Tea Time

 "A simple cup of tea is far from a simple matter."

Mary Lou Heiss

This turned into quite the project! I am still mulling over what exactly I will do with all this fabric, but in the meantime, here is what happened. As far as process goes, I let the various teas steep overnight and then used the liquid as a dye, vs. just dipping the fabric as one normally thinks of "tea dyeing". So I poured the liquid into a clean stainless steel pot, added enough water for the fabric to float freely and then simmered each one for about 30-40 minutes. All the silk broadcloth pieces for the herb teas were pretreated with alum. As you can see, the nettle did almost nothing, instead of green or yellow. This could be because it may not work as a dried plant, or it could be I didn't simmer it long enough.

These are the herbal teas, hibiscus, comfrey (after an iron dip), chamomile (the type for tea, not the dyer's chamomile, so the yellow was a nice surprise), St John's Wort, and the last was nettle. 

The picture above and the ones below are all with a very strong brew of plain old black tea that I steeped overnight and again used as dye, so they were simmered about 30-40 minutes. The pretreatment of alum didn't seem to make much of a difference color-wise, but may add to longevity. Since tea is high in tannins I am not sure it would make a difference one way or the other. The samples on the left of all these images are just as the silk broadcloth came out of the dye pot. The samples on the right are after a dip in iron water. I did this to give myself more color options, and just to see what would happen.

The fabric was rust treated with steel wool, so everywhere the tea interacted with the rust it turned black.

The fabric had rusted nails laid out on it first, and again, when the tea and rust meet, the rust turned black.

I am betwixt and between as to what to do with all this. I had better make up my mind soon as the pictures and info about the piece are due at the end of the month! I found it interesting that when I was just sitting there looking at the first results I could not see the herbal tea fabric being used with the black tea fabrics at all, but when I did the iron dip on the black tea fabrics (turning it gray) other possibilities emerged. This is kind of how my head works anyway, the process of doing things inspires me, I just wish I were a little speedier at it is all.

A Spot of Tea

"There is something about the nature of tea that leads us into a world of quiet contemplation of life."

Lin Yutang, The Importance of Living 

I am participating in an exhibition in May that is all about tea. Today I started the process to dye fabrics for this piece having no idea what the final project will look like. I am generally inspired by materials, so I figured the way to get started, was, well, make the materials for the piece! The first thing to decide was should the work just involve only traditional black tea. Depending on the strength of the tea, how long you expose the fabric, or what mordants/adjuncts are used, the possibilities are probably endless. People make tea out of many different leaves and flowers not only for enjoyment, but medicinal use as well. I decided to look through my tea cabinet to see what the other options might be.

In the event I want to use other colors besides "just tea" I gathered up bagged and loose teas that are also used in natural dyeing. After some research I decided to let them steep overnight to enhance (hopefully) the intensity of the colors. From left to right: Chamomile, St John's Wort, Comfrey, Hibiscus, Nettle.  I am only going to be dyeing fat quarter size pieces of silk broadcloth, so this should be plenty.

I also brewed up a medium size stock pot of plain old, very strong, black tea. This first go around I will be using a half yard of silk broadcloth treated with alum. I may do some sort of resists, various adjuncts, and vary the exposure time to get multiple tones. I have another untreated half yard reserved for other possibilities. 

All the News that's Fit to Print

Hello! Just to catch up, here is what is going on in the next little while. I will be at Art in the Park in Richland Washington this weekend the 29th and 30th (yes, it is a Friday, Saturday show). It will be very warm, even for Tri-cities Washington, so I will be opening the booth up early, as are many of the makers in the show. This show is open until 8:00 PM on Friday and 7:00 PM on Saturday, so late shopping is also an option.

Next week I will be heading off to Anacortes Washington for the Anacortes Arts Festival, August 5th, 6th, 7th. I hope to see you there.

