I am not cleaning the dye studio. I can't face going in there right now. It is so horrible that I can't face even opening the door. There are piles of stuff waiting for a yard sale. There are piles of stuff waiting to be put away. There are winter clothes that need to be boxed up or if I wait long enough, I can wear them again without putting them all the way away.What I am going to do is the old "dangle pretty fabric in front of their faces" trick which works well to make people forget what they were going to do or say. I can't actually believe that you were looking forward to seeing the dye studio like that anyway. What's the matter with you people? Don't you have enough messes to look at without coming here to see my crazy ways???
Okay- so the fabric above was a project I did about 2 years ago. 4 yards of habotai silk that had been dyed a medium brown. I gathered it by hand and stitched it nui shibori style.
Next step was to apply the medium brown dye with a paint brush as you can see. With habotai silk, you really do not need to apply very much dye as it takes it so easily and spreads like mad.
Done dyeing. Once this was dry, I then painted on a diluted application of gold metallic Jacquard Textile Paint.
One very cool thing about Jacquard Textile Paints is that when they interact with dye that has not been rinsed out, they can produce a lovely halo of color due to wicking and pushing and pulling of all the elements of the paint with dye.
Finished. This is going to be a part of a fiber art project that will be suspended from a bamboo rod. There will be gold braid and gold beads threaded in and out of the piece with a focal point that I do not want to give away quite yet because it is still being formulated in my mind as to how to construct the ding dang thing.
I find that while an art piece is in this phase it is best to keep my mind centered on the intention of the piece before I talk about it too much because I loose myself other wise. It's an odd thing. I've never talked to any other artists about this before- it has to do with my own personal difficulties with allowing people to help me.
Often as a child if I needed help, whatever it was I was working on was taken away and finished by some well meaning adult. That was NOT what I needed or was asking for, if you know what I mean. As a result, I found that asking for help was not a good thing so I learned to finish things myself even if it meant doing a terrible job of it. Many times, however, it came out great and the satisfaction of doing it all myself was fantastic. Anyway- the main point being that even talking about a problem I am having with a fiber art piece can be risky because then it becomes someone else's statement or someone else's intention, if that makes sense. Sometimes that is a wonderful addition and sometimes it cancels out the experience for me. I am trying to get better about this and have had some break throughs with my awesome critique group.
Can anyone relate to this?
Anyway. I can't seem to get myself down to clean so I can work/play. Maybe next week.
Thanks for looking.
10 comments:
"It is so horrible that I can't face even opening the door" - that would also describe my sewing room! I really need to think about why it is that I start projects and then don't finish them. It's been a bad habit.
The project you're working on sounds interesting. And I can understand why you don't want to discuss the process as you are working on it. That can be distracting from what your vision for the piece is.
One question about the dyeing and painting of the silk: did you not wash out the dye after you painted it? Or did you heat set the paint and then wash the dye out of it? Just curious. Your results are intriguing.
Take care. Glad to see you're busy.
Kristin F. in SC
Hi Kristin F,
I did not rinse this fabric before painting. Then after the paint is dry, I iron it and do not wash it because most of the black halo disappears at that point and since this is an art piece, it doesn't need to be rinsed. There isn't any soda ash in the mix either for this particular recipe.
As for the not finishing thing, for me that can be multifaceted as to why I do that: 1) What if it fails to meet my expectations? 2) What will I do after this one if it comes out spectacularly spectacular? So it's both a fear of failure and a fear of success. And there's a third reason- 3) I get bored with ideas pretty easily so if it satisfies a question I have, then I'm done or if it's flat out unexciting or uninspiring then I quit as well.
I don't think leaving things unfinished is necessarily a bad thing....let's ponder that one some more, KF.
I have recently shown work in progress to several artists whose work and opinions I respect. Their feedback was useful but I found myself arguing afterwards with some of it.
My confidence fails me at times like this. I knew what I wanted to convey in the piece but am finding that with time and changes I'm wondering whether the 'message' has changed, too?
Bottom line is that you have to make statements that are personal to you only. Feedback is helpful at times but when it doubt, leave it and come back later.
Changing the message is okay too! Sometimes not even having a message is fine because you are exploring a technique to research and later develop. IT'S ALL GOOD. Even crap art is good if it expresses/communicates something-anything.
What isn't good, in my humble opinion, is: 1)to be counterfeit; to falsley advertise yourself as something you are not and 2) to steal an idea/concept/technique. Not okay.
How'd I get on to that line of thought???? You were talking about changing the message.
I can't focus today. Maybe if I just go clean the studio I'll be okay. I keep dancing around it. And then around it some more.
Hi Marjie,
Thanks for your reply to my query. I will have to try that sometime. I think you really got an interesting result with your technique.
All 3 of the reasons you mentioned for not completing projects apply to me as well. It is something to ponder. There are other factors at work as well, as you might imagine. Don't want to bore you...
I do have 2 requests for small commissioned items - a purse and also a pillow sham with photo montages printed on fabric. Haven't started on either yet, but if I don't want to embarrass myself, I'd better get busy!
Hope you are staying cool! It is unseasonably hot here, as it is for much of the east coast.
Kristin F.
P.S. For some reason, the "visual verification" word does not show up, so it takes a few trys to successfully enter a comment!
That happens for me too. Don't know why or what I can do about it. I thought it was just my screen that was doing it....any ideas how to fix it anyone???
Testing one two three
Hum! That took care of it. NOw if someone dufus comes in here and posts an advertisement, I'm going to come after them with my hot wax.
Hi Marjie, et al,
I, too, have the problem in knitting and sewing with UFO's (unfinished objects). I have come to realize that I am a "process" knitter not a "project" knitter.
I get excited about a project until I master the process then I let it sit and sit and sit. I now go to my UFO stash and give it new life by taking the yarn or fabric and give it away to someone to make something for charity.
I then don't feel so bad about the UFO or the money spent as it is going to a good cause. Plus it cleans out my closets!!
Jackie
PS - I always seem to finish my projects with Marjie. They are really out of my comfort zone and knowledge area. They have been a great addition to developing my fiber artist techniques.
Good comments, Jackie. My daughter is also a knitter and is forever knitting and then removing, knitting and unraveling. She enjoys the process and learning the new skills and has no qualms about not having a finished product. In fact, she is fairly fanatical about not making new art that clutters up the world. It's a concept that I find refreshing.
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