December Exhibit: Connecticut Landscapes

I belong to the Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective and we'll be exhibiting "Connecticut Landscapes" at the Prospect Public Library during the month of December. Please stop buy to view the artist's unique interpretation of their Connecticut surroundings using fabric, fiber and found objects.

We hope to see you there!

 

Participating Artists:

Roz Spann, Carol Vinik, Antonia Torres, Carol Eaton, Mary Lachman

 Diane Cadrain and Karen Loprete

 

 

Facescapes: Connecticut's People

Last week I posted the beginnings of a wool roving project and I'm finally done! The piece is for Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective's upcoming show, Connecticut Landscapes. Although my faces aren't a physical landscape I believe they represent the landscape of the community and culture that makes Connecticut such a unique and diverse state.

Facescapes: Connecticut's People
24" X 16.5"
The wooden slat across the top and the beads in-between the faces
were made from an old map of Connecticut!

Each face was stitched using free motion quilting so no two are alike
and many are just silly!

This was the pile of wool roving I started with when creating the faces.
So much fun with so little time!

Please stop by Prospect's Public Library to view the complete collection with all members art work on display during the month of December! 

Wool Roving

I'm out of fabric for dying which always forces me to pay attention to the rest of the wonderful materials I have in my studio. With so many creative products at my fingertips it's easy to find inspiration.  After scanning the goodies I decided to pull out my wool roving.

As a member of the Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective we exhibit together throughout the year. We have an upcoming show in December with a Connecticut Landscape theme. The first image that comes to mind is a physical landscape but I wanted to take a different approach. I thought of Connecticut's communities and cultures and eventually settled on Connecticut's people.

Having decided on working with felt I started creating faces using as many different skin tones as possible. I'm still working on the construction of the piece and having fun free-motion quilting the faces. When I'm done there will be about 30 little personalities. The project needs to be ready to hang by December 1st so I should really be working and not blogging right now!

I'm calling the piece "Facescape"

Look for "Connecticut Landscapes" opening at the Prospect Library on December 1st and running through the end of the month.

Snow Dying: 11" of Unexpected Snow!

What crazy weather we're having here in Connecticut! We just cleaned up after a hurricane and this week we have 11" of fresh snow... at least we have power! But what to do stuck inside with no snow plow ready yet... SNOW DYING - of course! I hadn't thought about snow dying for months but what a great opportunity to have some fun. I was out of my regular fabric for dying so I searched for a substitute. I came across a couple of over-sized tee shirt style dresses that I hadn't gotten around to dying over the summer - perfect!

Snow Dyed Sleeveless Dress

I started with a tub to catch the melting snow and inserted an
upside down pan to keep the fabric from sitting in the dye mixture once
 the snow melted.

I soaked the fabric in soda ash and water for 30 minutes.
 The fabric was wrung out and placed on the upside down pan.

I went outside and scooped up fresh snow to cover the fabric.

I placed about 3" of snow on the fabric to completely cover.

Next I mixed up some dye!

I admit this doesn't look like much more than a blob of yuck but have faith!

I decided to shake a little dye powder over the top just to see what would happen.

Now I wait... the snow was melted by evening but I waited a full 24 hours before rinsing and washing the fabric. I know from experience that if you try to rush the process the end result is muted with very light colors.

Snow Dyed Tee Shirt Dress

 A few things to remember; I don't think I needed to soak the fabric in soda ash and water if I added soda ash to the dye mixture. I'm so used to ice dying or confetti dying that I automatically soaked the fabric. Also, shaking the dye powder over the snow at the end didn't seem to have much of an impact.

Fabric Dying Hurricane Style!

My house is now warm and the lights turn on with the flick of a switch - thank goodness! When the power first went out and the wind was howling I knew the freezer would not last long so I did what any concerned homeowner would do... I got ready to ice dye! I soaked my fabric and lined up the dye pots. When it was time to sprinkle the dye powder over the fabric and ice I had to use a flashlight. It was challenging but I went for it and walked away... for 5 days! I wasn't able to finish off the fabric until the power came back so I wasn't really sure what to expect. In the end all was well and I have some fun new fabric to add to my stash.

Ice Dying: Violet and Pink

Ice Dying: Yellow, Blue and Bronze

Ice Dying: Rose, Green, Blue and Yellow

I also had a couple of Confetti Dyed pieces of fabric waiting to be rinsed and washed. I'm still curious with how the color molecules separate and never get tired of the affect!

 

Confetti Dyed: Moss Green

Confetti Dyed: Avocado Green

Darn Hurricane!

Due to the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy my Fiber Art demonstration on November 3rd is canceled.

Our power came back last night and I feel fortunate we were only without for 5 days. So many people are suffering and we will keep them in our thoughts.

The neighbors rallied round to help clear this tree across
our driveway - such great folks! 

Please be sure to stop by the Kent Memorial Library now through December 31st to view my exhibit!