woven
August 9, 2012
Author: Lee Thomson
partner, parent, artist, knitter, sailor, cyclist, sketcher, house painter, set designer, safety officer, itinerant equestrian, kite flyer, questions?
last quarter
August 9, 2012
via www.flickr.com
all kinds of blue
August 7, 2012
via www.flickr.com
The indigo experiment for the day above. Below, because I am getting to work on some commissions, I needed some sky and some ocean (Hi Jenny!).
Rather than submit to the vagaries of indigo, I used Inkodye, requiring heat or UV light to develop color. It is a different kind of magic: the fabric is soaked in a gray, muddy looking mixture of dye and water, then removed and set in the sun. As the fabric warms in the sun, the color develops, going from muddy to pinkish and purpleish and finally to deepening shades of blue.Parts of the fabric that are shaded do not develop, so it can be used for sunprinting, or with transparencies for very detailed prints.
I find Inkodye (along with almost everything else) at Dharma Trading. It comes in many colors, but I was most interested in the blues and greens.
darker?
August 6, 2012
via www.flickr.com
For no reason I can discern, the indigo vat is working better today. I don't know if it is threatening to modify it or ignoring it because of the heat, or even the heat? But things dipped today are definitely a much deeper color, which is making me happy.
I experimented with a sashiko pattern but it is kind of lumpy. I should draw it out better, and possibly also look up some others.
So, tomorrow, before I try new fabric in the indigo vat I shall threaten to ignore it for longer…
thicker white thread
August 5, 2012
via www.flickr.com
White thread on indigo makes me think of sashiko (not sashimi!) the Japanese mending and reinforcing stitch that has become an artform all its own. It is done by hand rather than machine, although I saw a dedicated machine last week that only emulates it.
I'm waiting on more indigo so I can rebalance the vat and get darker colors. In the meantime, I'm putting some different resists to see what among the easily available things in the house works.
Northampton on a Saturday
August 4, 2012
via www.flickr.com
Walked w/Kate, sushi for lunch, HOTHOTHOT and hazy and dreadful, I am cowering in the air conditioning wishing I could make my room cooler. It will get better soon.
I tried to get more indigo at the art store but they were out and dubious about their ability to get more soon. So I ordered some stuff from Dharma Trading and it will be here on Tuesday because they really rock.
thick blue lines
August 3, 2012
first august (blue) moon
August 2, 2012
via www.flickr.com
If there are two full moons in August, and this is the first, what color moon is it?
The indigo vat remains smelly and amusing.
indigo starts here!
August 1, 2012
via www.flickr.com
I started the indigo vat this afternoon. It is a lumpy, smelly chemical process even with a kit full of pre-measured and ready-mixed chemicals. I'm not entirely sure I'm doing it correctly, but some things have come out blue, so that is a good start.
This heart was unplanned serendipity, so I started here.
goofing with the bees
July 31, 2012
via www.flickr.com
I think this one is for Audrey – she who keeps bees and is (still, I think) obsessed with hexagons. The nut I had stubbed my toe on in the kitchen was hexagonal, so I was using it to blot paint off the plate, until I realized it had paint on it and I could transfer that onto another plate… So I did. Hence, hexagon. So to speak.
I sand with the Sacred Harp group again tonight. Last week I felt like I had a grip, this week I was seated next to a dubious person, and we were flailing more. It makes me wonder if my dad might come. The sight reading and the harmony might make him happy.
