tatiana and frank

on our first day we prepared two traditional japanese dyestuffs, a leaf, and a bark. 

i learned about making two extractions, then mixing them together before they are used for dyeing. tatiana ginsberg straining dyestuff.

the amazing bill drendel.

brushing dye on kozo. dye-mordant-dye procedure in this case. melissa jay craig demoing.

drying mechanisms, lotus dyed kozo.

frank brannon pulling a sheet of overbeaten abaca.

one of the sculptural forms we experimented with.

i have already learned so much, dye practices that i can take to my own natural dyeing. new learning includes the use(s) of starches, mordants, dip and brush dyeing techniques, layering, drying techniques, over dyeing. this list continues. and then frank has some ideas about using pulp in three dimensions, an area i haven't been very successful with in the past. i made shapes as muslin armatures, and made shapes by inlaying plant parts in wet sheets and air drying allowing the pulp against the armature to form the shapes. i worked with overbeaten abaca, flax, hemlock spruce, and alabama kozo. i'm guessing hemlock spruce, which is dying out in the south, is just hemlock, but i will do a bit of research when i get home. 

tuesday morning

i woke to the sound of a fan (it's stifling without) and the sight of this industrious student of spinning working away. i don't much like spiders, but i respect them. here at p.b.i. i am trying to be as busy, and it's so easy to be distracted by the "everything" of this and not focus on the learning. i am about to go to class, and will try to take a few pics of the doings today. there's a crow rock concert in the tall woods next to my dorm, and the sky is overcast, a cooler day, i think.

bar harbor/machias

by shear accident i was in bar harbor for the native american basket festival held at college of the atlantic, the school hannah graduated from last june. i find that using my camera in places that are more public is difficult. but these dancers were out there dancing beautifully, modern and traditional alike, some fully clothed in leather which on saturday must have felt like armor. humid. hot. ugh.

this is the work of barry dana, a master at drawing on the simple birchbark forms he creates. the bear basket was a marvel. i bought a tiny simple piece from barry's booth (no drawing) and three bunches of sweetgrass. the abbe museum sponsors this event and it is an important 
revenue producing event as it draws collectors of fine work. i found some amazing and innovative work that i failed to photograph.last year i bought a sweetgrass, ash, and cedar basket, the introduction of cedar being innovative and even a little startling.

on sunday i traveled from bar harbor to machis. it's blueberry season.

wild blueberries are in the north country, but they grow even more prolifically here.

some blueberries...

are quite large.

grin.

basement life

the road trip from the north country of new york to down east maine is...10 plus hours, anyway.

when staying with my nephew i sleep in the basement. if it was MY basement you would consider it torture to make anyone stay more than a brief minute there. but this one is organized and tidy, with "stations", laundry, wood carving, movie, outdoor gear all organized.

lake champlain at rouse's point

the northeast kingdom is fascinating. every time i drive through i think i'll just wing it. i always get lost, almost quebec this time. 

this looks like home, only they would be hardwood not softwood--this is heading to a paper mill. new hampshire.

spavin cure. just in case. you never know.

car photos are particularly bad. really. but it's kind of fun to drive and take pictures at the same time. 

and my first view of the atlantic. bar harbor. sanctuary. basement. and a good sleep.

weather break

 bloodroot dyed maple leaves on bloodroot ecoprinted abaca and iris paper

yep, this morning it's not a bazillion degrees plus hunidity. the birds are rejoicing. i had yogurt with raspberries i just gathered.

last night this tree was buzzing. basswood, linden. i wanted to collect the flowers to dry for tea, but it was TOO HOT. after a week of this, i'm grateful for the morning cool today.

i leave wendy at a very good kennel, but i hate leaving her. usually she rides along with me, she loves the ocean. i will try to blog form maine, and will have my macbook with me. 

housekeeping

ecoprint on sugar maple--bloodroot

from john cutrone: All this month, the good folks at Convivio Bookworks will donate $1.00 to JCBA's Hand Papermaking Studio Project for each person who goes to the Convivio Bookworks Facebook page and clicks "I LIKE." Up to $500. How simple is that?
http://www.facebook.com/conviviobookworks. Should that link not work for you, go to www.facebook.com and search "Convivio Bookworks." JCBA is looking to raise $30,000 this year to open our hand papermaking studio.

