here, there and everywhere.....

art of the day * jan 27 2012

2012-01-27T19:31:00.000-08:00

inspiration move me brightly- you fat smily old man sunface. :)

this was a start of a line drawing for about a year in the watercolor tablet- as i picked it back up again and started to draw- i knew what it was supposed to be. i finished it up and this happy father sun emerged.
Kinda like the weather lately- today was shitty rain, annoying, damp- and the sun finally came out right before sunset this evening and it was gorgeous. I love the dusk at this time of year :)

so here he is.
fat old sun.

watercolor & ink

have a great weekend folks!
xo
b

art of the day * jan 26 2012

2012-01-26T18:30:00.000-08:00

bird by the water. sharpie on paper.

:)

art of the day * jan 25 2012

2012-01-25T19:25:00.000-08:00

the 15 minute mandala..... imperial purple,truffle brown, soft orange and a mystery color in an unmarked jar....100% kona cotton.

this mandala is Mrs. Roper Fabulous.

....till tomorrow.....

art of the day * jan 24 2012

2012-01-24T19:00:00.000-08:00

looooooooooove the colors in this scene. bookmark for tie dye /painting later.

I don't think I've had so many pictures in a while.

Photographer credit goes to the now 9 year old Azalea- my favorite photographer ever. she's the best. At one point- she wanted to be one when she grew up, these days it's kindergarten teacher.

Today i took a rare plunge and decided to batik today- I don't prefer to do it on school nights, when the time is limited- batik is all about time for me~ so with the intention of putting Ernest Borgnine on a piece of material in wax resist- I headed to the crock pot, plugged it in and after the wax had been melted- realized i didn't have a proper light table to put poor Ernest on my cotton. so i stuck Ernie up on my shelf for the time being. He'll get there some day. (along with Janis). Today is your birthday, Ernie... but you won't be forgotten.

Free forming as the dragon came about yesterday- I decided - the wax was already melted- let's go free form on another piece of cotton. I was still feeling the flow of the dragon, so it's reprise.
I did a rough pencil sketch- and then went to town with tjanting and wax-
I painted some in this evening- need to hang it up and dry before painting the next parts.

i need a light table so ernest can be everywhere. lol.


batik painting droppings

And tonight's sunset was fabulous. All this talk of the Aurora Borealis, The "Aurora Oval", solar flares- I was born in the year of the Red Fire Dragon- it's dragon town ovah here. In the words of Bill and Ted, cosmically speaking - "Something is afoot at the Circle K"....the circle K being this earth. somehow. I would think it be more of a Wawa ...owned by the Moonies and no selling of lottery tickets...like there's no horoscopes in a USA Today either. Moonie owned. I'm not Moonies owned so I'll be painting whatever I damn like to.

and happy birthday Neil Diamond too.

10 years ago today I found out I was pregnant with Azalea..... <3

---till tomorrow....

art of the day * jan 23 2012

2012-01-23T19:36:00.000-08:00

water dragon.... still in the works.... just ink so far.

art of the day * jan 22 2012

2012-01-22T17:19:00.000-08:00

dyed. fresh from the dryer....

its cold tonight....

this is dyed silk velvet. My most favorite thing ever to dye. I wanted hand dyed silk velvet everywhere..... Such a gorgeous feel, deep rich colors..... heavenly mandala. it feels luxurious....

next up is a personal tee i made for myself--- brown/turq/purple mandala tee..... dig the white background.....

who wants some deep dyed velvet?~ I'm all for dying it for you....

art of the day * jan 21 2012

2012-01-21T18:52:00.000-08:00

Busy day today!
Tied up some white goods for dyeing, went crazy with the seafoam green. :)

Lady Arrow is done....
tshirts coming soon.

art of the day * jan 20 2012

2012-01-21T07:29:00.000-08:00

:)
Sleepytimes and a late night movie kept me from last night's post. I watched this great flick called Fermat's Room ... It was a Spanish mathematical thriller. I LOVED IT.... lol... The cinematography was stunning, the story, set decoration, and I was in love with the Oliva's dress.... So let's move past my siskel and ebert and get to the art, shall we?

I just added more to the Lady Arrow- she is evolving into something amazing- and I've decided to make tshirts with her on it when it's done.
And I think I've made chocolate chip clouds. lol.
today is saturday, let's dye! more this evening~*

-xoxo
b

art of the day * jan 19 2012

2012-01-19T19:31:00.000-08:00

Good evening, hunnies.....

Today's entry was done with some downtime at work in between jobs- Thinking of what I could digitize, I picked "Melody Fiore". This was the first drawing I made about 2 weeks after giving birth to my daughter Melody .."Fiore" is Italian for flower :) .... I was so in love with my new baby, and my new growing family- I had to just spill it out in ink. It flowed quickly~ and I just love it. Elements of ocean life, seasons, birth, creation.... all there.

So today I digitized Melody Fiore into an embroidery design, with small pieces of color for the outer hearts and flowers.
It's crazy how hand drawn lines can translate into stitches..... It was a trip watching the embroidery machine go over the same lines my pen did- looping and swirling and it was a nice break from the usual corporate logo.

