chroma projects

This past week was spent  cleaning, painting, and furnishing my new studio/gallery space at Chroma Projects downtown Charlottesville. I am proud and excited to be part of this vibrant art gallery and its community of artists. Initially I will primarily use this space to show my current work and to meet prospective customers. Eventually I am hoping to create a working studio or at least a sacred place where I can quietly think up new ideas, away from the demands and distractions of my home studio.

I will be in place for First Friday, Charlottesville's gallery opening night, on May 6 from 5 - 8, and I would love to see you! The main gallery will show beautiful drawings by Beverly Ress,  paintings by Paula Christman, and the black box will feature the film The Alexander Veil by Lydia Moyer.

On a different note, my friend Lily pruned her Japanese maple tree this weekend. Guess who received the trimmings? I see a big dye pot brewing in the near future...

avocado dip

Chopped up a bunch of avocado skins, added the pits, and set it all to simmer. Once strained the concoction made a surprising dye bath - the cloths came out maroon/rust/dusty pink pending on kind. While I had the pots on the stove I could not resist making a few bundles filled with fresh spring leaves, such as japanese maple, redbud, and roses... A wonderful end to a wonderful day. Happy spring.

willie

For my lovely husband's recent birthday I bought him a pair of willies. The jeans arrived bundled in craft paper and tied with ribbons made of denim remnants. They are dark blue, slightly rigid to the touch, with simple and subtle design details. Thanks to great communication and customer service, the fit of the jeans was perfect. The care instructions are clear and straight forward – wear often, wash not so often...

I have long admired Nashville based imogene + willie (I have featured them here before).  The clothing company is the brain child of Carrie and Matt Eddmenson, located in an old gas station where their beautiful pieces are created on site, utilizing American made materials as well as local talent and craftsmanship. I am hoping to visit in person on my way to Shakerag this summer. My mind is set on a pair of imogenes...

special books

In the age of rampant electronic development, handmade books seem so contemplative, tactile, and necessary. I love handmade books and book artists (you know who you are; velma, lindsey, julia, and jean just to name a few). I have several lovingly created journals. They sit in a stack on my desk and I often leaf through them and touch their covers. None of them have been used by me. My scribbles and doodles doesn't seem worthy of their beauty. I am simply afraid to mess them up...

My fabric covered moleskine books were born from this fear. Somehow it seems less precious to write in a journal that can be replaced. I love making these covers, especially the eco dyed ones. Each of them becomes a small piece of art that can come along in my purse.

But now I am dreaming of making other books, more like the one we made in India's class this summer (pictured above). A book with surprises hidden among its pages; a pressed leaf, a charcoal rubbing, fabric pages, and small pockets. Maybe even a scribble or two...

self promotion

Maketing, publicity, and pr are concepts that I struggle with. I am just not good at beating my own drum or tooting my own horn. But I do like to present myself and my work in a way that reflect who I am and what I create. Recently I decided to make some larger format cards instead of standard buisness cards. They were printed at my favorite local press in black ink on recycled card stock, and each of them will be adorned with a leaf print on the front. Even though more time consuming, it feels important to leave behind a small sample of my work for prospective customers to look at and consider.

Speaking of promotion... I recently listed a new piece in the etsy shop that I really like. It is a textile collage of eco printed linen and silk, hand stitched and mounted on a small stretched canvas. I call it whisper, because the imagery is barely there, it seems to be floating under the fabric surface.

Lastly, my garden blog is revived. The garden is such a huge inspiration in my life and my work, and I am glad I finally got back to documenting the exciting things that always happens there. Happy spring!

Japan

My heart aches. The devastation from the earthquake in Japan is beyond comprehension. Sending thoughts of compassion and monetary aid is one way to cope. Taking a deep breath to cherish our own uneventful, safe existence is another. Sharing a glimpse of amazing Japanese art is one more way to celebrate this country of beauty and inspiration.

Japanese asa boro. Photo courtesy of  Sri Threads.

Vessel by Mihara Ken 

Kan, winter kimono by Itchiku Kubota

suzanna's mystery quilt

This quilt belongs to my friend Suzanna Bryan who asked me to put a sleeve on its back so she can hang it on the wall in her beautiful Virginia farm house. Well it is not a quilt per se. It has no batting, and no backing. It is machine pieced together, but the rest of the work is done entirely by hand. Every person, creature, shape, and line is hand appliqued and embroidered.

It may not even be that old, but I adore it. I love the color, the texture, and the story it is trying to tell. Something important is being created at the center of the piece, involving lots of man power, stately animals, and guardians. Neither Suzanna nor I know the quilts origin. She bought it from an antique dealer in Charlottesville, several years ago.

It is intriguing and while we were looking at it together our imagination was running wild. Afghani possibly? Is the larger than life figure near the building site a friend or a foe? Is that women hiding under the cloaks while traveling by donkey?

Do you know what this could be?

random ramblings

The past two weeks have gone by in a blur as I finished up a large order for Terrain. Even though I am excited about the work and love how everything turned out, it was an enormous undertaking for me, and it left me feeling a bit guilty for abandoning other aspects of my life.

In the meantime I realized that over 5000 kind individuals now favor my shop on etsy. No. 5000 was MonkiVintage, which is a great little vintage store with beautiful well priced items, stunningly photographed. 5000 is a big number. Thanks to all of you!

large metal L, from MonkiVintage

Lastly, I have a blogger question. Everyday I run across new wonderful blogs, and I have a long list of old time favorites, but I have yet to come up with a good way to keep up with everyone. I know I can seek out blogs I follow through my dashboard, but it still requires logging in and I just don't do it often enough. Do you have ideas for how to easily get updated when there are new posts on your favorite blogs?

I wish everyone a wonderful week ahead!

hard to resist

Even though I am in the midst of this big production crunch, I took some time off this weekend for a dye pot experiment. Since fresh leaves are so scarce now I wanted to try to create a resist print using leaflets from the evergreen nandina shrub (thank you India for the suggestion). For the dye color I mixed hibiscus tea and red onion skins, fully expecting a wine color, or pale maroon. Instead I got the most beautiful dark brown color, especially on the wool fabric (below). I love surprises.

I had mixed results with the resist prints. It worked well on the fabric near the surface, but I realized that I don't know how to get the dye color to penetrate the bundles to create the contrast deeper inside... But that is what I love about this process — there is always something new to learn, and frequently the  results are still quite magical. In this case I was amazed by the deep color, and the soft suggestions of the leaves. And those string marks are pretty cool. Happy valentines day everyone. Spread the love...

back in business

After some pondering and serious planning I have decided to return to the wholesale market this spring. I am excited about the prospect of offering the inleaf line to a larger audience and to connect with store and gallery owners across the country. I am starting small with just a few pieces, created in a sustainable and eco friendly manner using the best natural materials and quality craftsmanship. The collection will grow as the weather turns warmer allowing for more leaf printing and dyeing.

I am looking for retail partners who appreciate the unique and handmade quality of my work. If you are a store or gallery owner I welcome you to browse my online line sheet or contact me directly with any requests. I want to extend a thank you to o' suzannah and terrain, two wonderful stores who already are representing my work!