Diana Trout's blog

Adventures in Arting, Podcast with Julie Fei-Fan Balzer

I had a great chat with artist, teacher, creator, business woman, Julie Fei-Fan Balzer and her super cool mother last week and you can listen in here. We got into all sorts of topics and surprise! I have more to say about almost all of them.

I'll save my rambling for another day. I mention in the interview a  series I've been working on. It's been a LONG time since I mentioned anything the Eco Dye series with paper. I'll share a couple of images here that you can ponder while you listen to the chit chat. (Yes, you can open 2 windows at the same time. It's a wonderful world.)

I have to say how much I admire both of these woman. They are strong, beautiful people and it was an honor for me to chat with them. So many thanks, Julie. 

 

wabi sabi

these words alone ... 

wabi; harmony, peace, balance. a sense of fullness and content with simplicity of self being not just enough but ripe with possibility, potential
sabi; meaning the bloom of time, the celebration of wrinkles, graying hair for instance

this phrase means much more, of course. a life could be spent wondering over and discovering wabi and sabi and wabi sabi.

Spring fresh with the decay of Autumn

 

 

Yellow

Next Tuesday I go in for hand surgery. I'll be splinted for one week and then the nerve damage should begin to repair itself.

The feeling should be completely back in about a year. The last three weeks have been very upside down.

In the midst of all of the sickness and injury, my daughter and her husband (I still smile when I say that) moved to Chicago. Lots of chaos but they are settling in. 

I'm thinking Yellow right now and Gray. Monochromatic (what?!). Yes. I am going to try some monochrome and see where it leads me. I need a little challenge and excitement to get me through. I had to cancel my Little Bird stitch class (heartbreak) but it will be rescheduled. I'll get up again. 

Golden West

Eucalyptus. Yes.

Just lying there on the ground under its tree in San Francisco's Presidio. The husband noticed it in the dark, after dinner, Saturday night. I climbed the fence. Of course I did. 

I couldn't see the colors so it was a glorious surpise when we got back to our hotel. My goodness. 

Adventures: things both odd and funny happen as I stumble about in my usual way but jet-lagged magnifies things which is only a problem if you find it problematic. I did find Britex Fabrics. Holy Cr*p. Small precious bits of pricey fabrics:

 

Lost, then Found

Whilst driving around lost the other night, I ended up in a driveway loaded with black walnuts. The homeowner (must have thought me mad) but graciously invited me to take as many walnuts as I could carry.

Bounty Found

Carted home in this green bag, where they sat in the car for a couple of days. Potent, even after being washed.

and they sit in a pot of water on my back porch. Waiting for me and becoming more gentle. This week will be a crazy one. I'm jetting off to San Francisco/San Jose for a week next Saturday. 

My bark collection grows and gentles. Funny isn't it. The things found while lost.

Begin Again

It feels like that. In a good way

Rev up the engine and leaf some tracks (ha)

In editing this photo, I found myself cropping here and there and here again.
X-acto is tempting me. 

Tacket Stitch Online will be on sale next week-ish. Class Opens 10/28.
What have you been up to? 

Dye Pots in Autumn

Monday was a dyepot day at Megan Greenholt's Warwick Farm. It is a little like being in a dream out there with her kitchen garden, dyer's garden, chickens, dogs and cats. Everywhere, inside and out illustrates well-maintained earthy abundance. 

Megan has a ton of samples of different dyes she's experimented with: marigold, rose madder, alkanet, pokeberry, indigo; some are overdyed. But will you look at this luscious spread!

Here's a glimpse of Karen (her web design; her fine art), Megan and I through one of the gardens.

and Brenda's hand after picking pokeberries

We processed the fresh leaf indigo dye. Picking, stewing, de-oxigenating, re-oxigenating.

Stewed down the pokeberry. Our samples are with Megan while they linger in the dye.

and kept the black walnut pot going. Which never seems to quit.

Here I am, laying some leaves onto a piece of pre-dyed Kona cotton.

