Monday, February 28, 2011

eucalyptus

eucalyptus is a plant i have almost no knowledge of. here, in the north country of new york state, the most common eucalypt is the one seen in craft sections of big stores, often gaudy with weird pigments. local florists carry them, sometimes. yesterday i tried my second eucalyptus dyeing of the new year. (aimee sent me some lovely leaves from oakland.) i ordered some from whites's flowers. white's first got me tiny leaved eucalyptus, but it was't what i'd ordered. this week they emailed me: the silver dollar eucalyptus is in. i brought it home and have begun to work with it. yesterday i dyed a silk scarf and a piece of lokta. the silk is still wrapped, the lokta took up the dye in lovely ways, but the intense heat was a little hard on it.
it's a warm pinky tan with hints of green. subtle and fine.
some news:
this summer i will be teaching away from home, first at the morgan conservatory in cleveland at the end of june, and than in july on the northwest coast. details are still being worked out, but i will be in washington state, and portland, and even maybe british columbia!
and
i have had a couple of interesting requests: would i consider traveling to australia to teach. wow, she said. most certainly! maybe in summer (or there, winter) 2012.
eucalyptus on silk 
softly

11 comments:

  1. lovely images...i can see from the marks on the cloth that potential outcomes would benefit from tighter bundling. be as brutal as you can when tying on that string....

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  2. thanks! i will brutalize in the future. realize my hands are not accurate gauges for this after making the feather-light thread! must do self-talk!!!

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  3. and i use wide rubberbands when bundling, easier on the hands just a little. several bands to each bundle and evenly spaced, not all together.
    what are you thinking of teaching here? i have contacts.

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  4. i love the subtle colors. the peachy tones and the pale greens are lovely together. i am so happy to hear about your teaching engagements. exciting.

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  5. teaching this summer is exciting. thinking about teaching NEXT summer is very exciting and so far away...

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  6. Melbourne way? Maybe? Very exciting you have some teaching gigs...congratulations!

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  7. Exciting, to travel and teach. I like the eucalyptus dyeing, especially on silk. Hope the work week speeds by!

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  8. I'll keep my eyes and ears open for news of an oz visit (I promise if its within a coo-ee of sams creek I'll drop by and give you a big creek welcome to country!)

    and a big bunch of eucalypts too

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  9. sounds like someone's going to have lots of fun!!and you can prune all those australian eucalyptus to stumps(^_^)

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  10. Velma - I love the photo at the top, I love the images of the soft eucalypt dying and oh my! Do let us know where you get to in Oz, like Ronnie a warm welcome awaits up here too! PS love that you will make it to Portland - fab news for you and yours.

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