It measures about 8x8" ..... so happy with her.....
Rayon thread on cotton~*

till tomorrow~*
much love*
b

art of the day * jan 18 2012

2012-01-18T18:08:00.000-08:00

Last night had me skipping another day (so much for 365) because I had a late tattoo appointment in the evening ~ it was around quarter to 10 by the time I got home- I was loopy from the feeling of elbow ink- and in no shape to pick up a pen or paintbrush- i just wanted to relax. I missed my annual jeopardy tryout too- so it evens out. Someone made art, just not me.

Today's selection is a dye I had made over the weekend- and I wasn't really happy with the result- it was plain. nothing going on for me at least, so I took it to work today and embroidered a nice violet dancing ganesha on it! I thought that was just what completed this piece!
The only crappy part is when i ripped the backing off- the running stitches of the rays coming off of him - some came out- :( boo.
If I didn't mention it before - I no longer work for the slushie racket anymore. I've been an embroiderer of the machine persuasion for almost 4 years now, a ninja if you wish..... I digitize and embroider, I learned from the ground up and taught myself most of it.... its a love that I never imagined I would ever discover and by happenstance, the embroidery bug bit me. So I work for a small local business- and we do lots of work for local businesses, major companies, and things. I've been compiling in my head a blog post of all things I have ever embroidered anonymously that some people see every day- aprons for infomercials, bartenders shirts on MTV's Jersey Shore, NJ Turnpike billboards, Brooklyn Brewery, firefighters on the local news..... I just love the job...It's a not so 9-5 that agrees perfectly. It's thread and fabric all day long. :)
Someone commented on a past blog saying I should digitize my line drawings.... I might just do that.....

Ganesha is the Hindu god of removing obstacles....he's my homeboy....

so dance on Ganesha...dance on...

till tomorrow~*
love&light*

b

art of the day * jan 16, 2012

2012-01-16T19:10:00.000-08:00

Happy Monday, people!

I hope your days of 2012 are filled with love and goodness thus far---

I'm really feeling things click. Took a week, or 2 or almost 3, but I'm feeling this great sense of something big. I've been disciplining myself be it not eating so much crappy food, healthier lifestyle changes, this whole art thing has been such a huge catalyst for it all. Some days I'm tired, some days I'd rather draw a happy face and be done with it, but I have to show myself that I can do this again. This is my passion in life- and I flaked out on it for too long. I'll admit I neglected my heart for a long time.... I'm discovering new mediums, new inspiration, and a new outlook where I feel whole again.

Don't get me wrong- I'm grateful for everything life has given me thus far-both good and bad, but i feel like I have more of my foundation back doing this every day. So if 1 person only reads this, or 25 people are reading this- someone is and I'm happy to share this with you :) Thanks for sticking with it thus far. It makes me smile. :)

Tonight is ink on paper- a continuation of Lady Arrow--- she is evolving into something great. :) I think she might even wind up on a tshirt.

I just feel really great. Tomorrow my elbow has an appointment with the tattoo artist for a mandala :) Birthday + Christmas gift from the husband....he's awesome.....

onward and upward!*

till tomorrow-

shine on*

-b

art of the day * jan 15th 2012

2012-01-15T17:18:00.000-08:00

Art was everywhere today. I made a firm solemn vow not to go out in this abominable cold after i went out to get my sunday papers... in we stayed and made art i did!
started out wiht a batch of tie dyes- no thickener made the dye slide all over so i refrained from any photos of them- i'm going to cut up the peices and put them together in one big patchwork i think at some point.
No definition- but the colors are fabulous....
Batiked some too- but those are still in progress as well- My hands are a grungy color of green and orange and I don't think it's coming off anytime soon.
I'm really excited over these wood pieces.... I found a new medium in them- so i started a project with a slice i dyed with marigold dye first. more layers to come. I have a really good feeling about this new wood medium.... still on the lookout for furniture to dye,,,,,,

My final project - which is also not done yet- lol- (seeing a pattern here folks?) is an original art outlet cover. the outlets keep coming up in the art, electricity, etc--- so why not make a cozy for it?
i drew right on that paper, so this is competely original, decoupoaged on an outlet cover- handpainted and handdrawn. :) It's still wet in the picture....
Loved this!!!

what great day today...and the giants won. :)
yay.....

till tomorrow~*
xo
b

art of the day jan 14, 2012

2012-01-14T18:20:00.000-08:00

no art for the 13th. like a hotel doesnt have a 13th floor, i guess.
not really though- i have no capabilities for scanning or photographing/blogging while on the road- our smartphone just wouldnt do anything justice. I spent the night in Harrisburg PA with the husband's band and our friend Keller Williams for some sweet music at the Appalachian Brewing Company. No time to make anything except hijinks, my friends. So it was an off night. Ironically- we stayed at the Harrisburg Hilton last night- and wouldn't ya know it- it had a 13th floor ! Props to that hotel if i may say for a minute- the best bed ever. I feel bad though- I got blue and magenta hair dye on their awesome pillows. I hope it can be bleached out.eek.

crispy and recovering from an awesome night of music- today was a bit of struggle, but the goddess and her arrowed ear emerged. still in progress.I skipped a day, so there goes my new years resolution. i guess these are expected. ...until i get a laptop. lol.

