two more scarves done

It was hot and rainy today - probably 75 degrees; I changed to a short sleeved t-shirt before I went out. Crazy! Also, with all the heaters and fans going to get rid of the dampness, it is about 85 degrees in this house. I have the doors and windws open, but it is muggy.

I stole a couple of hours in the studio this afternoon and printed a couple of graffiti scarves. They pretty much express how I was feeling today. 

Brought my dyes home because tomorrow I'm not sure whether I will get to the studio.

 Tonight, I came across these relics: 1958, I think for the fallout shelter booklet. And 1961 for what to eat in the bomb shelter - LOL.  Ah, the simplicity of the Cold War.  We were still in the age of innocence.

mid-week check in

I faced one quilt and am almost finished with the facing on the second one.  Here is the back of the second one - it is my dropcloth.  I figure that if nobody likes the front, I can always keep printing on this backing and make IT the front.

Most of the time I don't care what's on the back -- although some of my best friends are not happy unless the back is somehow related to the front.

I am trying to organize my time: a new concept for me.  I have decided that mornings will be for miscellaneous non-art related tasks.  And then, come hell or high water (and sometimes both) I get my butt out the door to the studio.  Today, I didn't get out till way after lunch and then I had must-do errands I couldn't get to this morning.  But I did spend an hour at Franklin Street Studios, making marks on some scarves.  I have steamed them and they are in the dryer as we speak.

I am putting together a new lecture about working in a series, based somewhat on the conversation we had here about 3 years ago.  Since  nobody defines a series the same way, I would love it if any of you would send me examples of 2 or 3 different pieces you think belong to the same series.  I think audiences get awfully tired of just looking at my work when I speak.  Thanks in advance -- the resolution should be high since I am going to project them.  You know where to find me.

another studio day

Afternoon, anyway.  I printed a couple more scarves - both of which need more work.  Tonight, between steaming, washing, ironing the silk and putzing around on the computer, I actually sewed facings on two sides of a quilt I finished earlier this year.  The other two remain to be stitched on and then I have to hand-stitch the rest.  yes, I know about fusing.

I am not the slightest bit embarrassed to put this butt-ugly silk up here because I want you to see what I go through when I print.  First, I dyed it.  Then I deconstructed on it (the fine lines didn't show up very well).  It was still ugly, so I discharged through a screen and printed on top.  Nothing helped - although if you are a redhead, I suspect it may work for you.  However, I will go back in again and do something - either add or overdye or both.  But not tomorow: I am teaching a thermofax class.

The scarf says (among other things), "If you wish good advice consult your mother."  I once had a customer who was about to buy a gorgeous scarf (not this one) till she spotted that line. She had had an unhappy childhood and disliked her mother intensely.  She picked out another scarf.  Guess I had better use that phrase judiciously!


Past bedtime and I need to be bright and shiny at 9:am.  Hope to post pix tomorrow night.

nothing about nothing

I think the sun came out yesterday but I spent the day clearing the decks. Got rid of dust and papers from my husband's desktop in the bedroom - and in the process, found his high school honor society certificate, his army discharge papers (which would qualify as mid-century modern if they were furniture) and untold envelopes of things that needed to be shredded.  My shredder is about to self-destruct from all the activity.


Raining again, so still no walk in the morning: I don't mind the cold but I draw the line at wet.  Lots of lines drawn this week...and it's only Monday.


I escaped to the studio today.  On Saturday I made a few screens and left them to dry.  Today, I printed...but somehow only managed to get three scarves finished.  I think I have lost my touch.  Nonetheless, I brought them home to steam and now they are washed and ironed. I am very low on inventory and have to order more from Dharma.  I need a bunch for our open studios on Nov. 7th. All those layers - so time-consuming; I must be out of my mind.

While I was at it, I used up the dye paste with soda ash in it and overprinted a few scraps of fabric that were ugly.  They did not improve, but tomorrow is another day.

It took me forever to get out of the house this morning. I was on my way out when the handyman arrived to close the window in the bedroom.  It's the kind that opens out and when it was balmy last week, I opened the window all the way.  Then the opener thingie came off the track and it wouldn't close.But I couldn't take the screen off to get at it because the gizmos holding the shade up there interfered and needed to be taken off.  However, I couldn't reach them.  So there we were over the weekend, freezing cold and damp because of the rain - and no way to close the window. 


Last night, I finally silenced the whining from the other side of the bed by throwing my first quilt on my husband's side.It weighs about 10 pounds, with double layers of polyester batting.Ugly but warm.

Tonight, all the windows are closed.  Not my choice, but there it is.

Jessica is in Chicago at the American Magazine Conference but I will visit Miss Emma on Sunday.  A surprise package for Emma arrived from my French cousins today -- une petite robe française, taille un an.Maybe from Baby Gap Paris??  We'll see.  Meantime, Emma has her first tooth, hates chicken (girl after my own heart) and is enjoying her high-tech, expensive playhouse.

I was greatly heartened by this, since my own kids played with measuring cups and spoons and pot lids and threw a blanket over two chairs to make a fort.  


Midnight - I am turning into a squash. 

