Kerr Grabowski Screen Printing Workshop

Kerr Grabowski's "Screen, Dye and Discharge - Enlarging Your Markmaking Vocabulary" workshop at ProChemical & Dye in Fall River, MA started off with making small inexpensive screens based on hardware store materials.   We drew on the screens with wax.   I can see this technique being especially useful for representing Christopher Alexander's principles of Alternating Repetition, Good Shape and Positive Space.  Can't wait to learn more tomorrow!

"Work Smarter...Not Harder" - Allan F. Mogensen

I've been handing out my "pre-blog" business card, then explaining about my fabulous art grant blog.   Too bad you'll never find it because the old business card doesn't list it!   I attended the first Fall meeting of the Potomac Fiber Arts Guild today.   It was brought home to me that I really needed a card specifically for the grant.   So...here it is!   I've recycled the blog banner and color scheme, thrown in my contact information in matching font and pronounced it good.

Fabric Arrival / Studio Peek

"So come up to the lab and see what's on the slab"  
     - Rocky Horror Picture Show

The fabric has arrived!  I went with a favorite mercerized cotton broadcloth - M419.   Test Fabrics Inc. didn't waste any time getting it to me.   They were speedy earlier this year when I asked for a price quote as part of the grant writing process too.   I've got my dyeing apron out along with the chosen color palette.   All that wonderful potential just waiting to happen...

Tag on Fabric Bolt

I admit to being nosy.   I love to see people's studios/workshops in any discipline.  People adapt their surroundings in order to work efficiently.   So, I thought I'd share a glimpse of my evolving studio in turn where all the goodness of the grant will happen.   I've added three new things to my studio to put the most used tools and supplies within easy reach.   The pegboard was leftover from a tool organizing project in the garage.   It fitted next to the laundry sink like it was meant to be!   I added a storage cart below for all those yogurt cups, buckets and other plastic containers used for dyeing.

Studio Pegboard for Tool Storage 

My dye chemicals were previously stuffed in drawers.   I knew that I'd need to keep larger quantities of the chemicals on hand for the grant work.   I purchased a narrow laundry cart to fit a niche next to two back-to-back wooden dressers (also recently added) topped with an overly large blocking board.   The blocking board gives me the surface area that I need to work on larger pieces of fabric.   Happily, I found stackable Rubbermaid containers that fitted perfectly into the cart.

Chemical Storage Cart

All those graduated cylinders, beakers and a spiffy electronic measuring scale really bring out my inner "mad scientist."   I've moved away from seat of the pants dyeing and am headed for repeatable results.   A future goal is to get the rest of the studio photo ready!

"With realization of one's own potential and self-confidence in one's ability, one can build a better world."

- Dalai Lama

Color Study - Tangerine, Strongest Red, Deep Navy

I learned new skills at Carol Soderlund’s "True Colors" workshop last year which apply to my grant.   A color palette developed from ProChemical& Dye’s tangerine, strongest red and deep navy MX reaction dyes will help to unify my series of surface design pieces.   Mixing only 3 dye stocks also means working more efficiently.   It sounds limiting, but look at all the colors I get to use!   Each of the colors can be further expanded by doing a value study.      

Primary Colors

Secondary Colors

                                     

Dyeing the palette took patience, but I liked the colors as much as I’d hoped.   Unfortunately, the mystery sample fabric from my stash was lousy.   The fabric biased wickedly, oily stains showed up and I kept getting pokey ends despite repeated trimming with the rotary cutter.   Now I know why there was a partial bolt of white fabric still hiding out in my stash.  The samples look pretty shabby compared to Carol Soderlund’s pristine color reference books.   Lesson learned!   I ordered 60 meters of M419 (mercerized cotton broadcloth) from TestFabrics, Inc. to use from here on out.

"True Colors" gave me better insight into my color preferences.   I created a notebook of my artwork and other items with favorite colors as part of the class preparation.   I realized that I truly do gravitate to particular areas on the color wheel.  I found myself staring at Carol at the personal consultation saying "but I don't like orange...”, but there it was…   Now I know that I don't use large gobs of it, but it's my go-to accent color.   There are about 14 “pure” MX reaction dye colors.   The rest of the dye colors you get are blends of those fourteen.   Now that I know which pure dyes contribute to the colors I enjoy, I can create successful color palettes more intentionally.

I can't wait for October to attend Carol’s "The New Color Mixing for Dyers Part 1” at ProChemical & Dye.   I will join other color obsessed artists who also crave their own color reference binders.  
Carol's classes are well organized, fun and informative.  ProChemical has wonderful facilities and an even more fabulous staff.   I highly recommend them both.   