Tomorrow I hope to get some batik done!whee!

art of the day * jan 12, 2012

2012-01-12T19:25:00.000-08:00

acrylic on hand dyed dyed hickory.... not done yet.

art of the day : jan 10-11, 2012

2012-01-11T19:42:00.000-08:00

:)
yesterday i just needed some r&r....

today was cool- i dug up some hickory scraps from the kitchen my brother made my mom... a thick dense wood that takes pigment dyes great. i really want to tie dye furniture!! I also scored a vintage WHITE chenille blanket too - one block is oxblood red/soft orange/yellow mix , the other is chartruese and turquoise, one is a black and fuchsia mix, and the other is imperial purple. not sure what i'll do with them now- too tough to carve.

some drawing as well- pencil and ink free hand.

:)
b

art of the day(s) * jan 8-9, 2012

2012-01-09T19:42:00.000-08:00

Skipped a day there~ after the 10 hours of work i spent in the dye room- the results weren't something i desired and it just gave me a bad mood. I took the day off from this rather than put something out that I wasn't happy with- the leaky pipe piece from day 2 was embarrassing enough. All that work and I thought it all pretty much looked like shit. to me at least. I still have 2 pieces out for batiking- they take more time- but the tie dye I just was not happy with it at all. Tie dyeing tshirts can be a real pain- and sometimes I'd rather not do it. But I go to sleep and wake up and want to do it all over again. I think I'm going to stick with batik for the time being.... and tapestries. Trying not to get myself into an artistic funk.

So after sitting and staring at it- 1 piece I took from yesterday kinda started to grow on me--- not a big piece or big deal, but I tried to try something new, and it looks like a sonic boom to me. the turquoise really pops on this one too. :) SONIC SUNRISE.
And tonight I added more to the drawing- no title yet~*.... really digging on clouds lately.

a dye and a drawring... :)

...till tomorrow....

b

art of the day * jan 7 2012

2012-01-07T21:02:00.000-08:00

Exhausted. That's all I have to say. No completed projects, but around noon today I went nuts and started to batik, then mixed up colors of every kind, dyed, waxed--i went on a project frenzy. Thanks to my wonderful husband and daughter for keeping the baby occupied until he had to leave for work tonight at 7.... It's tons of work. 10 hours to wax and paint a mandala tapestry, batiking a skirt, a tie dye shirt and small tapestry. 10 hours! This is not easy work- my head is pounding and back is aching- but i love it. No finished products since this kind of work can take days, even weeks to finish. Many steps ...many many steps and lots of patience is required.
My eyes are burning and my hands are stained with the labor of love......

hopefully i can get a few pieces completed by tomorrow's post.

i tried some new things-and i have no idea what it looks like until i pull out the stitches. LOTS OF STITCHES.

i'm just really tired from all this play---it's hard to this kind of stuff without someone minding a toddler because it's nasty chemicals, things you have to wear a face mask for, and dye that does not wash out. So I had to wait for the baby to go to bed before continuing.... 4 pieces, 10 hours, and more to go! this is why individual tie dyes and fiber arts are so much....TIME. it takes time....

pictures tomorrow....i hope i can stay awake for saturday night live. this green tea stopped working!

love,
a very tired me.

art of the day * jan 6 2012

2012-01-06T19:12:00.000-08:00

It's funny how 3 days ago, I mentioned that I loved the number 3. Well it's 3 days later and guess how many project I have going on at once? 3. Nuts, eh? It calms me, actually.... lol. But none completed- and I'm ok with it. I still made something today, sort of!
Not being too crafty lately has it's casualties. I cracked open some 2 year old screenprinting ink to find it congealed, but of course i tried it anyway, resulting in a ruined emulsion sheet and yucked up fabric. not to mention i had to clean it all up afterwards after a failed attempt to screen print fabric. Never use old ink, kids.There's goes that artistic attempt!

Rummaging through my stuff, I realized I need a good solid trip to a thrift shop or garage sale for things to refurbish. and drill bits, I need those too.

In my things, I found a scrap of a sweet cotton doilie my great gramma Frances made, that I dyed randomly...YEARS ago. The dye took so gorgeous- I never knew what to do with it! Add in a found piece of rich purple hand dyed cotton, and some tiny antique Indian bells and I think I have a waist wrap or scarf or whatever you would do with it goin' on..... who knows- it could evolve into something else! No peeking until it's done!

The ticket box I sealed today with ModPodge, so it's all gross and sticky and I can't get it in a good position to photograph. But it's looking good, another coat and it should be done by the weekend's end.

Third project is this drawing. I plan on adding more to it- it just takes more than a day to draw a piece this big. I was reluctant to post it up, so i scanned it low res and pushed a watermark on it because I don't appreciate people stealing photos or art without permission. it sucks.

