Awesome Autumn!

The day shone brightly in the morning sun with snow covering everything. The first snow is not welcome in October, yet the brilliance of light was uplifting to me after the previous week of dark, foggy, damp and raining mornings. I grabbed my camera, dressed warmly and climbed the hill behind our house, capturing what I could of the unexpected beauty.
The snow had fallen on many autumn trees and there were glimpses of color revealed across the broad expanse of farms , fields, woodland and the majestic Adirondack Mountains in the distance. It was the first time in a week that I had climbed here to practice Tai Chi and feel the freedom of the vast expanse before me.
The jeweled emerald green fields were hidden under the snow which fortunately we had only a small accumulation of. My cow Steppin Up emerged from under the big Pine tree unscathed by the snow and ready to eat hay.
As the day went on, the snow quickly melted and throughout our county, herds of cows horses, sheep, lamas and goats were happily scattered over the fields greedily eating as if the imminent arrival of winter had signaled the end of grazing.
Dyeing my fabric was also a bit cold, but I tried to do all I could because soon I'd be forced indoors to do my batik for the winter months.

Spooooooky Time of Year

Dragons, The great god Pan summoning wood creatures, Gandalf and Shadowfax, the Ent Trees from The Lord of the Rings, The Archetypal Mask, The Black Riders. These are all batik images of the mysterious side of life that comes to life on Halloween!!!!!!!!!

October is a Wonderful Time for Dyeing

The air has been crisp, and the sky bright many of these October days as I begin my day high up on the hill behind my house practicing Tai Chi. The hills have had their phase of mad wild color celebrating the end of harvest season. The mountains a multidude of color accented dramatically by the abundant clouds. I have enjoyed absorbing the warm air and sun rays to start my day, but lately the morning have been darker, damp and cool, hopefully giving way to sun as it climbs higher in the sky, the angle of light changing daily.
Not too hot, the mosquitos and flies gone, it is a wonderful time for dyeing cloth! I have my tubs of dye and the rinse sink out next to our home and can drip to my heart's content. All kinds of fabric items are being dyed now from batik hangings to scarves and various sizes of puses.
Our faithful jersey cow, "Steppin Up," is home for a short vacation, (her dry period, getting her baby ready the last weeks before calving), before going back to the barn where she milks. She watches the proceeding with a calm interest. You will notice the fence is used for a temporary clothes line for my items to drip dry. I am grateful for this time to expand into the yard and do my batik in the warm sun.

After the Rain!!!!!!!!!!

The rain has been continuously with us since Irene hit and devastated so many of our neighbors. The hot sunny mornings have vanished into mornings of gloom. Still there is lots of beauty in my surroundings as the water gives it's accents to the cherry tomatoes, asparagus ferns, rasberries, trumpet vine and roses.

The colors are also beginning to come to the fall change and there are hints of yellows, reds, oranges and browns.

The Southern Adirondack Fiber Festival held the end of September at the Washington County Fairgrounds was filled with beautiful animals and so many fine things. Lots of wonderful people visited and I had fun talking with customers and neighbors.

I brought many of my small prints and cards to Gardenworks this week. What a gorgeous store it is! The big old barn filled with flowers, plants, unique farm oriented gifts and a lovely gallery upstairs amidst the dried flowers below the massive old beams. I love to have my work there because it is in farm country, 1055 route 30, Salem, New York. And yes, Amity Farm Batik has lots of "farmscapes," garden scenes, as well as horses and some unicorns also have been known to appear. It is the perfect place for my work to be.

A Drop of Water Hit by the Sun

A drop of water is hit by the sun as I stand on the hilltop behind my house. It turns red, green, and then becomes a prism of color before the sun's angle changes and it is gone. I love to start my free mornings practicing Tai Chi up here and absorbing the sun, air, and space. The dew is heavy and my feet are wet from the dew as I practice the gentle movements of Tai Chi. I leave the hill, refreshed and limber and head back to my studio to work on my batik and other fabric items for the Fiber Festival to be held in the Washington County Fairgrounds, September24th and 25th. Here my rolled silk hangs waiting to be attatched to my now unfinished batik. Partly finished batik and purses wait for the finishing touches.My brushes lie waiting to apply dyes to my scarves and my wood creatures from my Dad's sawmill in days long, gone sit by and watch over all.

August Moon

The August moon rises brightly, almost full, full after midnight, after August 13 begins. I am lured up the hill behind my house by it's brilliance. It feels great to be out on this super clear night. The day was crisp, bright, hot and now the air is cooler, clear and still. At the top of the hill I can see the farms and homes scattered throughout the valley. Their small golden lights are on, signaling the contended end to a long day. Layers of mountains can faintly be seen with small strings of lights in distant villages tucked in between the hills. A train passes and gives it's lonely sounding call as it snakes it's way through the valley. The night sounds of life are so intense this time of year. Insects and frogs speak in a loud chorus echoing through the trees and fields. One especially, eek eek eek- eek eek eek- eek eek is repeated endlessly and from all directions till dawn. A meteor shower is expected later, closer to morning. Although it sounds spectacular, I'll miss it.

I return to my studio to work in the cool evening hours. I'd like to share some of my full moon batik with you. My "Stallion on an Eluive Evening" is bathed in moonlight. My "Red Dragon Breaths Arrows" about the moon. "Mirror Image Goats" has a mysterious feel of a blue green moon. "Pan calls the Moon from the Zebra's Back" and "Unicorns Rise from the Earth in Dreams."

A spring post also features the moon with the batik "Moon Over Spring" and others. The moon has a strong effect on me and is a great inspiration.

Losing the color!

It's was a beautiful August morning. Hazy and not too hot. The gentle breezes felt good as I stood at the top of the hill behind our house. Mist slowly rose and changed the soft colors of the expansive view. The mountains, arranged in subtle layers of blues, greens and purple. Birds and insects fill the air with their music. There is so much life this time of year.
Back at home, I'm contemplating the colors I want in several batik that have already gone through many dyebaths. As the dyes are translucent there are limits to overlays of opposite colors . In order to achieve what I want it will be necessary to bleach out some areas before the desired color can be added.

The summer weather is the best for doing discharge dyeing (bleaching). This is something not to be done inside. The bleach, which removes the color wherever the wax has not been applied to save the design, has quite strong fumes. To stop the bleaching action, the fabric is plunged into a solution of water and vinegar, gently agitated and left there for approximately fifteen minutes. This produces more toxic fumes. The commercial product, "Bleach Stop", sodium thiosulfate crystals are even more effective, but I believe have stronger fumes. A respirator mask is recommended when working around toxic fumes and good ventilation is essential.

Different dyes and intensities of dye bleach in a variety of unpredictable ways. When using strong solutions for bleaching deep colors be extra careful. Acid and Chlorine combined can kill! Monitor and stir the fabric as it bleaches. Various fabrics and dyelots take different times. Blue seems to bleach out overly quickly and thoroughly. Some colors change to a new color and not beige or white. Silk can stand only very weak bleaching without causing the fabric to deteriorate. Vinegar has an additional bleaching action and results are unpredictable as well as fascinating. The photos show a mask, a batik before bleaching, in the bleaching tub, after bleaching and finally you can see my "Appaloosa Horse in Flower Field" after the re-dyeing and with the wax ironed out, bright and expressing the summer season.