Reflections on Parenting
I came across a 20-year-old sketch book. These were in it.
If only children had pause buttons, I would be a better parent.
When there are toddlers in the house, tools take field trips. ![]()
Add comment 8 July 2009
Wear it Out
Great outfits can fit together like puzzle pieces . . . at first you think there’s no way certain pieces will fit together, but when they do — voila! It looks terrific!
cork bag from Cork and Cotton
batik shirt from Susan Itkin Batik
bracelet from Tamaran Designs
summer version attitude hat by DreamWoven
pink chalcedony earrings by Elysium
Add comment 28 June 2009
Wild Women
My friend Felicia used to make up business cards for courageous friends, thanking them for being one of the “Pushy Broads of America.” Basically, to be a Pushy Broad all you had to do was speak for yourself, or think outside the parallelogram, as my friend Susanne would say.
In honor of wild women everywhere, but especially in honor of women in the hand crafted movement, I made this Etsy treasury. (It will expire from Etsy on June 9th, but I wanted to share it anyway.)
I am particularly thrilled with the way Caroline the Karaoke Queen’s pose echoes that of the mannequin above her.
Add comment 9 June 2009
Beating the Heck out of Silk
When I first started working with Marcia-the-Mentor, I was astonished at how much she’d do to a piece of silk before she called it finished. Now she’s got me doing it.
This started out as a pink scarf that I overdyed with purple. I used soy wax and batiked leaf shapes over it, then dyed it a darker purple.
I hated it.
I gave it a warm bath in thiox and as the pink and purple were removed, the scarf became pale orange and beige.
I cut some shapes out of clear contact paper and stuck these to a blank silk screen. Using Procion MX dyes thickened with sodium alginate, I made a dye paste to use on the silkscreen and made three color passes over the entire scarf: one yellow, one orange, one a very greyed-out purple. I just listed this piece at my Etsy shop.
To the left is the screen I used. I blocked off one side with paper and duct tape and used only half the screen at a time.
I later used the larger shape on the left of the screen to use the same process on another silk scarf I wasn’t happy with, pictured below and listed at my shop on 1000Markets.
This one was done in cooler shades, using the same greyed-out purple dye as well as a yellow-bronze color, and just a touch of pink.
Both of these scarves feel wonderful; I think the hand of the silk softened with each process, although it’s still as strong as ever. As always, they’re colorfast so you can handwash them in the silk with a little Woolite, or by machine on the gentle cycle. Drip dry, then touch up with an iron.
2 comments 4 June 2009
Using Silk Prints
I recently discovered the Etsy shop of The Whimsical Peacock, a supplier of fabrics and print panels who has had a lot of Etsy success with over 400 sales. She’s mastered the process of printing full color pictures on silk habotai panels without changing the hand (or feel) of the silk. I’ve purchased a few things from her and have used some of
them on scarves.
The compulsive art historian who lives within me needs to identify the artists, but hasn’t had luck with all of the prints, yet. The beautiful face above is a detail from the Botticelli painting, Venus and the Three Graces, which hangs at the Louvre. I fused this graceful image onto a scarf I made from complementary colors of buff and peach colored yardage. It is for sale at The Joyful Jewel in Pittsboro, NC. 
The colorful silk charmeuse scarf at the left features Alphonse Mucha’s Study for the North Star. Mucha was a very prolific Art Nouveau artist. His distinctive women are frequently reproduced in ads, which is the purpose he originally painted them for. This scarf is listed at my Etsy shop.
You’ll have to visit the Black Hills of South Dakota to see the last two scarves in person, as they will be sent to the Dakota Nature and Art Gallery at the end of the month. To the left is a toast-colored iridescent scarf featuring a print of Alphonse Mucha’s Moet Champagne label. It’s also embellished with decorated with oil sticks and gutta. The orientalized woman at right looks like a Thomas Dewing . . . or Hughes? or Waterhouse? Obviously, I haven’t identified her yet, but I think she looks quite at home set within the forest I painted behind her.
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Any budding art historians out there will be eager to use the Smithsonian’s wonderful research tool on American Art. Joan of Art tried to identify the last image for me but, alas, she didn’t have any luck either.
1 comment 29 May 2009
Wear It Out Market
Just how fabulous would you feel going out your door wearing these beautiful hand-crafted pieces? Adobe Sol Designs has many beautiful items in her shop, but these special-order copper earrings really called to me. Dreamwoven makes wearable art with attitude, and this fabulous hat about says it all. A chalcedony chunky bracelet by Izis echoes the hat’s shapes and colors to grand effect. Tie it all together with the Tobacco Road Arashi Shibori Top by Dye Diana Dye and a little black skirt. What on earth else does a woman need (except maybe a little square of chocolate)? All from the Wear It Out Market collection at 1000 Markets.
Add comment 20 May 2009

Lisa Stewart