So we find ourselves here with 3 projects, in progress- this might become a running theme.... tiny quick pieces of art I'm finding are not my forte unless you want to see little drawings every day. lol. and once i get those drill bits- oh boy...... this might turn into a 'constant works in progress that i need to complete every day'
This weekend brings some tie dye, at least. yay!
Pretty soon this stuff is going to start accumulating, so I'm thinking I just might sell most of the month's pieces on etsy. maybe.

have a great one, lovelies.... :)
in light*
-b

art of the day * jan 5, 2012

2012-01-05T19:41:00.000-08:00

I knew it would eventually happen where I would start something, and I wouldn't finish. tiny frustration- it's 10:20 and this old lady needs some rest to face tomorrow. Welp-there's always tomorrow. Today's art (or craft?) is a work in progress now- My husband had an old QTron box in his things that I was allowed to decorate, so it could still be used to hold that amazing funky guitar pedal...I decided to keep it's musical integrity and go crazy decoupaging the entire thing in vintage ticket stubs and musical stuff. Also a small nod to NJ's musical past.

The origin of all these cool musical pieces of paper admission came from a friend of my mom's- she was a realtor and one of the houses she was selling had an estate sale years ago. All this musical stuff was found years later in a dresser my mother had bought. I feel terrible not even knowing the man's name, but he saved EVERYTHING. and his musical tastes went from Liberace to Zappa, to the Grateful Dead to Jackson Browne. This guy saw a lot of shows. as well as sporting events, and he saved programs from the old Garden State Arts Center, the Capitol Theater, and more. It's nuts how much he kept. Newspaper articles, stickers, pins, handwritten setlists and the list goes on. I had a few of his old tour shirts too. So his treasure became recycled into an all over salute to MUSIC envelope filter box.
I still need to seal it all and giveit a few hours of love and eyeballs, but the tickets are placed and i think it looks awesome :) Not sure yet what I'll do with the top sliding part of the box, but it'll cap it off into something nice. I love this box!

I really can't wait to finish it up.

yay music!

till tomorrow~*
b

art of the day * jan 4 2012

2012-01-04T20:32:00.000-08:00

Sometimes it's good to keep it small. Having giant dreams last minute can sometimes prove to be ... shall we say awkward? I got all the materials out for today's projected project- only to have other things tearing me in other directions- from dye to paper, to glass-
wanting to break away from the paper/ink- i said "ok! And i embarked on a grandiose project with vintage tickets, ModPodge, and all that jazz. No way it would have gotten done before the end of the day- so I have everything ready for tomorrow. stay tuned.

I've lost 2 lbs so far! yay me!

been on a strict calorie regimen- my head is foggy=- these projects will grow, i promise.
having a nice time watching a DVR'd Knicks game (welcome back Stoudemire!!) , and sitting with my love as i drew instead. So yeah- pen and ink again. But I have this nifty little notebook i got a few months ago- watercolor paper mini book. It's so cute! I highly recommend this fab little way of keeping it small and being portable.

So I drew something in honor of today being the 4th day of the year, and painted it in.

Eye Love Yew.

tiny but big :)
ink + watercolor.
(and i'm not sure how a pigment pen can bleed, but it did)

eye love yew!!!
till tomorrow-
b

art of the day * jan 3, 2012

2012-01-03T18:07:00.000-08:00

The first 3rd of the year. :) ! I was born on the 9th 3rd of the year- I'm a number dork, so 3's and 9's fascinate me. Always a fan.
anyhoo,
Today I didn't get much done in the yoga department. Which was felt because without it, I feel like yuck. Really. I wanted to, but sometimes circumstances just don't allow it. So at least the motivation was there.

I was happy to hear about the meteor shower tomorrow morning early. Shooting stars!
Today's art : "Electric Clouds"

pen on paper....

I decided to get a little crazy with the photoshop.

Stay warm out there!

-till tomorrow~ <3
...b

art of the day * jan 2, 2012

2012-01-02T20:07:00.000-08:00

I was psyched today because I was able to have my brother help install some shop lights in the pseudo studio with sunlight light bulbs last night. One of the light fixtures did not work, therefore blowing a house breaker. He told me not to use the outlet anymore. So I went back to Lowe's and got a new light fixture. and all is well with the world. I also discovered that using an iron when the outlet to plug it in is overhead is pretty cool too.
I didn't know what to do for today's art o' the day until i did some sight wandering around some scraps-- i found a lovely treated piece of white fabric- had my green tea and mixed up some dyes.

... it's a mutant version of the folding and clamping technique of shibori called Itajime. Only i don't have any blocks. so i used a clamp and some zip ties. never tried it before! As i type this now - it's still in the washer-

when i was steam setting the dye - i noticed a leak in the downstairs laundry room that seems to have been getting worse. It's plumber time. Took an hour of futile putty maneuvering that just was icky and did no good. *Sigh*
I'm tired, but not without posting today's art. I might make this tomorrow's project too and screen print it with some art. who knows.....

yes. those are real medical grade syringes. and not fun to poke yourself with.

for now this piece is called "leaky ucky copper pipe matrix #2"... more to come for this piece (which i am now finding out is not treated now that it came out of the wash very faded, so the dye didn't take either. love when that happens. time to make lemonade out of my lemons!!!!)
ergh. I'm going to sleep.

art of the day jan 1, 2012

2012-01-01T15:13:00.000-08:00

today i am exhausted.
a small drawing of a blooming spiral.

