7/01/2012

Interior motives

25


The best laid plans, as they say...except when it comes to mark making with plants
and other sundry items,
it might be best to put ones expectations aside.
Here is the outcome from  last week's science experiment...


Things were going along quite swimmingly with my idea to stuff two pieces of cloth
~ one, 100% silk, and the other 100% ramie ~
with identical ingredients:  red cabbage, fresh young bracken leaves, a spiral coil of copper wire.
The wrapped bundles looked promising when they first came out of their simmered cabbage "soup"...
that is, until I got the not-so-bright idea of dribbling a tiny amount of full-strength vinegar onto Bundle #1
(shown in its "before" state on the left, HERE)
aaaarrrrgggghhhh,  the whole thing immediately went  P I N K
and worse still,
bleached out every mark except for the copper spiral.


Since you never learn anything the second time you're kicked by a mule,
I decided to leave well enough alone...


Bundle #2 was put up to dry
and Bundle #1 was, well, put out to pasture?

In the meantime, a potful of gorgeous darkblueypurpley dye was still sitting there
and I couldn't bear to throw it away...what if...
so I tore the sleeve from a silky thrift store blouse, wrapped it around a chunk of driftwood 
with some rusty metal bits
and after a good stew overnight and five days rest,
the binding came off...


time, oh yes, time is your friend.
These are priceless words from a wise, wandering alchemist.


The driftwood soaked up quite a lot of color.  In fact, the cloth felt quite dry as I peeled it open
while the wood was still heavy from the moisture.
And it smelled like a big boiled cabbage, tah boot!


Dry down knocked that pink back to a pale lavender, but the blues stayed quite true.


The next thing that happened
reminded me of school days.  Ever try to use that line,
"Sorry teacher, but my dog ate my homework"?


True to her nature, Quinn ate my bundler.


But the "homework" was safe.



: : : :


Special thanks goes out to Dianne, who recently posted a series of photographs
from her time in San Francisco...all processed with the Snapseed app.
They are glorious and she inspired me bigtime ~ I used the app for this post.
Please go see her images HERE.


: : : :


To everyone stateside celebrating the 4th this week, Happy Independence Day all!




25 comments:

  1. Sometimes trial and error is just that! But you came out with some beautiful fabric. Of course if the bundler smelled like old cabbage it just HAD to be gnawed on didn't it?

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    Replies
    1. Thank you ~ yes, chomped substantially, Penny, HA! My fault for leaving it to dry on the porch where her miraculous nose skills would find it ;>/

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  2. Gorgeous cloths -- keep sharing :-)

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  3. some great results. my failures just get re-bundled for another go with something different.

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    1. ...my 1st thought upon witnessing my failure (lack of common sense?!?) was re-bundling for a later dye bath.
      I love having hope in the future! [wink]

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  4. bonne idée et beau travail!

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    1. Merci beaucoup...c'est un plaisir très expérimenter!

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  5. Replies
    1. Thanx Jennifer, and for visiting, too. I know that you are no stranger to the wonder of rust marks!

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  6. Wow, you are like a magician...very inspiring work.

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    Replies
    1. 'Tis nature, and water, and time that are the magicians here ~ I simply facilitate the gathering!

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  7. fantastic results..even the wash out was a result.......lol

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    Replies
    1. Heh liniecat, you've given me a fresh idea for another blog post..."wash outs"....could be fun!
      Many thanks for stopping by.

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  8. Love the alchemy, the results...and the humor!

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  9. have you tried dribbling a bit of ashwater on that piece to see if the alkali will restore the blue? might just work...

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    Replies
    1. I will try! Actually had the forethought to save some ash from fireplace this past winter, so should be able to do this easily...
      thanx heaps for the tip, India. That would be some magic indeed to see some of that blue come back.

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  10. Glad Quinn did not eat your 'homework'... some beauties emerged from the wrapped bundles and some experiments gone awry.. all part of the process called creativity.

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    1. YES...and apparently I am making an earnest effort to keep BOTH ends of that spectrum alive ;>}}
      And although that was my favorite bundling stick, Quinn was immediately forgiven. She can't help it if she's can smell a cooked cabbage from a mile away! ha!

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  11. very interesting technique.
    a hug.
    Ann

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    Replies
    1. This technique never ceases to wow me, Ann...always a surprise inside, one way or the other!

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  12. I love dyeing with red cabbage... Washing it with different detergents/soaps will change the colors too.

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  13. Gonna get out some copper for Friday... maybe form it into infinity signs and pound it a bit for texture... I'll make one for you too. And let's just see what the vinegar be-splotched piece does in the second bath as an underlayer to something new and fabulous!

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  14. Thanks for the link to my Fearful Dogs Blog! I really appreciate it.

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