In the Studio

It is raining again this morning. It might be this way all week and I am missing the early walks. Maybe just put on a raincoat later today and go anyway.

Now I am down in the studio just playing around instead of packing up papers from a flat file. There is a wonder and a doubt as I look at the materials left in here whether I will ever get back to doing much with it. It is the “maybe” that makes the decision for me. I did love having friends working in here a few weeks ago and found it inspiring to get back to it. What to do with it all when it is finished is the problem. So….

This morning I cut an eight foot by one foot piece of linen in half lengthwise, giving me two strips only 6 inches by about 100 inches long. I wrapped them loosely and they are now sitting in a dye pot of just rust and a few leaves that had been left in there.

I found the linen textile while packing up some fabrics. There was this natural linen one that had a bit cut off and a full length grey one the same width. Remember when we just had to have those strips brought in by textile importers at the fiber conferences? These like all the others of this size and material came from Thailand. They were irresistible because of their “exoticness”, possibilities, and so easy to pack in a suitcase.

I boiled what was left in the dye pot from sampling on papers and cloth a few weeks ago. In the bottom is a rusted curved part of an old wood burning stove that I bought on one of my first teaching tours in Australia. It was a junk shop in Mittigong where a textile conference was being held.  Australians are the best to go to places where used things come up for sale. They call them Op Shops and the good ones anticipate the needs of artists and sort their goods accordingly. The man running this one wanted to know why I wanted not only this piece, but a couple of rusted drill bits and an old small wood handled garden shovel. “Don’t you have rusty bits back in the States?” I told him we did but it was simply not as good as the rusty things from Australia. From there I went to the post office to have it all sent back home and faced similar questions from my husband when it arrived several weeks later.

That day was only the start of buying whatever I could afford from that country. The thought that I may not get asked back made me think each trip was my last and the opportunities would come to a close. Now I am dealing with fourteen trips’ worth of those irresistible things that will go with me, not one left behind.

So when I take these two tied together strips from a cold pot, maybe tomorrow, I will dry them, stitch the two ends together and have what will look like an endless strip to stitch into. I miss the stitching since my last sketchbook was filled up.

To get ready I have dug out this very old sewing basket I made with the guidance of Grace Kabel, my basket teacher back in the eighties. The compartments were woven in place.

Like most baskets that were woven to hold sewing materials, sweet grass was added to the rim if not in the actual weave structure. You can still dampen the rims and get that wonderful smell. I found it being a catchall on a shelf in the den. So cleaned it out and found the scissors my grandmother gave me years ago, some scraps of cloth and buried deep down in were the two strawberries for holding needles and pins respectfully, and tied in place with a satin ribbon.

Now cleaned and packed appropriately it is ready to lift off the top of another basket to travel around the house with me whenever and wherever I want to do some stitching.

Isn’t that an inviting basket of bits and pieces?

Sometimes the sewing is simply not right. I did not like the bird stories book with the thread stitched in. So I pulled it all out slowly so as not to tear the pages. Then I did not like the rows of holes. the solution was to just add more holes!

And more sketching along with those holes.

The biggest problem with the stitching threads was not the maneuvering of the needle but the stitching pattern affected the opposite side of the page. After I get all the holes I want on these pages then I can use this book for drawing and pricking patterns only. I will still be able to close it because there is no added materials.

I still plan on adding watercolor to work into before drawing…that’s the plan anyway.

In the next hour I should have that flat file emptied with the good bits rolled into an upright carton that will be easier to move and fit easily into a closet at the new house. Whatever I don’t want will stay in the drawers for the new owner of the flat file or be given away to a friend who could use it.

So I will get to it.

Til later….

Thursday I went for my morning walk at the dam and then purchased a cake to decorate for Suzy’s birthday. Four old friends from St. Louis were arriving later that day to spend a long and wonderful weekend with me.

Suzy works with textiles. I called her obsession “wallowing in the rag bag”.