dyed scrunchies i will have for sale soon

the amazing aimee lee is in residency at the morgan conservatory where she is setting up the korean papermaking facility. she is building the vat with advice from michael bixler (who built the vat lynne amlie used at the matter and spirit conference at wells college. the morgan is in cleveland and has incredible energy. looks like a good place to learn paper and book arts.

i always think they look edible, johnny jump up, bloodroot dyes

i am trying to brave the heat and get ready for my trip to maine and p.b.i. this summer is proving rich beyond my wildest dreams. i have met internet friends, have gotten some work "out there", have had the honor of sharing in the healing work of wendy golden-levitt, and now going to maine first to bar harbor to see hannah and my nephew's lovely family then to machias. i come home to my sister's memorial service then back to wake robin. phew!

 the start of another idea-silver coated copper by jody horwitz

so we will see how this (still) hot HOT, humid weather affects me as i pack for p.b.i. what will i forget? i am taking along some ecoprints for melissa's class. 


and check out these women outsider artists over at the hermitage.

i want to mention that since i started blogging i have had two hateful posts, both by "anonymous". one i eliminated. the second i responded to and left it up. you may want to see for yourself. diamonds and rust. to assume that someone has only one dimensional thinking is foolish. art is the place to present ideas, dammit.

pages

bloodroot and maple on lokta

paper thoughts

field retted milkweed

making paper is elemental for me. i love exploring new fibers, and using new moulds. in my mill i often learn a new pulp, trying to figure out the characteristics and peculiarities of each. one thing that has always happened, at the end of several days or weeks i have lots of bits of different pulps which i then combine and make my version of badger paper. this paper is always wonderful.

 a stack of my papers

when i visited the japanese paper place last week i was struck by several things, the commitment to a culture's product that was large enough to develop a business, and an exquisite collection of art made from japanese paper. i looked and touched items of great beauty, and exquisite aesthetic. 

these are skeins of hiroko karuna's spun kozo, naturally dyed by her. the japanese paper place has a collection of her skeins cut as thin as 1 millimeter before spinning.

each one of these skeins, if i remember correctly, is one sheet of kozo. you will notice that she has refined her spinning and now excludes the characteristic slubs found in most handspun paper. once woven, these fine yarns make exquisite cloths, art works on their own. 

these are two 4 selvedge squares that i have ecodyed, borrowing india flint's process. you can see the slubs in them, and the paper was cut into about 3/16" strips before spinning, huge in comparison. 

spun lokta

different aesthetics. related thinking. love of fiber, evident, i hope, in both.

commenting

anyone who commented on the last post sees to have evaporated. i am sorry--i will try to contact blogger to see what's up.

redefining hot, with breeze

it's hot. i have so many ideas running around like squirrels, and yet it's hot. hot squirrels. warm rodents! i will crash soon. this is the table AFTER cleaning up. it's not even the work table, it's my dining table. at breakfast!

these are my yellow shorts. they will retire soon, and become paper or an ecoprint, i have found this cotton twill made by gramicci (shameless promotion--but they're so comfortable) to totally suit me. funny that i should wear climbing pants and shorts so much of the time, i'm not a climber. the crotch gusset and the adjustable waist are the secret formula, i think.

some silk scarves that i've printed. i've had a blast using up, experimenting, playing.

bergamot is out, also called bee balm. i love this stuff. it's just starting...

looks edible. 

also working on book stuff, but too hot to take pics. time for an afternoon rest. i didn't know today was a day "off" so happy fourth. on the fifth. four days till i leave for maine.

i won, i won, i won! jen at red pumpkin studio blog pulled my name out of the hat for a prize. i will show you when it arrives. her mark making is awesome.

i keep editing this and adding: if you are an indigo lover, you know jenny balfour-paul's book, here's an article about where her research is taking her: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100428/jsp/frontpage/story_12356202.jsp