Budget Deviation: An Improved Hanging Technique

My original plan for hanging the fabric pieces was to stretch them on canvas frames.   The grant budget reflects $338 for thirty eight 30" x 30" canvas frames.   I've stretched fabric before, own tacking spray and swing a mean electric staple gun.   It was a workable solution.

Happily, I've found an even better method for my purposes.   Recently, Jane Dunnewold produced an Interweave Press video titled  "Felt-Backed Textiles: A Contemporary Finishing and Hanging Technique with Jane Dunnewold Video Download".   The surface designed fabrics that I create will be hung as part of a museum exhibit, then be sewn into tote bags to donate to the museum store.   Jane's solution is especially useful in this case where the fabric needs to be unmounted.

If I use the canvas hanging method, then I'll need to mount the fabric onto the canvas, take the fabric off of the canvas and figure out what to do with thirty eight large empty canvases when the grant is completed.   Think of all that staple picking...  Yes, I'm actually thinking ahead!  

If I use Jane Dunnewold's method, then life is simpler.  The fabric will be backed with felt before hanging which will get me one step closer to creating the tote bags.   It will be far easier to mount the fabric on the supporting bars than to stretch fabric on canvas.   Removing the support bars takes less than 30 seconds and no staple picker required.   The bars that support the fabric are thin and will store much more compactly than canvases once the project is done.   Also, the bars can be cut smaller, so have more potential for reuse.   I'll be saving time, effort and storage space.   The trade-off is money.  I estimate an additional $100 for the aluminum bar, felt and other supplies.   I've decided that it's worth it for the convenience.  

Collaged and Stitched Practice Pieces a la Christopher Alexander

Artists create sketches and practice pieces to internalize subject matter and audition ideas.   I am enjoying the exploration of Christopher Alexander's 15 properties of wholeness one small stitched collage at a time.  After reading up on each property I get to create something.   Two sources inspired me...

One source is a guild member who shared her embroidery class samples in hot pink and golden shades.  Yum!   The colors were cheerful and energizing.   They stuck with me.

The second inspiration is an ongoing project by my design group.  We're working thru Gwen Hedley's book "Drawn to Stitch:  Line, Drawing and Mark- Making in Textile Art."   Hedley's use of common papers as collage fodder has led to trying many different materials.   Printed tissue papers are a favorite.  Look for the Totes umbrella logo below.   I love the design group because the viewpoints from different artists using different media add up to broader critiques...in a very safe space.   I'm looking forward to sharing my takes on these properties of wholeness by Christopher Alexander soon:

        

Levels of Scale

Roughness

The Void

I've been thinking about each of the properties separately, but once I started stitching the lines between them blurred.   The Levels of Scale piece was first.  It was straight forward.  However, once I read about Roughness I realized that the first piece represented Roughness too..   I eyeballed the scale of each flower which shows the "hand of the maker" clearly.   There is Roughness in everything I make by hand.   The Void piece was created third and incorporated Roughness and Levels of Scale.  I'm sensing a pattern.

Shortly after my revelation, I received an e-mail from an inquisitive guild member asking how my one-property-at-a-time approach was working out...   Her understanding was that things of beauty incorporated multiple properties or perhaps all of them.   Having fellow guild members guide you on the path to wholeness is beautiful too!   A guild is a powerful tool for learning and sharing.

Klout = Being Home Schooled on Blogging

I am fortunate to have a daughter majoring in communications and economics.   She gave my blog a critical review...and now I'm being home schooled.   She asked about my bounce rate and Klout score.   Color me clueless!   I don't have enough data for a bounce rate yet.   My Klout score started at a 10 out of 100, but went all the way up to 22 today.   The average Klout score is 40 according to several on-line sources.   Once you join Klout, they start sending you helpful, *short* bites of advice on improving your social media skills.   Before you race off to check your Klout score, consider these two helpful articles "Klout Uses This Trick to Make You Feel Bad About Yourself Don't Let it Ruin Your Life" from Forbes Magazine and "What Your Klout Score Really Means"  from Wired Magazine.  They give very different takes on Klout!

Additional feedback from my daughter is that my posts are too long - I'm allowed no more than 300 words per post.   Also, I should move the grant application (of 10 pages...) from a post to it's own page to improve the blog structure.

I need more photos for visual appeal too.  What?  No selfies?  Is that me in the photo pondering the age gap and my Klout score?  

I have failed to comport myself as an expert on the subject of grant writing, museum research and being an artist.   Well, yeah...!   The premise of this blog is sharing the learning experience on all those topics...including blogging.

Am I out of words yet?  Blogging is not for the chatty after all.   Thank goodness I didn't ask her to assign a letter grade!