<3

tomorrow starts calorie cutdown, calorie burning, and the first day back at work.

other stuff expected for 2012:
a new tshirt store featuring limited runs of designs with custom requests
posters
postcards
more framed original prints!

see you tomorrow*
b

2012 ~ day 1.

2012-01-01T09:01:00.000-08:00

So I see that my last post was just about 2 years ago. This basically shows the strange progress life has taken.

My wonderful father departed this earth in march of 2010, when I was 4 months pregnant with my now 16 month old daughter. The entire year of 2010 was a fog. A blur. Nothing came out right- I did what I could to keep it down inside and keep my cool for the baby inside, keep a smile on for everyone on the outside, when inside my heart was ripped out. It's selfish IMO to want the dead back, when they left this earth to find PEACE and I had to be happy that my father was cancer free and most of all pain free. I suppressed all that sadness and hurt and pain. Through wise words from a friend, I was able to let the part of my dad live on in me, the non sick dad, the dad I missed. So it took some time, and I needed desperately to clean out old things to be able to renew something inside for me be comfortable with my art again.My dad and I were very close, and I don't know any day that goes by where I don't think about it.He is very much with me :)
It's still a struggle, and I miss daddy everyday- so I make it a point every day to do my best as he taught us. DO MY BEST to do a good job, do it right and get it right. The man was a fabulous electrical engineer and woodworking genius.
2011 I spent in renewal. It was SLOW. but it started to really happen. smalllll steps :)

So this brings us to 2012. I will not let my pain define me, I will be immersed wholeheartedly in every moment and every activity- and love will find it's way.

One of my goals besides losing this baby weight is to create a piece of art every day.
So this is part of the reason for bringing the blog back to life, to kick my own butt to get those loose projects finished up, new creations born and who knows- maybe another medium i have yet to try.
:)

So I would hope that you would stay tuned, reader. and Pass this blog along - because I want it to spring forth something new this year- i don't know what, but I have such a good and whole feeling !

I woke up this morning excited to create today's art--- all the more for 364 more pieces by next year.

stay tuned!
-love&light*
-b

Live Painting on Ebay - 100% goes to Unicef for Haiti....

2010-01-14T16:27:00.000-08:00

Ebay Auction - click here

Hi folks. I can't watch the news anymore- let alone not do anything. It might be a small donation to a large problem, but you get some art for your giving and 100% of it goes to aid the people of Haiti via Unicef.

I painted this in September at Camp Kee-wanee in Greenfield, MA to the sets of both Juggling Suns and U-Melt. Local CT artist Chach also contributed a section with a paintbrush during U-Melt's set.

24 x 18 inches on canvas - acrylic.

It was a pleasure to paint and even a greater pleasure now to offer this up to aid the people of Haiti in their time of need.

Thanks again....

In Light*

-brianne

New items on Etsy... been a while, eh?

2009-11-21T12:55:00.000-08:00

This past year has been a whirlwind- loaded with a new job, lots of hours and being tired.....

Trying to get as much as I can made to once again join the community of actively listing artists once again..Through the day, i've been listing some items up on etsy, original art on tees and prints, clothing, and other goodies...

Getting there! sit tight for more stuff!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/twilightdance

ITS ALIVE....AGAIN!!!

2008-11-16T12:11:00.000-08:00

Oh joy!

The website is back up again, slowly regaining goods.

This time I am so happy to offer screenprinted shirts with 2 of my original line drawings on em- "Yacqui" and "Untitled Lines"

These have been printed in extremely limited #s- so once they go, they go.

I'm working on getting more designs to t-shirts, as well as girly shirts, too. 100% cotton- you can't go wrong. Professionally printed- high quality by some of the best in the business. Check them out here!

I also added 3 leftover tie dye mandalas from the summer vending season up for grabs. These are very special dyes to me because i incorporated a unique way of tying them this time around and I'm very happy with the results.

More items to be coming soon, as well as prints of some paintings, and all that good stuff. I still am here taking custom orders for anything dyed or sewn. holler if you need anything!

transmission of mission

2008-04-10T16:44:00.000-07:00

"The Transmission of Mission", (c)2001 by Tisziji Munoz (excerpt) "Spirit is Source. Spirit is the absolute origin. Everyone and everything originates from Spirit. However, fixed identification with and as karmatic conditions, relative to dimensions of matter, energy, space, time and mind, prevents enlightenment as Spirit. Everyone is capable of experiencing and perceiving changes, but no one is their changes, their stuff of attachment, their preferences and desires, their hopes and fears. All of that is a testing ground of one's opportunity to begin transcending the world of cause and effect and being subject to, or being the slave of karmatic(space/time/matter/energy/mind) conditions. Everyone, as Spirit, is inherently neutral to all changes, all karmas, all relations and all identifications for or against any appearance or condition of self, thought or mind. While no one is self, the device, which is self, is a matrix for karmatic experience. While no one is thought, the mechanism, which is thought, is a matrix. While no one is mind, the assumption, which is mind, is also a matrix. The conscious, creative and selfless use of these three functions, mechanisms or perceived components of consciousness are preliminary to a cosmic understanding of life as a human being, and are fundamental to a realization of the higher worlds of Spirit. Love is the perfection of being. Always turn to love directly. Love is the true master of the Heart. Love is true life, beyond all laws, limits, conditions and promises. Love transcends all barriers, all dimensions, all relative planes of perception and understanding. Only love is love, and nothing and no one is as perfect as love is, except when one IS that love. Let this be the transmission of the mission of Love. This love is the Heart's mission to love without all doubt, hesitation or condition."