I am teaching two eco printing workshops this year at Urban Art Cooperative. One is Sunday August 21st and the other is Saturday September 10th. You can get all the details at www.urbanartcoop.org click on "sign up for classes" and scroll down to the workshops.

It is a busy summer and I hope to catch up with you in person!

I will have shirts in additon to scarves at both Art in the Park Richland and Anacortes Festival of the Arts

Flower of the Month

 "Sometimes your only available transportation is a leap of faith."

Margaret Shepard

Pincushion flower leaves on paper with copper mordant. 

Meet my Friend Kay West!

 Hello! It's already been a busy summer (once summer finally got started here) and I am trying to get back on this blog. My friend Kay West is having a one woman show at Pottery Place Plus and I thought you might be interested in meeting her, and, if in the area for the month of July, coming to see this special body of work she has created. Let's see what she has to say!

"I arrive today from a lifetime of creating and making. I've learned and loved working with many different mediums. Each has informed and fed the others as I progress. Years of experiences, plus a short attention span, find me painting impressionistic acrylics, fabricating silver and copper jewelry, and fiber-wrapping other jewelry pieces and coiled baskets. I leap-frog from photography to acrylic paintings, then stop to finish a pair of earrings to match my apparel du jour. 

My art experience includes formal and informal art training, living in Japan for four years, a diversity of art shows, teaching others in a variety of art forms, touring museums and cathedrals, and even owning and operating a fine art gallery supporting other artists in Spokane Washington.

It's all a very happy artistic stew, with new elements learned as I go along, I am a master of none, but thoroughly enjoy my mismash creativity."

Fish Inna Outta Water

"The idea for my July guest artist display at Pottery Place Plus started as a reaction to global warming and the effect on our global waters. Narrowing the whole situation just to fish, for example, rising water temperatures, drought, and water pollution are rapidly killing off fish and their spawning conditions. These directly and indirectly affect fish populations, which in turn affect commerce and human dependence on global consumption of fish. The dwindling fish populations also directly affects the cultural practices of indigenous cultures reliant on fish for their spiritual practices and life observances. 

Whoa! Way too deep for a guest artist display! So, I've chosen to put together a sampling of Fish Inna Outta Water: spawning salmon, trout, a few colorful koi, a few unidentifiable "fish". All of the painting and jewelry pieces are simply reminders of the important role of fish, whether for sustenance, sport, enjoyment, or cultural identification."

Come meet Kay at the First Friday reception this Friday from 5-6PM at Pottery Place Plus 203 N Washington; in downtown Spokane. Catch up with Kay on Instagram.

Monday Thoughts

"Gentle Reminder: If you feel "off track" please remember there is no track. This is your life. It ebbs and flows and twists and halts and speeds up. It all belongs. Stop trying to be a robot who is productive and perfect all the time. You're not a robot. You're a human. Be alive to it all."

Jamie Varon

Japanese Butterbur on paper. I did some remodeling on the blog and put up a list of shows for this summer, other things coming soon! Check it out.

Happy May Day!

 The flower for May (at least in my world anyway) is Arrowleaf Balsamroot (Balsamorhiza sagittata). It is a member of Asteraceae or the sunflower family. It grows throughout the American west and is very prolific here in Eastern Washington. It just started to bloom and I have found that if I wait a few weeks the prints are much more vibrant and clear. And so we wait. I don't use the flowers (although sometime I should at least give it a whirl on paper), just the leaves. The scarf below was mordanted with alum and the print is anything from pale green to bright yellow. With an iron or rust pre-mordant it would come out olive green. It would also be possible to dip the yellow results in an iron post dip and achieve olive green also. As mentioned, the plant is very prolific here, but as with all plants in the wild, I approach harvesting with caution and common sense. I go where there is a lot of it and only pick one or two leaves off several plants over a large area; and harvest in a different area each time.

The pale green leaf down in the corner is the arrowleaf balsamroot, the bright orange is its malcontented neighbor spotted knapweed.