Dye Experiments

I've been thinking a lot lately, about what direction I am going in. Exactly where do I want to take this? I love my dyeing. I can see myself getting lost in it. I love my stitching. I can see myself getting lost there too. I have tried to combine the two and somehow generate a little income with it but it's all still a big question where it is going.
My stitching is so time consuming and intricate that I really couldnt make enough money to justify doing it full time unless my work was in high demand and I could command the price it deserves. My dyeing on the other hand can but I really dont have the facilities to dye enough to do that either. Worst of all though is the fact that every time I go to the dye table lately I just want to play. I want to throw color around and make grand statements with it! I have done several experimental pieces recently. This is what gets me excited!


First off was this...I have been wanting to work with pieces laid flat. I simply couldnt figure out a way to do so though. I have looked all over for flat trays to work in with no success. Then when I was pulling down wrapping paper one day I noticed the roll of florist plastic we had bought to wrap a gift basket. "What if I taped up the corners and made my own trays?" I asked myself. It worked perfectly and I painted away on this piece. It is a bit amatuerish but I like it. It showed me new possibilities and thats what I needed.






Next I delved into pointillism I guess you would call it...but on a large scale *grin* I love this piece! It looks a little redder here in the second shot than it is. The red jumps out to the camera for some reason. It was another step in my learning process and one that really got the cranks turning in my head. This first shot is it dry with the dye in before washing, the second is after the wash but the colors are really somewhere between the two shots. Velvet is SO difficult to shoot!


Thirdly I tried the finngerpainting method...yes people, I did this with my fingers. I added a little dye thickener to my colors and slopped away. A little rough for my taste but a method I could use for sure....


because after I went on and made this with it...this piece has not been washed out yet and so the color is not definite. but usually if I lose anything its a slight toning down of the color and this picture is lighter then the real thing...so probably close to the final product. I am quite excited about this last piece. It says so much to me!


Last but not least...a few pics of wonderful snowy trees for you. These both get my creative juices flowing...but in a completely different directin than the dyes.


Hope you all are having a good week. I will post some pics of my stitching soon.