wearing ear-muffs!).

Yesterday I laid out this previously dyed piece of raw silk and cotton trim and put rusty stuff all over it…spraying generously with vinegar and water. I then covered it for the night and will try to wait patiently for it to do something. On Sunday I will uncover it and wash out the extra rust and see what kind of marks were made.

Today I hovered over a pot of dye made with fresh parsley(for a soft yellow), and added tumeric late in the day. I rolled and bundled eucalyptus leaves (1st photo), walnut and oak leaves, and store-bought flowers…hoping to get some prints. I will leave those bundled for a week, which is really hard to do. The bright yellow came after added the tumeric to the dye with the bundles and so as not to waste any color, threw the items in (last photo).

Eucalyptus Branches for Dye/Printing

4heartsnhands — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 00:06:26 +0000

Another “what remains” has come to me in the mail. A box of eucalyptus branches from Santa Rosa, CA that were found raked into a pile next to a dumpster. Marilyn: thank you for your efforts. I have been drooling over India Flint’s examples of printing on fabric with native eucalyptus; see www.indiaflint.com . Now that the holidays are nearly done I will begin to explore these leaves and stems. They are in the freezer until I come up with a plan.

Handwoven Tweed for Bag

4heartsnhands — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 17:05:08 +0000

My dear friend Ruth went to Cranbrook in the 1940′s and became a weaver. She wove this Harris tweed for a suit for her father in Pittsburg. She generously gave me this remnant. “What remains” has become a knitting bag for my daughter Diana. Beautiful.

A Secret Garden

4heartsnhands — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 03:03:12 +0000

“Step back and inward, into the secret garden nestled in the center of your being.” (from Elizabeth’s weekly reading, Dec. 4, 2011) www.loveslonging.com

Before i got around to looking at the entirety of the Dec. 4 reading, i started making a little black and white drawing in a blank book, maybe 3 inches square or so. Some time later in the week after 3 or 4 drawings, i noticed the above sentence and realized that is what these little drawings are: secret gardens. Here is Dec. 10; nothing special, but i seem to be inclined to drawing organic forms.

Walnut Leaf Prints

4heartsnhands — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 02:33:44 +0000

I am excited with last week’s dye project…a folded, rolled, and tied bundle of raw silk in the old marigold with copper dyepot. Folded up in the cloth were black walnut leaves that I had saved in the freezer.