2008 live paintings thus far (to be updated as they are added)

2008-03-21T18:09:00.001-07:00

whee. a new year.
new paintings.
embarking on a voyage of color through sound.
"got no lands guided by magic hands....."
i know where these paintings come from. i know where they have been. i'm falling more and more in love with the act of creating over the past years.... at first a little apprehensive-but gradually finding a voice.
i do not have any pre-thought- i literally put the paint to canvas and just go. meditation in motion.

ive calmed my soul to such a degree doing these i need to take a few days to recover afterwards, its an outpouring and inpouring all at the same time- a massive energy exchange of cosmic proportion.

so i will add them for the year as i go.....

heres the offerings so far::::

8/26/08 - Bear's Picnic - PA
Painted live to the music of Juggling Suns/ Moonalice
Had issues with a last minute canvas purchase- sub par art supplies are a real pain. But I made it work the best I could - now G.E> Smith to me was a legend- the years of him playing on SNL were my favorites. Meeting him was absolutely amazing! He - as well as Jack Cassady and Barry Sless signed my painting. Will I sell it? No way.

8/1/08- - painted live @ Gathering of the Vibes::

Zappa Plays Zappa (with the bottom left being partially painted by li'l one Azalea"

Umphrey's McGee- 8/3/08- GOTV

stonehenge:: 6/20/08-- a very interesting night. outside:: in the woods:: lots of things surrounding me energy-wise. got to the point where the painting itself physically spoke. i had to take a break at that point and give some time to breathe, this painting got sold the very next day. it had a certain love to it- a calmness. a creative spirit where it spoke on its own. enjoy

april 26th, 2008::some kind of jam 3.... kempton,pa

painted alongside CRB onstage...onstage!!! HOLY SHIT!!...now I am terrified of being onstage while painting- but jon promised me he would stand by me. and he did. splattered paint on me too- but i dont care- it's all relative. this was done to juggling suns during a blitering set. Ive never painted onstage before, and i doubt i will again, but the energy is so completely different than anything. it's a high, but i'd rather much be down below. or behind a curtain like the wizard of Oz :0) this one isn't for sale, the husband fell in love with it and isn't ready to part with it anytime soon ;)

feb. 29 2008- juggling suns @ surf taco-jackson,nj

(yes- you may think a taco joint in a strip mall is no big deal, but the VIBE of the place and the VIBE of everyone there was probably the most comfortable i've ever felt. love these guys- love their love...rock on) I will be there in the future..... painted to Juggling Suns- total time: 2.5 hours

Cabin Fever 2008::

This canvas- painted to both bands U-Melt and Juggling Suns.... I painted next to my cosmic soul brother Crazyredbeard ... both him and i have numerously painted side by side...ive found my painting twin in him. i hardly look at what he's painting while the shows are being played---but when we get done, we seem to mirror image each other a lot. i like to say we have telepathic tin cans and string.

my painting of that evening is here...U-melt's set was painted on top/ Juggling Suns is on the bottom. (this painting has been sold)....secret messages are also painted in glo in the dark paint. only visible with xray vision!!* or unless you have a blacklight.

you can see crazyredbeard's painting here

aint we twins???

more paintings to follow as i go.
maybe next? parliament funkadelic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
may 8th kiddos!!!!! sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!

craftster's best of 2007.....

2008-03-21T18:05:00.000-07:00

i kept looking at my blog tracks and wondered where all the hits were coming from! lol....

check it.
http://www.craftster.org/bestof2007/

in the fiber arts: completed projects: dyeing..... my batik dandelion dress and the birth of a mandala got the best of 2007!
who knew that the maiden blog post would grow up to get hits from all over the world?
i'm humbled.

much love*
b

falling curtains of hydrogen

2007-12-03T11:47:00.000-08:00

hello,readers...its been a while. just when i think I've never been more busy in my life, it gets busier. i rarely have a free moment to sit down for more than a few minutes anymore-but surprisingly-my stress levels haven't risen all too much. I'm handling it...
I've also found a new job that occupies my weekdays- I'm delivering coffee and squishie machines to different places in NJ, I've learned how to fix the squishie machines, enter into loading docks, and install coffee makers in offices... For the coffee addict- this is a nice job. My delivery vehicle (the trusty buick) constantly smells like coffee. It's great. Plus I get to meet really neat people all the time. One day we had to pick up squishie machines in the schools of Paterson- and I was just in awe of how beautiful the downtown area is. I mean, I grew up on the outskirts of this town since I was 10, and I never remembered too well the downtown, but oh boy. So it inspired me to start taking my camera to work with me since I get sent to all these crazy places in NJ. Ive taken a good # of photos so far-dashboard mounted camera has an interesting angle. Every photo was taken in black and white- somehow new jersey looks better that way sometimes.
So the more I'm out on the road- it;s the time that I am away from my pens and paper. I still have yet to paint anything lately-I am really itching to though...
I sat down recently and took the time to just sit and draw. I was always wondering why I'm just compelled to squiggle every line- It just what comes out of my hands. This and the other ink drawings I have done have always been as it happens. I do not pencil draw anything beforehand. But I'm so in love with this latest piece.
"(falling curtains of) hydrogen". But back to the squiggles- I find that they are almost little pockets of meditation, just a small particle of the Giant Spiral of Everything... The milky way comes to mind when I think of it. They just seem to happen. I like it.