It really IS Friday!!

Finally, caught up with my wishful thinking. Benedicte is here and we had an interesting afternoon -- well at least a couple of hours -- playing with soy wax and silk in the studio. We went back into a couple of scarves that I was not entirely happy with (that is an understatement). The "before" pictures weren't even worth taking, but here they are in the second round. The first one, Benedicte went back into with more wax and more color and it is a great combination of colors. Makes me look like a bad embalming job but it would be gorgeous on the right person. The other was deadly but is livelier with the black hieroglyphics and varied background. Trust me, these are greatly improved. You can't miss by going back into something you're not happy with.

Tomorrow, we're off to our class with Jan Myers-Newbury. We've loaded the car with buckets and PVC tubes and we'll try to post tomorrow if we are still standing.

I kept thinking it was Friday

but it appears not, since tomorrow is Friday. This afternoon I spent a few hours in the studio, working on some scarves with my newest tjaps...or at least one of them. I realize as I look at this one that it is all in the dye painting. I did another one with the same tjap and it is just boring. Click on this one to see it bigger. I had to leave early for an appointment, so a few of them need to be gone back into. Perhaps tomorrow, if I have time. I am getting ready for my shibori class with Jan Myers-Newberry and have to make sure I have all the equipment I will need for the three day class that begins on Sat. Benedicte Caneill arrives tomorrow and we'll hit Home Despot for some PVC pipe. Sherryl Buchler asked me to bring scarves, so I have spent time tonight ironing (with the new green iron, of course) and folding several of them to take with me. I mentioned books last night: I sat up till 2 a.m. to finish Sarah's Key, by Tatiana de Rosnay. Couldn't put it down. And while I'm on a renewed Halsman kick, I ordered Halsman at Work. I think my parents have the book, but I figured I should have my own copy just in case. Written by Yvonne & Philippe, it is interesting because they talk about their interaction with their subjects, including Woody Allen, Marilyn Monroe, and Nixon. Insights into their true characters; fascinating tidbits and personal observations. It is out of print, of course, but I found an inexpensive copy on-line. I am really happy that my doctor called to cancel my appointment for tomorrow morning. What a sweetheart! She called tonight to tell me her office had double-booked and she was so booked that I'd have to wait for an hour or more. Instead, she offered me another day. Can you believe it???? Most doctors would let you come in and cool your heels forever; that's why I left my last doctor for this one. So, I can sleep late, get up and make my lasagna and maybe even have time to go back into a scarf of two before Benedicte arrives. These are dark-chocolate covered espresso beans from Trader Joe's. I am going through this chocolate thing and ate about five of these a little while ago, as if they were going out of style. However, since all that caffeine has failed to make a dent, I figure it is time to turn in. Anon.

the eyes have it

This out of focus picture of scarves drying will give you an idea of how everything looked to me for a good part of the day. The retinologist super-dilated my eyes at 8:am and it's a good thing Marty insisted on coming with me. I could not have driven home. Back of my eye is swollen, so 2 different kinds of drops for 4 weeks and hopefully, it will go down. We came home and I lay down for a nap mid-morning: what else could I do? This afternoon was Marty's turn to go to the eye specialist. He drove, I navigated. I hate to say it was the blind leading the blind, but that was more or less the story. By tonight, my world is pretty much back to what passes for normal. Last night I finished taste-testing that wonderful dark chocolate we bought at Trader Joe's a couple of weeks ago. See? Empty wrappers. I think the chocolate from Ecuador was the winner. The Venezualen chocolate was excellent - but the stuff from Ecuador was more bitter - my preference. But just to make sure I'm not wrong, I need to go back and buy some more to double-check. I finally plugged in the new iron tonight because I needed to iron one of the scarves I had washed. I ironed this chiffon scarf while it was wet because it shrinks in the dryer, so I didn't need to use steam. It was fine. I have another iron that won't work unless it is on steam - annoying. The tjaps I wasn't going to buy any more of, arrived today. I'll take them to the studio tomorrow and play around with them on another scarf. Oh, good. Here they are. Very geometric. My eyes are closing - I was up till 2:am finishing a book I couldn't put down. Will get to the books tomorrow. I have another early app't.

content no longer relevant

While I have learned not to take it personally when my work is not accepted into a juried exhibition, I have not yet learned to do the same when someone unsubscribes from my blog. Feedblitz feels it is necessary to let me know when someone has unsubbed - and WHY. Why am I wounded to the quick when someone opts out of receiving my updates? God knows I have done the same -- when I am overwhelmed, when I am consistently bored with a blog, or when in fact, I no longer find the content relevant to my life or interests. So why should I take it personally when someone leaves my blog for the same reasons? Sigh... I guess I am haunted by the comment about my content. What is no longer relevant about it? Is it too personal? Does it stray too far from ART topics? Do I show too much of my work in process -- or not enough? Or, after 4 yrs of blogging, have I become redundant? Not thoughtful enough? Too superficial? Second-guessing is an exercise in futility, so I shall move on.

