just words

I have some technical problems with my photo managing software (I still love you, sweet mac...), so this will be my first post without pictures. Much is going on over here, worthy of sharing.

I've introduced a weekly shop update in the etsy store. Every Tuesday morning, I will list a handful of new handcrafted pieces. Most of them will be one-of-a-kinds, and most of them are truly new, not re-lists. Check in tomorrow for this weeks goodies.

I am happily experimenting with soy milk mordants, and natural plant dyeing per Ms. India's inspiration. I am amazed by the beautiful, subtle colors I have achieved so far. This is what I meant to post about, so look for more once the photo issue is resolved.

Lastly, we are taking off for Toronto next week. Can't wait to see this beautiful city, taste its foods, stroll by the waters edge, and visit with friends!

Photo no. 10

Last week I was tagged by Hannah with the challenge to post and tell the story behind the tenth photo in my first picture folder. Here it is. This picture of the back of our house was published in Metropolitan Home's January 2002 issue as part of their reader's house renovation competition. We had finished a major kitchen redo the summer before, and were so happy with the result and to have survived the project (3 months with a microwave and a hotplate, dishes done in the bathroom sink), that we decided to enter the competition. We did not win the grand prize, but we were finalists and our kitchen and the house was featured in the magazine. The kitchen still looks good, and the bad renovation memories have faded by now.

I am supposed to pass on the honor. Here are the rules for this fun tag:

1. open your first folder of pictures
2. scroll to the tenth picture
3. post the photo and the story behind it
5. tag 5 more people

and here are the friends now on the line:

maria, jess, jenny, charlotta, and rachel

remnants

remnant |ˈremnənt|

noun
a small remaining quantity of something.
• a piece of cloth or carpeting left when the greater part has been used or sold.
• a surviving trace : a remnant of the past.

When I cleaned out the studio recently I was amazed to discover how much wonderful stuff I had stowed away. Ever since I launched inleaf, some six or seven years ago, I have accumulated an array of fabrics, notions, and threads. Much of it still waiting for a purpose and a plan. I have saved the tiniest scraps and the ugliest dye samplers, always thinking it may be of use some day. I have boxes of rejected leaf prints. Things that did not work for its intended purpose, for one reason or another. Most of them are lovely and deserves a better destiny. Some will be incorporated into art quilts or fiber collages. Some are becoming beautiful objects in their own right. I have enjoyed the process of planning the perfect use for a particular print, and spending time and effort into making it special. Here are a few pieces that will be listed on the website and in the etsy shop this week. More will come, salvaging discarded beauties is a new mission.

rumination and dreams, part 3

I want a place of my own, imagining a storefront studio near Charlottesville's downtown mall, just a few blocks away from our house. I am thinking exposed brick walls, rough hewn beams, tall ceilings, lots of white, lots of light. The front would showcase my art and my goods. I would invite others artist friends to display theirs as well, to provide a nice selection of locally made, handcrafted beauty. The back is to be my studio with big tables and room to spread out, with plenty of storage space for inventory and supplies. This will be a place to meet with customers and clients, and the work process will become public to demonstrate what handmade is all about. I will hire help to manage the store and assist with production. The dream goes on...

bookhou

radiance

Inspiration comes from many places. Arounna Khounnoraj and John Booth's Bookhou in Toronto seems like a perfect artistic venue, so does Hannah Nunn's Radiance in West Yorkshire, UK, and then there are places like Imogene + Willie in Nashville and The Barn Swallow in Ivy, Virginia... It can be done, and it can be done well. For now this remains the most unrealistic part of my hopes and aspirations (for more look here and here). We lack the capital and the time necessary to pull something like this off, and I already have a wonderful, light filled studio just a few steps from my bedroom. But dreaming and scheming is free, and maybe someday when everything is aligned, a space like one of these will be mine.

Lastly, thank you good morning – midnight for featuring my seedpod pillow on your beautiful blog last week.

contentment

Quiet morning. The sun is streaming into the studio. It's warmth feels good after many long days of grayness and snow. My beloved, old, ragged kitty next to me. Lots of things on my plate, but still time to cherish a moment of solitude and peace. This troublesome quilt demands finishing, there are orders to fill, and a much needed restocking of inventory, both for the shop and The Barn Swallow. I am ready to delve into it all with a contented heart.

india flint

Images courtesy of India Flint. All rights reserved.