Here it is with some of the indigo

How lucky am I to have these friends? Thank you, Brenda, for taking such fantastic pictures. Megan's  not a huge blogger but take a look here.

Related articles

Pokin' Around the Eastern Shore

Eco-Print Paper

In Between-ers

In the space between running an errand that took me to Manayunk and preparing for my class tomorrow at The Ink Pad, I found a 30 minute space for a cappucino and Philadelphia Stories. Resting my back because, naturally, this is a good week to have my back acting up. 

The spaces between. Between putting together class kits, crocheting more white vessels to be dipped in dye. Between thinking, writing, researching, sketching, the odd bit of sewing and the sitting on ice pack. Negative space is a positive thing. The thought of happy students making art on Saturday pushes me on. And the man who is dropping everything to chauffeur me and my big bag to NYC because the train is out of the question right now. And I do love the train but am counting (again) my blessings.

Good weekend everyone. I'll see some of you tomorrow where real live hugs can be exchanged. 

Oz

Tuckahoe State Park, MD; Shadows

Take a girl out of the city, plop her down in an authentically rural area and watch culture shock take over. These past couple of days on the Eastern Shore of MD  have alternated between hilarious and enlightening. Here by me onsie with no tour guide (eg, daughter who is sharing bed but working alot); there is no filter. A good thing.

For instance, yesterday Sassafras State Park was not to be found even though I peeked under each cornfield along the way.  Maybe tomorrow?  And this is funny (in retrospect):  thought I was crop dusted - or rather my sweet red mini cooper was while I was contained within.

Daughter patiently explained that: A) crop dusting is illegal and B) they wouldn't do it this time of year, anyway. Also: C) crop dusting planes are now used for joy sky-riding by the younger generations. 

Edit: Crop dusting is not illegal, but you do need a permit and farmers may crop dust this time of year to knock down a crop that is finished so that can put in a crop that will wwill be good for the winter. Learning more each day!

Tuckahoe State Park was somewhat easier to locate today. There was a fantastic walk, a sitting with the sketchpad, a bit of gathering of wool, elderberry, and the usual suspects from this neck of the woods. 

Sorry there aren't more pictures. They are stuck in my smart(ass) phone; which, btw, could not find Sassafras yesterday.

Related articles

21 Secrets LIVE 2014

Keeping It Local

Keeping It Local

Alot of thinking over the past few weeks (and years) about the eco dye thing. It wanders through my mind that to be truly environmentally friendly, eco-dyeing should use materials that we grow or that we can gather on a very local level.

Last night I found this link about German dyers no longer having full access to Brazilwood because the rise in eco-dyeing is driving the price up so high. Thank you Jude Hill.  India Flint mentions something about this on her site as well, relating to her use of eucalyptus which is native to Australia. 

Rose 0"Sharon, Juniper

Last week's batches of papers were dyed with plants in my neighborhood collected on walks. This week's will be the same. Things are plentiful right now with summer's end in sight. 

My feet are in the picture below not only for their outstanding beauty but for a sense of scale. Now what exactly do I consider windfall? The hydrangeas are from a neighbor's garden with permission to trim back anything hanging over her step. The juniper was hanging over the sidewalk and very plentiful. 

5 Block Radius

Rose O'Sharon grows crazy wild around here so I never mind cutting mine back. My neighbor has one that is more blue and was very successful last week. I pick up the dead blooms from their lawn. Japanese Maples are common but don't successfully grow from seed. The seed pods are fair game as far as I'm concerned. They will be swept up and thrown away otherwise. In a month or so, the lawns will be littered with colorful leaves. Windfall.

Joan's Hydrangeas

With all of this said, I'd sure like to give the Euc a go. It won't become one of my staples though. Of course, we'll see how I feel in the dead of winter and those bunches of cheap flowerrs at Produce Junction are just staring me in the face.

What do you folks think of all of this? With the world at our fingertips these days, it is tempting indeed. But when we stop to think about the environmental footprint of having plants shipped to the four corners, how eco-friendly is the new eco-dyeing?