Hopefully I should have that design printed on some sort of fabric goods soon- the fish makes me smile.

take care folks and have a great day*

i took a li'l break from the bloggin...

2007-09-24T08:31:00.001-07:00

Greetings!

Been a while since I last posted here, I've been terribly busy with work and at the same time sending the little one off to kindergarten. Children grow quickly.

Been creating at a slower pace than usual, but thats the way things work sometimes and its nice not to be rushed all over.
So I've created a new batik mandala, and a whole mess of new skirts lately. And now I'm doing one of a kind mandalas on tshirts now. mandalas are everywhere!
its crazy because like the wheels they are - they seem to be turning faster and faster to where i feel comfortable in my calling as an artist with being a maker of them finally. I was always a bit apprehensive about putting them out there at first- but the past couple of years have turned that table. I now get a sense of purpose from them, each one is its own bird when they get started aand then it creates itself.

been fascinated by them since I first laid a pencil on graph paper many many years ago. symmetrical patterns....i make them in so many different forms its like breathing to me now.
I think I'm going to do another 'mandala in progress' blog post like My first ever blog entry again. I loved how it take a journey and shows the process. Stay tuned!

So yes- mandalas have been everywhere lately.

The wheel is turning and you can't slow down. Can't let go and you can't hold on.... ;)

so little time...so much to restock...

2007-07-24T18:38:00.000-07:00

working on dyeing up a bunch of new corduroys for some winter items and COATS! and more MENS pants!...., restocking the vending booth for the last of the summer fests, running round like a headless chicken everywhere. There's also a persnickety serger who isn't behaving very nice lately. i think she needs a tune up...
mainly cleaning and rearranging a lot lately too. cleaning sucks. lol! How and where this all this crap come from??? lol

totally unrelated- i'm going to talk about salt...
and i've finally found that i should own stock in the company that produces non-iodized kosher salt.... i go through POUNDS of it in dye baths one after another probably about 10 lbs of salt at least per batik piece i do... the folks at the supermarket see us with shopping carts full of salt every so often and i'm sure they wonder wtf...lol....- yet I cant find it in those giant sacks like at costco. Iodized only.... hm.
so i'm stuck for now buying those little round boxes...at least they recycle well :)

.............
stay tuned for new goods to be showing up very very soon!!*
love&light*

ooh! new clothing...finally!

2007-07-02T21:07:00.000-07:00

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Finally up and added some new clothing.... the hand dye turquoise top resurfaces, a printed skirt with original art, and a woodblock hand printed piece too. i'll be adding more soon- but I had these pics and I figured I'd burn some midnight oil and post them. Thanks to my girl beth for taing the pics on her swanky new camera. I'm really proud of this little batch- and slowly eeking myself from out of the patchwork box. Don't get me wrong- i love doing the patchwork, but I'm hoping to integrate more and more wearable non-patchy art as well. I hope you enjoy... and thoughts and suggestions and recipes with mayonnaise for ingredients are always welcome :)
someday i'll find a model to help with wearing these clothes for the camera.... :lol:....

much love

sight thru the night. 2007

2007-06-13T09:02:00.000-07:00

woo! Its a new baby!

presenting::

'sight thru the night'

17 x 11

ink on paper.

hi res prints available very soon. :)

the robots! the robots!!!

stonehenge bound with simultaneous art!

2007-06-11T14:55:00.000-07:00

Stonehenge is a small family music festival set out in the middle of pennsylvania. It's a happening that has been in many different places- but the small magical family vibe is always there. ... it's just a weekend of great music and family. i cant love it any more than i do.

this year will be my 9th stonehenge in a row- held on the weekend of june 22 - 23 2007. I've been vending there the past 5 years- so I have to make sure my inventory is nice and fat for the booth. And this will be my first vending gig of the summer- so I'm really psyched to pull out something different this season. I'll have the dyes and a few pieces of patchwork clothing as always, but I'm also offering those funky shirts, prints of my work, and some non-patchwork clothing pieces which incorporate more art than ever. Like stamping and printing the clothing with original artwork and woodcuts, as well as showcasing more of the one of a kind batik art i've been into. So these coming days up until the festival every year is always filled with running everywhere- dye buckets, thread all over the place, messy bathtubs and floors, 1 half broken washing machine and 90 projects going on at once.

And this is where i find my peace- when all this 'stuff' and inspiration seems to just come in sporadic floods. its funny- sometimes i cant find anything in my brain to work with at all--. but i when i push it and make myself get out of the box, make it something i need to reckon with---it tends to just blossom.

