stepping stones

 I've finished a piece.

It's a significant piece for me in a couple of ways.  Most obviously because it's a wall piece, the first stone wall piece I've done.

 I've named it 'stepping stones' as both a nod to its design and to what it represents to me.

 All of the wool and thread I used is stuff I've dyed by hand from natural materials, much of it gathered from my woods.  There's tansy, strawberry leaf, bedstraw root, mushrooms, yarrow, wormwood, dock, cedar, St. John's Wort, onion skins, red cabbage, and more.  Those colors represent countless walks in the woods, countless moments of experimentation.

 

The wood is a piece of poplar, also from my woods, that I planed and shaped.  I gave it its grey color by applying the same iron mordant - a combination of vinegar and steel wool- I use for dyeing and a layer of strong black tea.  No stains or polyurethanes.  I left the holes and trails of the burrowing insects that once inhabited it.

 As I worked, I thought about these stitches I do, and how they represent my love of the small and oft-overlooked bits of nature.  I thought about how to make things that are meaningful and beautiful that are at the same time respectful of the very thing I love.

 Rather than gluing, I sewed the stones to the wood.  I rather like how it looks from the back.

I was nervous finishing this piece.  I was afraid that I would disappoint myself once it was all put together but now that it's done, and even though there are things I will do differently on the next piece, I'm happy with it.  It feels like the right next step.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

******
'Stepping Stones'
wood and wool
8" x 17"
2013

onion skin shibori scarf

 

A few last-minute gifts are getting finished up.  It's amazing how much one can get accomplished when a deadline looms.

 

Last night I pulled out a length of cotton muslin and the jar of onion peels I've been saving and did some shibori dyeing.  I stood at the counter securing stones in the cotton with rubber bands while the dye pot simmered away.

 

I had previously mordanted the cotton with alum so once the peels were strained from the pot, the scarf was ready to go in.  After letting it soak for an hour on very low heat, I removed it and rinsed it, then set about the task of freeing all of the rocks.  The dye was still strong and it seemed a shame to waste it, so I tied up another scarf and dropped it in.  This one I let sit overnight and it's darker than the first.

 

I love the splotches from where the rubber bands were.  Marigolds?  Dandelions?  A very hungry caterpillar?

 

Maybe little suns?  Speaking of which, the sun has peeked out today after days and days of gloomy weather.  It makes the bitter cold much easier to handle, though I did think for a moment when I saw the room illuminated with light "ah crap, Mayan apocalypse."  Thankfully, we seem to have escaped that one.

Hope your Friday is sunny too!

naturally dyed acorns

 

A special batch of acorns, one of a kind, made of wool that I've dyed using roots, plants, and bark that I've gathered from my woods.  A labor of love, natural dyeing is.  I love that they come from the earth and are in return gentle on her, and I love the subtlety of the colors and how they blend together so effortlessly.

 

I had a daydream the other day about a clothing store that carried only undyed clothing.  In jars and baskets around the store were natural materials - leaves, bark, clay, roots... all for the purpose of dyeing the clothes to the customers' wishes.  Maybe such places do exist, I don't know.  They do in a very small degree in the homes of natural-dyers around the world to be sure, but on a large scale, I'm not sure.  Would be fun to explore, wouldn't it?

p.s.

This set of acorns is in my shop, and there will be other colorful additions later this week.

Have a good day, everyone.