Another day in the studio and a scarf commission. But here is the problem when somebody says "I want THAT one" and it is already sold. They say "make me one like it." But there is no such thing. You can maybe put some of the same elements into another piece (and this is not just scarves, but any artwork - right?) - but it will never be the one they fell in love with that was already taken. So for those of you who do commissions, how do you deal with it? I left a bunch drying - but one of a kind is one of a kind. In the meantime, the scarves are not only a change of pace, they are major avoidance. I have two pieces needing to be stitched and I have not been in the mood. Maybe once my right eye is back to normal, I will be in a better mood to sew. I have been to the eye doctor so often that one of my friends asked whether I was having an affair with him. SNORT. Friday, Monday, and now tomorrow I am seeing the retinologist because I have a swollen macula - a side effect of my Sept. cataract surgery. Fun, fun, fun. Winter has crashed into New Jersey - there was a dusting of snow on the cars early this morning; gone by the time I was up and out. But winter jacket, clogs:-( and gloves are now the order of the day. Bleh. Today, I brought my own homemade soup for lunch - the Caribbean health food place is still shuttered. Meanwhile, back at the house...there may be a freeze warning for tonight, but I can still pretend it is warm as I water my asparagus fern. Look at these red berries: does anybody know whether they are just decorative or are seeds or what? (Can you tell I'm plant-challenged?). Funny that they only appear after I've brought the plant indoors. I mean, what blooms in November?The titanium-sole-plated Panasonic iron I ordered from Amazon arrived today. Sarah Ann Smith raved so much about hers, to which nothing reportedly sticks, that I decided I needed one, too. After all, nobody can have too many irons. Now I just have to decide whether I use it here or take it to the studio. Ok, now I understand why that person ditched my blog. Who on earth wants to hear about irons? Time for some dark chocolate.

I always come home ravenous after my printmaking class on Monday nights. It must be the stress of having to plan ahead to make those prints. Last week's assignment was to glue leaves and twigs to a plate and print. After crawling around on the ground outside the studio and picking up some things I hoped were not poisonous, I trudged upstairs and tried to glue them to a piece of board and slathered gel medium over everything. Have you ever attempted to glue dried leaves and twigs down flat? All I can say is "don't." After going through all that work, I'm not sure the results were worth it. I think I like the immediacy of monoprinting better - but I'm keeping an open mind. These two were not too bad, but the first two ended up in the trash. All I could think was this: "if this were fabric, I could wash it out." But when I tried to wash out the first ugly print, it didn't work. I wonder why. I am washing some chiffon scarves I batik'd this morning at the studio after dyeing them the other night at home. I ask myself why I do this - it is so much work. At least, the way I do scarves, because there are so many layers. Am I nuts? Anyway, here is one I was working on today. Since I hate pink, I can't imagine how it ended up that color. I think the scarf gods were trying to challenge me. Eeewwwww After dye-painting what seemed like several thousand layers till I was happy, here is what it looks like now. And then another pink one that I batik'd, dyed, discharged, and overdyed. I think it's done. Same deal as in my previous post - pre-Thanksgiving sale $60 -postage included. Silk chiffon - machine wash, hang to dry. And now, it is an ungodly hour so I am going to bed.

soup pot

The American West Indian Health Food & Juice Cafe around the corner from my studio (left) makes the most wonderful soup, and in the winter one or the other of us often makes a soup run at lunchtime. Thursday morning just after 9:30, when I passed the place, the metal shutter was down. It worried me a bit that with the bad economy, they had gone out of business- especially since they rarely seem to have any other customers. Since it was cold and rainy, it was perfect soup weather, but when I got there, the metal shutter was still down. What a disappointment. Friday morning's police blotter explained it: I had just missed the narcs, who had raided the place at 9:am Thursday and confiscated $40,000 worth of marijuana. No wonder the soup was so good!!! And no wonder they stayed in business despite the paucity of soup customers - LOL. Suspects were charged with possession with intent to distribute, within 1,000 ft of a school, within 500 ft of a park, and conspiracy. They are being held on $75,000 bail. The police called it good teamwork but I am tempted to e-mail them and complain. There is another Caribbean place a bit further away but who knows if they have good soup??

On another note - I spent yesterday (studio) and today (home) dyeing and printing scarves. Here are three that are finished. They are 15"x60" china silk and have already been through the washer and dryer, so they are worry-free. Click on them for a closer look.

red and yellow are SOLD

one week later

This is what I see in the morning. If you've been watching the woods behind my house with me, you know what they looked like a week ago. The lush, vibrant leaves are gone and in their place, a whole different (and I think, more interesting) view. There is something about this spare, monochromatic scene that I find more exciting than the woods at any other time of year. Ironic, since I hate the cold weather. It is this view that speaks most loudly to my heart - and capturing its essence continues to elude me - although I work at it constantly. Is there something you keep trying to capture without doing it photographically? A scene? A concept? An image? A feeling? Or have you succeeded and moved on? I spent today in the studio, dyeing scarves. Most of them have only the color and are waiting to be printed. However, I did finish one --or at least it is finished for the time being. Deconstructed and dye painted, it makes me think of old wall. Tomorrow, I hope to print on the scarves I dyed today.