Ed went with me on morning walks. He was the only one up early and eager.

The river was way down.

So was the dam.

Suzy, Carlene and I worked in the studio. Carlene is an excellent sketcher/stitcher. With her husband, Ed, trimming out the fish pond, she had some lovely dead leaves and pods of lotus to draw. I forgot to take pictures of her expressive sketches of them but caught her stitching on her faces.

Suzy worked on trying to find ways to resolve her stitched pieces.

Bryan and I enjoyed taste testing a new find they brought me from Trader Joes in St. Louis.

I could not believe that Trader Joes now handles liquor, let alone a single malt scotch that is quite good and sourced from Aberdeen, Scotland! A quick check reveals that only Trader Joes in states without state controlled alcohol regulations can have it. So we found Illinois, and Kentucky besides Missouri. But not North Carolina and Georgia. The single malt was only $24 a bottle! A little sweeter than the Glenlivit they brought for comparison, but very nice.

And their final day here we went to a local vineyard. A perfect outing! Crane Creek Winery just over the line in Georgia.

I miss them already. Ed not only trimmed the pond but replaced all the fallen rocks from Lee’s stacks along the walls. Later today after the rain stops I will walk along the trail to look for feathers, etc.

One of the great things about their visit was how much of my studio cleanouts they took back for artists/craftsmen to put to good use. And inside their cars was a total of six framed artworks for them to donate to their guild’s artist collection auction. It has been awhile since I donated to that worthwhile effort and it felt good to take work off the walls and put it into the cars.

Just before they arrived I finished another sketch in the journal, a portion of my tapa cloth on the table.

Now I am going to get the lotus leaves and pod to draw next.

Til later….

I am so glad to be an early riser. Two beautiful mornings out at the dam.

It was like the sky could not make up its mind the next day. Then for a change of mood back on the river this morning.

The other day I tested whether soaking dried out Eucalyptus leaves in vinegar and water would increase the possibility of getting reds. After posting these results, the consensus was to use silk or wool, not cellulose material. But they can be used to draw into. I do like the yellowy-orange bits.

I worked on my fabric journal.

Then realized that I only needed two more fabric swatches to fill in the five pages for drawings that are left. I decided that the cover was too plain for the greatly expanded book with threads hanging out so stitched a larger one to glue to the cover.

And now I seriously need to think about what to work on next for drawing/painting/stitching.

I started this with a piece of failed contact printed mulberry paper and put one of my last wood engraving seconds on it. Then just patched in with silks, cottons and other papers. Simple running stitch to hold it all together. The book really needs squeezed to fit on a book shelf with other books. But now it is as thick as it is going to be. I need to get something started before friends from St. Louis arrive next week to work in the studio while their husbands do some cooking and maybe yardwork. They want to help out with things Lee may have done if he was here. First offer I’ve had for that. Very grateful!

Yesterday I met with my attorney to go over paperwork for building the house. All is good there. I had a chat with the builder and my questions are now answered. If I can possibly put a dresser or television into a closet I need to know there will be room and outlets in them. Also just where is the exterior door on that small screen porch. Knowing that helps me figure out what furniture to take for that space. There was not much interest so far in my etching press so it may go with me and stay with work tables in the garage. I am having the builder put a window in the garage to give me more light if I want to keep carving wood blocks.

Almost everything here is finding a new home if it’s not going with me. Some will undoubtedly be trashed when the time comes. I need to get some more bags ready to go out this weekend. The more I throw out now the less I have to later. I need to locate a place to get some shredding done when family comes down in a few weeks to help haul it somewhere.

I have not walked the trail in a few weeks. It is a rather sad thing to do when I think of Lee and I collecting all those beautiful leaves and feathers this time last year. Maybe I will do that in the morning and then ask the friends from St. Louis to put Lee’s rocks back along the edges where deer have kicked them about.

Now I am off to face the last closet that needs some garbage bag attention.

Til later….