I. am. spent.
The work is never done.
The human-who-feeds-us has been working on this thing.
Obviously the need for my help is great. Look at this!
The fool woman had it spread out on the floor.
So boring.
Of course, there is no appreciation for my work.
It's so demoralizing. I give so much. I think I may need
a mental health break. You'll have to carry on without me.
Mother's Day was lovely. Really, really lovely.
Brunch, family, lovely weather, and a walk in the neighborhood.
Just lovely.
The Secret Quilt Project continues.
This is such a fun project to watch come together.
All those squares, made by all of the those hands.
One of the quilt tops is complete, as is its back, and later
this week, I'll be putting the components together.
The second quilt has been pieced into large rectangles.
Each rectangle represents a classroom in the school,
so they range in size from 20 squares to 36 squares.
When I clear the livingroom floor to assemble the first quilt,
I'll figure out the placement of the rectangles for the
second. It's been wonderful to have so much help in
this project. Every step of the way, I've had people helping.
I think I'll be spoiled when I go back to doing my projects
on my own.
Needless to say, I've been having fun with Inkodye.
What's added frosting to the cake of good experiments
has been the use of so many "Oh, this would be good
for a project" items. I had a day of "Oh, that 'thing'
I got (insert number of years) ago would work so well
here." And then, they did.
Like those metal disks from cookie presses that I've been
holding on to.
This reminds me of some of those Japanese prints you
see in cotton kimonos.
Then there are those copper letter stensils I bought,
which were complete, except for the letter "R". A friend
figured out that the letter "L" could be turned upside
down to be used as a lower case "r". Of course, we
needed to then come up with words that only used one
of each letter, and didn't have both an "r" and an "L".
But, I love the way they look on the final product.
We ran out of time before getting to the key collection,
but one of my friends made some very nice prints using
a collection of watch hands (no photos for that alas).
I'm making a list of things to try next time. I do need
another glass sheet so we can do more prints at one time.
"Next time" has a very nice ring to it.
The last big antique show I went to, I picked up
this photograph on glass. The image is a positive one,
not a negative, and it might be an Ambrotype, but I'm
not sure. Ambrotypes were made in the 1850's and
1860's, and had a dark backing applied to the back of
the image. This glass plate has no backing, and no case,
and I think these clothes are more modern, like from
the 1880's.
Since it has no backing, the image can be difficult to see.
I love the faces and the clothes in this image.
In my recent spree of playing with sun printing using
Inkodye, I thought I could use this photo to make
sun print. I was careful to protect the old image, so
the dye wouldn't touch it.
After I put the dye on the fabric, I smoothed a layer
of plastic wrap on top. Then I layed the glass print
on top.
This is what the fabric looked like after I removed the
glass.
And, this what the final fabric looked like.
I'm impressed with how many of the details were picked
up on the fabric transfer. Eerie, aren't they? And the
glass plate wasn't injured. Success.
I collect.
I don't think it goes as far as "hoarding", but I am that
person that one calls for a heat gun, 500 pipettes,
grommeters, or.. say.. microfilm from a 1970's New
York Times.
I want to say it was two years ago that I purchased this
roll of microfilm, but it might have been longer.
Three, four years? (Am I scaring you?) I actually bought
3 rolls of the microfilm, and I have used it in collage from
time to time, so it hasn't completely languished. (Just
mostly.)
I do think I've found the perfect project for the microfilm.
It works really nicely with the Inkodye. I got two prints
from the film I used before it was too stained to continue.
The film is still interesting, it's just blue now... Now,
what will I do next with blue microfilm of the NYT? Ahh
the continuing challenge.
Today started with a morning of play. Well, after
bringing the girls to school, and doing dishes and tidying
the kitchen.
It's been a long week of trying to make up time lost
last week when the girls were home sick from school.
Not a traumatic week, just a full one. Today was the
beacon, the reward, the play at the end of the week.
Ladies Art with two very dear friends who also needed
some art therapy. This sun printing project is one I've
wanted to try for months. Actually, I'd started gathering
the supplies about two years ago... although that
beginning was for a different method. This method
uses Inkodye dye? Ink? Paint? Colorant?
We had a bit of a learning curve on this project, but
it was easy to adapt and so, so, so fulfilling. There's
more to follow, but this was such a nice end to a full
week, and beginning of a new media with which to play.
Our Tank.
He's still a big guy, despite this latest round of weight
loss. Aging isn't kind, and his joints have slowed him
down, but he's so affectionate. The tendency to always
be on-the-go is strong, and it's good to be reminded
to slow down, and make a lap.
He even makes Mr Fuzzypants slow down, occasionally.
It's a powerful influence he has.
It's been a week. Between Little e's birthday (10!) and
the bombing and its aftermath in Boston, my emotions
have had an aeorbic workout.
It's been more than twenty years since my crosscountry
move from Boston to the Pacific Northwest, but this
week has reminded me of how much of my childhood
in Cambridge I carry with me. The tones, words,
and accents on the news are familiar to my ears. I've
known these people, and I feel such a tangle of deep
emotions for them.
Yet, as those events continue to reveal themselves, it
is my younger girl's birthday, and our days have been
full of M&M covered cake, gifts, and birthday treats.
As I said, it's been a week.
