June studio updates
Here's a whirlwind update of my life and studio in the past month...
All for Ray, Ray for All! opened at San José / Works. I couldn't attend the opening, but I did volunteer as a gallery attendant the following week. Here's my piece, Focus, and the original print by Ray Ashley. Read more about Ray and the show.
I finished the second mini-quilt in my series on the Arch of Freedom, a Brutalist monument in Bulgaria. (See the first quilt here.) This one is inspired by a detail in the original photo – two of the concrete sections on the right side.
I took a class at SFCB with Ellen Sheffield called Unfolding Narratives: Writing for Artist’s Books. Full of great exercises and examples that also felt relevant to my textile art. Many of the resources are linked on her website. I especially liked the Oblique Strategies card deck!
I'm still working through my Maiwa class on Tannins, Oxides, and Indigo. I created a series of rust prints and shibori dyed a batch in tannin to bring out blacks and grays. I love the surprise texture of the prints and how you can sometimes (but not always!) identify the original objects.
As for weaving, I'm working on a few projects, including a new damask piece on the counterbalance loom. I dyed the warp with gallnut and iron and applied discharge paste to remove the color. Here's the warp stretched out, masked, and ready for painting.
My garment this month is especially special. Remember my painted/printed warp sampler from last month? I sewed it into a top: Daryl Lancaster's 900 Bias top, view A. It looks phenomenal with the diagonal stripes!! My sewing with handwovens study group met up in person (our first in person meeting as a group) and I wore the top to much acclaim.
And a mini-garden update since I wrote a whole post on it earlier this month... my cosmos have hit their stride!
Year of Stories recent listen: Articles of Interest podcast