What can I say--been enjoying life

The holidays are over and I must confess I've stretched out the vacation considerably.  I just got word that two of my big silks were accepted into EAC TWO, the 2nd juried show at Edwardsville Arts Center in its brand new location at Edwardsville High School.  What a beautiful gallery.  Can't wait to see my work exhibited there.  The show opens Friday, February 17...so I guess I better get the thimble out and stitch in the rod pockets!

Here are the accepted works.  Do come see them in person if you live locally.

Dawn of Time c2012
Shibori rust on silk dupioni
54" x 60"

I love working on the dupioni.  I first began experiments with it in summer of 2010, fearful that the silk was too thick for the rust to penetrate adequately.  Eight layers works fine however and it hangs so beautifully.  Wish it wasn't quite so expensive.

Maze of Life c2012
Shibori rust on silk dupioni
66" x 48"

Also wish that I could find it in a narrower width for hangings--I hate hemming.  Cut edges do ravel quite a bit, so each piece get zigzagged first. 


I am always surprised by the results of this process.  Like countless other pieces that I've wrapped I expected a near perfect mirror image and here are two pieces that are anything but!

Path of Light c2012
Shibori rust on silk habotai
64" x 48"

This piece was entered also, but not accepted.  Can't have everything...but I do think they make a nice trio.  I'm only showing a detail of this one.

Getting back to work

I reopened my outdoor studio several weeks ago and took these shots of some new work on the clothesline as well as the studio itself. 

Wish I had the energy to get the weeds under control.  The ivy is doing pretty well.  My oakleaf hydrangea is getting huge.  I love it.

Weather is still changeable.  It was cool and rainy today--though for the holiday weekend it was supposed to be in the 80s.  Maybe tomorrow...

Probably should have posted these images before the previous post.  You can see the dark piece I discussed already, fresh from rinsing and drying on the line.
 

I took down the old clotheline and installed a new one that continues at right angles to another tree so that I can see things on that line from the house.

Darcy

Detail of one of the pieces on the clothesline.  This is sueded rayon and unfortunately takes the rust so well that it damaged the fibers.  I have multiple holes in the rustiest parts, so this piece is destined for collage or quilting. 

Full view of a dupioni piece that is about 55" square.  I really like the dupioni fabric.  Bought some more last week although it wasn't the wide version that I'd wanted. 

I have a piece almost the same size as this one that I unwrapped too soon.  Very weak design.  I plan to rerust it soon.  Hoping for deep dark results as on the piece in my previous post.  Wish me luck!!

The long soak

I waited till after supper one evening recently (to take advantage of high humidity through the night) to go out to the studio with the intention of setting up a long piece of silk dupion, but I was sidetracked by the discovery that I had a forgotten dishpan under my work table filled with vinegar soaking a few t-shirts, a pair of tights and a fairly big piece of silk habotai.  All was well.  No harm done after 2 weeks of soaking!!  I thought I'd better get those pieces wrapped and rusting instead so put the dupion on hold.

The t-shirt material is sheer jersey cotton.  One shirt was continuously wrapped around my auger.  I was pleasantly surprised by the results and amazed that the color reached through some 10-12 layers.  Also amazed that only a bit of rust shows on one sleeve...the rest of the piece is a soft gray and black.  It has been rinsed thoroughly but not yet washed, but I doubt I will lose much color.  Hope I don't have to eat those words.

 

The other t-shirt was wrapped on a large diameter pipe and tied very tightly creating a nice stripe resist.

As I've been doing some very long work recently, I rearranged the tables in my studio placing them end to end at an angle so I can walk around 3 sides easily.  Still the 12 feet of table was not enough for this evening's work.  I wrapped 5 yards of dupioni and let me just say it was quite a challenge and required 2 pipes.  I had to move another table at the end to catch the rest of the fabric.  I'll check it tomorrow morning, but probably won't unwrap till later in the day.  It takes a while for the rust to penetrate 8 layers of this heavier silk.

This is the second long piece of dupioni I've rusted.  The first is 3 yards long and turned out well.  That fabric came from China.  Not photographed yet.  The 5 yard piece I wrapped today was purchased locally and though it goes by the same type name, this silk dupioni was made in India.  It's texture and appearance is different from the Chinese made dupioni.  Pictures coming later.  

Just a note about dupion / dupioni.  The online company where I order my fabric refers to the silk as dupion and that is the stuff from China.  Nearly everywhere else I've seen this type of silk it has been called dupioni.  Both versions are acceptable.  They are both beautiful fabrics, but the Indian dupioni has more shimmer and is lofty and crisp--or at least it was before I tortured it around a rusty pipe!