Prophet of bloom, is the name of her couture clothing line. She calls her blog not all those who wander are lost. These names exemplifies the imagination, travel lust, and free spirit of Australian born fiber artist India Flint. She is the queen of color; both vivid and subtle, faded and stark, and sometimes beautifully muddy and murky, all derived from plants and other natural materials. Threading light on this earth, and only using what is necessary, is India Flint's guiding light and it is evident throughout the artistic process. Even her preferred mordants, the fixatives used to make the dyes bonds with the fibers, are from natural origins.

I recently got India's book eco colour and am intrigued by the possibilities her techniques bring using leaves and flowers from our own back yards. Most plants are fair game, although some are more reliable than others (and be ware of the poisonous ones). Besides mordants, factors like water quality and what kind of vessel used, will affect the final outcome of the dye bath. The book includes vast plant lists, as well as safety and care instructions. It does not provide many exact recipes, instead it encourages the readers to experiment on their own using the book as a guide, and to celebrate unexpected results.

Image courtesy of India Flint. All rights reserved.

For her own fashion line, India Flint has developed a technique called eco-printing where leaves are layered with mordanted cloth, and then bundled up and treated with moisture, heat, or just time, depending on the preferred outcome. The result is magical impressions left behind by the natural pigments in the plant.

Image courtesy of India Flint. All rights reserved.

India is sharing her knowledge by teaching classes all over the world. This summer she will give two week long workshops at Shakerag, in Sewanee, Tennessee. I am currently on the waiting list for the first class, and although I do not wish for any of the current participants to miss this wonderful opportunity, I am secretly hoping that a spot will open up. I would love to meet India Flint, learn from her, and experiment alongside her.

Image courtesy of India Flint. All rights reserved.

sanibel

We made it there and back, despite bad weather and airline chaos. The weather was cold, by Florida standards, but 50 degree days seemed like a balmy paradise to us coming from snow country. Sanibel is a beautiful island, quiet and welcoming. We filled our visit with beach walks, shell hunting, delicious meals, reading, bird watching, wine sipping, and more beach walking. It is amazing how re-juvinating a few days away, without responsibilities and schedules can be.

hearts for haiti

Oh' Suzannah, one of my absolute favorite Charlottesville shops, is making a contribution to help the Haitian earthquake victims, by selling these precious hand felted hearts. Suzannah, the owner, and her crafter friends have made dozens of them in a collaborate effort to reach out and help Haitians in need. By buying one or two, you can make a contribution as well. The hearts sell for $10 - 20 and all proceeds from the sales will go towards the relief and rebuilding effort in Haiti. I can't imagine a better valentine token.

getaway

My lovely husband and I are supposed to arrive here tomorrow night, for a short, but much needed getaway. Considering that Charlottesville is buried in snow, with more to come today, chances that we actually will get to Sanibel island, at least on time, are slim. But in my imagination I am already lounging in a deck chair overlooking the beach, sipping a glass of wine and lovingly holding my man's hand...

winter green

I just finished piecing this together this morning. The freshness of these leaf prints echoes the steady snowfall (yet again) outside. The leaves are printed on vintage linen, crisp yet smooth to the touch. I imagine layering it with soft flannel, and backing with dyed cotton. The piece will be hand quilted in white on the white cloth. There will be some kind of edging too, maybe in the palest, faintest shade of green, with more stitching in the same hue... Thinking, planning, and scheming is fun. The final work hardly ever turns out the way first envisioned. But that is fine too...

Our severe winter weather made me think of my wonderful illustrator and artist friend Charlotta from Sydney, Australia, where they right now are in the midst of summer. She recently honored me with the honest scrap award, in which you are supposed to reveal ten things about yourself. Since I received the same award in September (thank you Molly) I will refer back to that post if you want to learn about my secrets. Please visit Charlotta's beutiful blog to find out about hers.