Monday, September 29, 2008

Update on the dye test

Well, I got interested in the design of the piece I posted below where I was testing dyes, and decided to play around a little. I used soy wax batik to create barriers to block the red and brown dyes I used on the next step. I don't think I'm done with this piece yet, but here's where it's at now:

I'm still seeing trees on a lake, but now I have a fiery sunset in the background and foliage in the foreground. Next step will be to wax off the sky and lake, and overdye the trees with green. Fun!

Thursday, September 25, 2008

New project

I have been a busy bee lately, and haven't really had anything to show for it here, but today I finally got started on a commission quilt I have been designing for awhile. I am dye-painting it, and wanted to test the dyes first, so I used a piece of muslin previously soaked in soda ash solution and dried. I wanted to see how the colors would look together, so I brushed on the blues and used a sea-sponge to dab on the sand color. Now I'm hooked!


The next picture is of the actual quilt in progress. I used soy wax to create waves in the water, outline the clouds and palm fronds, and wax-outlined the area where I will be putting the figure of a child... didn't want the water to show through. I will be fusing the child, her bucket and a sand castle after dyeing the rest of the background.

I have a couple of areas I need to clean up where the dye got into the beach area, but I don't think that will be too much of a problem. This is the first time I have tried regular batik, and I love the way the dyes travel along the areas that aren't waxed! Actually, I really love the way the dyes travelled on the un-waxed piece as well, and can't wait to do some more experimenting with both methods... life as a 'retiree' is good so far!

Monday, September 15, 2008

It's my day!

I woke up at 4am this morning... nothing new there, been doing that for a long time! But it also happens to be the time I was born... 61 years ago today! So no pix today, just an observation: Life is a lot better at 61 than I thought it would be back when I was a youngster! I really thought life would be over by this age... that I would be infirm, with nothing to live for..... NOT! If anything, I have a whole lot more going on now than I ever have! I am 3 days from my retirement, and rearin' to go! So I guess my main observation today is that I am blessed by good health... yes, I need to lose some weight and exercise more, all part of the post-retirement plan... I am thoroughly enjoying my life, and I have a host of friends and family to be grateful for as well. Am I rich? You bet I am! If it got any better than this, I wouldn't know what to do, so I'm just gonna enjoy each day and look forward to whatever my Creator has in store for me, and I think that involves playing a lot with just a little bit of work thrown in for good measure....

Monday, September 1, 2008

Why I love where we live

We have lived here in Flagstaff for a little over 5 years, and in that time, I have seen some fabulously, extravagantly gorgeous sunsets! If I could replicate them... in any medium... I would be thrilled. The closest I can come to is a photograph, and I thought I would share a few here:



These were all taken from our yard over the past few years. Monsoon season, and the clouds we get contribute greatly, as does the sparkling clear air... awesome!