Everything is Awesome.

Dyed some more bundles last week to finish off the silk habatoi I had.  The colors on Thai kozo are way darker wet than they are after drying.

...But the silk loves to take color (below).

Michelle and I ran another batch today, this time on Rives BFK and Arches Cover.  The heavier papers show off more of the color.

I'm going to have my first-years do some of this when we get to the book-making project...along with joomchi and shibori.  I figure since there's no longer a place in the school to practice these sorts of techniques I might as well integrate them into my Design classes.  This is going to be awesome.

Maximum Overdrive

The summer posting schedule has been sparse, but should be moving back to weekly updates.  Home renovations are eating up so much of my time that I'm finally forced to set aside one day a week for "office" work...there is course prep and studio work to take care of, after all.

Also, I willingly gave up a significant portion of the past few weeks taking two amazing workshops.  The first was a contact printing class with Velma Bolyard.  The results were fantastic!  Plus it was so addictive that I had to cram in a day dyeing bundles at home.

Above and below, habatoi ribbon wrapped in Thai kozo...with steel wool, Brazil wood, elderberries, chrysanthemum blossoms, onion skins, and nasturtium blossoms.

That was followed by a four-day workshop with Velma and Aimee that covered the entire process of paper-making, various binding methods, jiseung, and an assortment of paper treatments.  Below is the pile of fresh indigo leaves I shared...unfortunately the conditions weren't optimal for nurturing a fresh-leaf batch.

After the workshop wrapped I was so keyed-up I had to practice a few iterations of the structures we learned.  Below is a slot-and-tab structure in cotton.

Above is a stationer's binding in progress.  Below is the page insert with cloth tapes.  So fun!

There was also the reception for the "Revive & Renew" exhibition at the Morgan.  I sold a small piece on opening night (yay!).  There is a great catalog available, if anyone is interested.  The show includes myself, Aimee, Velma, and other great artists.  It's worth stopping by if you're in the area.  And don't forget...the 2014 CIA Faculty Exhibition opens August 28th!