Sparkling at Sparkle Village

Last weekend, I had a booth at our town's annual holiday craft, cutely called "Sparkle Village Craft Show." It was my first year as a vendor and it was loads of fun! And loads of work. I made dozens of new botanical print scarves, along with some other goodies. That stretch of hard and satisfying work got me into a good place - very excited and energized by what I do. Lots of learning and experimenting. And with a head full of what I want to do next, after a period of questioning what I do. I'm over that, at least for now. More work usually seems to fix those problems.

A basket full of pillows

A rack full of scarves

A table full of prints, cards, journals, and scarves

My favorite botanical print ever! Horse chestnut and smokebush leaves with cochineal and logwood dyes on a silk pillow cover.

What Does Tannin Do?

I've been eco printing on all kinds of fabrics and papers for awhile now. And the more I learn, the more I realize that using mordants can make a huge difference in the results, especially when printing on cotton, linen, and other cellulose fibers.

To that end, I'm doing experiments of my own to see what I can learn. And I want to share them with you.

Set 1 - Six fabrics, three plants species

Iron blanket on left sample, made with paper towels.

All the bundles after simmering for 2 hours.

Two printed samples

I made 3 sets of fabric samples. After drying everything, I'll lay them out and compare my treatments. Stay tuned!

Change: the One Sure Thing

When I moved into the Pink House about two and a half years ago, I had a vision of what I wanted my gallery and studio to be. And I left lots of room for changing it all around.

Maria and her Saranac Lake Middle School Art Club at a collage workshop at the Pink House

Eco print workshop with Karen, Cris, Valerie, and Margaret. Super fun!

And a lot has changed! The studio remains pretty much the same (so I can teach here and host wonderful groups like the ones shown here!). I know now how many students I can accommodate for which classes, I know where my materials are (mostly), and it functions really well. But the gallery has gone through several revisions. For the first two seasons (June through September here),  I was open at least three days a week, as well as many other informal Open days. I had monthly exhibits, with the whole Food and Drink Thing, and lots of publicity. Loads of fun and I had such a great time working with many artist friends who showed their work here!

 But I knew I was missing the dance recitals of my granddaughters, family gatherings, and lots of amazing outdoor adventures with friends, and I decided that I needed to change how the gallery operated. The combination of my gallery's location on a small side street in my small village, the sparse visitors to the gallery, the huge energy and financial expenditures of putting on monthly exhibits, and a wonderful new relationship with a man who lives in another place - well, it didn't make sense anymore to sit in my gallery for days on end with little return. So last year, I was open three days a week from June through December and for studio tours. I was happier, lovely people still came in and we made nice connections, and I still showed my work along with that of friends. Lots of satisfactions but not much financial return.

Summer 2017 I cut back even further and was open mostly weekdays when I worked in my studio. Too much fun paddling, traveling, and learning to do. I have been open Fridays and Saturdays in December for Holiday Gift Gallery. Many thanks to all who have come in to chat, browse, and buy. I am so grateful for each of you!

Now I'm closing the gallery for the foreseeable future, after a Big Sale on January 20th. I'll still work regularly in my wonderful studio and enjoy my cozy home upstairs. And I hope to use that room for the local summer art walks and studio tours and for special short-term exhibits of my own work and that of others. Now I'll have a place for small dinner parties, which I can't manage in my little upstairs living room, and as well as a better office space. I'll miss my sweet little gallery business,  but I'm so looking forward to new projects and options!

So, it comes down to what makes each of us happiest and most satisfied. The next best step comes with clear thinking about what each of us wants to do with this short, beautiful life we are each allotted. I'll continue to post here about a big new project coming up, more classes and workshops at the Pink House, and miscellaneous creative adventures. 

I wish each of you Happiness, Creativity, and Abundant Love in the New Year and always.