Laundry Day

I've quite a pile of printed fabric from this printing week. These could wait months for me to wash out, but I need them this month for a few lectures and workshops throughout May. Who packs clothes when you can pack fabric?

Keep It Simple

This silkscreen image came from painting soy wax on my screen. Simple, direct, and best, shows the simple mark making that translates to "handmade." You see it as it is wet, the finish will be a shade lighter.

Pink Me, Pink Me

I've been printing with pink for days now. Perhaps that's why this saucer magnolia bloom had me swoon. Highland Park, the perfect evening to see this spectacle. And I mean spectacle. If you're near this Rochester gem of a park, go see for yourself.

Friday's To Do List

Our critique group met Friday and I offered a couple of small works (yet to be quilted) up for discussion. These are bound for the Quilt Surface Design Symposium at the end of May in Columbus, Ohio. Let's see if I can get these under the needle soon!

Time for (Someone Else's) Art

My walls are full of my work, but I am a softy for bold graphic color. So, I break down now and again and actually purchase real art. Today I brought home two works by Judy Gohringer. Happy to own more art. Though I may have to build more walls.

Stacking Up

As I can now get a few days in the wet studio I'm making good use of my drying rack. I find it is so much easier to get these prints laying flat instead of hanging them on a line. The Styrofoam insulation boards are just perfect as they are light, rigid, and washable. Wish I could take these with me when I teach.

Word Has It

Today's mail had word that this work was not accepted in the Sapphire Celebration Contest for the International Quilt Festival. Although I'm a bit taken aback (who wouldn't want this?) I'm happy to have it hang around with me and not travelling for three years. Lesson learned -- don't enter contests against traditional quilts. Cause this ain't one.

Sampler

Several demonstration pieces from my last printing class made it home with me. I decided to wash them out, iron, and see what I could make of them. These are always interesting to me because they are done quickly, layer over layer, and with no set idea of design or flow. But that is exactly why I like them. Improv at its best.

Happy Earth Day

I vaguely remember the first Earth Day in 1970. I was in High School and the concern for the environment had new meaning. Now the stakes are so much higher. And the awareness for treating the earth with kindness so critical. Maybe we should have Earth Year. Every year.

Graffiti On the Wall

Funny that we should end the "On Your Mark -- Print" class that dealt with mark making and free drawn line. This section of wall from the early 1800s is in the Dewolf Tavern in Bristol, Rhode Island. Someone had a bold stroke, a bit of pigment, and free time. Glad it was preserved for us to ponder.

Better When Wet

The first lesson to learn is that the print and dye always always always looks great when first printed because it's wet. When dry, and before washing it's all right, but the washout is the true test for the color's vibrancy. This pile is just superb for color -- rich, varied, and strong. From the last day of printing.