Second Chances Invitational Show

I made this concertina book for the invitational exhibit,“Second Chances,” which will be at Ripple River Gallery in Deer River, MN from April 12th-May 14th. I had fun interpreting the theme “second chances” in a literal way, creating a story in pictures about how we got our dog, Ollie, a Basset mix rescue dog. His black and white spots seem to call attention to his playful nature, and inspired the (mostly) black, white, and gray palette. 

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The original art was done with gouache and colored pencil on toned gray mixed media paper (Strathmore Series 500). The final art consists of two 6” x 18” pieces. I scanned these, and reduced the art by 20% so that I could print it with my Canon TS6120 Inkjet printer. After running a few test on various papers, I chose to print it on on Awagami Bamboo Select printmaking paper, which has a velvety smooth surface and folds easily to make the book structure. 

Finally, I constructed the concertina books (so far I have made three including one with the original art), following the process I learned in the Block to Book workshop I took with Karen Kunc at Grand Marais Art Colony in the fall of 2021. (See previous post.)

I look forward to seeing how the other artists respond to this theme!

Walnut dyeing results; stitched feather

The Black Walnut dyebath gave some wonderful color. The wool came out very rich; the silk is a soft tawny brown. Interesting facts re: this dye (from Michelle Wiplinger’s Natural Dye Instruction Book):

• The dye is high in tannic acid, and is a substantive dye, so it does not need a mordant. Mordants can be used as color changers.
• The rich browns develop with oxygen (indigo also required oxidation). So she recommends simmering the hulls for a couple of hours with an overnight cool-down before adding the fiber. I simmered the hulls about an hour with an overnight cool-down.

 

In between extracting the color and dyeing the cloth I stitched a magic feather for Jude’s inspiring Magic Feather Project. Background: a scrap of muslin – my natural pigment palette. I use scraps of muslin to offload the brush and test colors. When the scraps become lively with marks, scribbles and color I throw them in the scrap pile. I chose black and yellow for the feather because bumble bees and Goldfinches are now feeding on my fall flowers and seed heads! I also tried a kantha stitch with a rippled effect that I have often admired on the Spiritcloth blog.

Lunar calendar print part 3: still playing

I decided to add one more layer, a burnt sienna, over the rabbit portion of the calendar image. To do this, I placed my rabbit stencil under the glass and cut away the gelatin plate. I inked the remaining part, and lined up the print with a couple of strategically placed pieces of masking tape. No need for super-accurate registration — this is a very soft-edged process.

I still wonder if the paint will wash off the paper along with the rice paste resist. After curing it for several days, a bit of blue rubbed off on my damp finger, so I decided to mist it with soy milk, let it dry, then mist it again.  I will wait three days and wash it out on Wednesday Feb. 9.