I'm working on a new line drawing- with every one they seem to grow and evolve- its another 17 x 11 big un- so stay tuned. and this one was also improvised as it happened. that happy little robot appeared at some point. i see him as a next future tattoo. :) its a really beautiful piece.... probably my favorite line drawing so far. My scanner crapped out on me so it might be awhile before its unleashed-but it's coming....

I'm thrilled at this whole new direction.... and starting at such a perfect family reunion such as Stonehenge is going to be a fine beginning.

shula shakti dancing... veils and skirts ...

2007-06-07T17:38:00.000-07:00

I got a real big smile today. Thanks to Patty who sent me these photos from her belly dancing performance and fundraiser this past Sunday in Maywood,NJ. They raised over $1100 to aid underpriveleged children in Kenya. I couldn't be more happier to be a part of it as semi-costume designer... I made the skirts and veils...!

They look so pretty, don't they?

proud momma seamstress moment here... :*)

printed and dyed tees!

2007-06-04T09:54:00.001-07:00

I'm so excited to finally have these done and printed and dyed! Please welcome the newest addition to twilightdance.com- the t-shirt line! I'm starting off printing small designs at first- then I'll be moving onto bigger pieces like some whole prints of my line drawings....
Available are tanks in both leaf green and desert red, tees in blue and gold (both speckle dyes), and long sleeves in a spring green that I'm worried is a bit too bright -LOL. Infants shirts are coming soon! Stay tuned as we expand.... I'll have these babies out and on hangers at Stonehenge, too!

a mandala for the week.

2007-05-30T06:54:00.001-07:00

just because.
this one made me realize i need glasses terribly.
goin blind, seeing the sun...

eyeheart treestar

2007-05-29T05:09:00.001-07:00

coming to t-shirts near you.

eyeheart treestar-2007

the shapes of things.

2007-05-28T17:57:00.000-07:00

color and shape exists in every single space.
often times i'll get hooked on the shape and color of a certain type of leaf, and it saturates the current projects and art pieces at the time being. Seashells' eternal golden spirals, moving in both directions. Things you've seen in the paradises of dreams- come to life on that perfect sunny day when the ocean sparkles....
shapes of things emerge and are born.

The morning glories have started to grow- their heart shaped leaves are just so pretty and delicate. More and more the leaves keep coming up in the work, being it improvisational.

Strangecreek- Greenfield Massachussettsthis past memorial day weekend I got to do my first live painting outside of the year. Rather than a bar= outside is so much better... surrounded by the shapes of things, hula hoops, dancers channeling what lies above and below, notes and tones and beats and melodies pour from speakers and intertwine around everything...

Painting in the midst of all of that is bliss. Painting with kindred spirits during music is even nicer. Started out with the biggie canvas figuring I'd paint a few spots here and there and finish it by the end of the festival. Saturday found me during Entrains set painting with my daughter- she did a good number on the lower bottom half. Took about an hour doing , then headed to the woods to see Unexplained Bacon. Crazyredbeard and I shared a canvas and painted a whole canvas alongside a mystery guy named Alex. Intense.
Next day- I decided to finish up the initial canvas to Juggling Suns' set and fill in Azalea's empty spaces. it lies as a piece that i thought captured the outdoor music, dance and smile. alive.
all that sunshine is good for you, too.... got a much needed break from the real world. vitamin d shots... I hadn't painted live since March, so this is #4 for 2007.

a bit dark, will upload a better one later.

the love and light of SOUND, being and art.

2007-05-05T09:31:00.000-07:00

"...we start by way of reflecting our suffering and our karma and our disturbances and resistances to life's conditions. And then we evolve to a point where rather than a mirror to society- we become a window to divinity. And I think being a window to divinity is more important and arrives at what I call true and pure art- which is no art at all, its just Heart.'
-tm

"Does Spirit only work in the ways of a tradition?
Is Spirit not Free to create a new one?
The statement 'no enlightenment outside of the traditions' indicates that if you are going to Awaken,it is going to have to happen through transformational processing from some exclusive tradition or formerly established, antique system, institution or lineage. And it is a great statement indeed whichhas its appropriate impact on certain developed but unenlightened or unliberated beings.
But not all Sat Gurus are born out of such traditions.
Spirit truly works in Strange ways.
In fact, It works in Its Own Ways.
And this fact of the process each and every being must be open to.
Traditions do not create Spirit. Spirit creates traditions.
Masters do not create Spirit. Spirit creates Masters.
The ultimate purpose of genuine spiritual traditions
is to empower beings towards or into Enlightened Beingness,
not to make beings merely look or feel good."
- Tisziji Munoz

lightning in the back yard

2007-05-02T17:35:00.000-07:00

the gem of 400 shots on continuous shooting mode last night

crazy.
art bell was right.

New piece of ink on paper.....

2007-04-20T08:59:00.000-07:00

Greetings! Worky work busy bee! (i love that fed ex commercial)... I was up till 2am finsihing this lovely little excursion of lines, ink and paper last night. I'm noticing leaves everywhere- leaves have started appearing-- I guess I'm in synch with the trees for the springtime. Again I drew this with no preliminary skecthes- I just drew as I went. Its a bit different from what I usually do, and I'm ok with it.

I plan on adding some more clothing today too if I get to it-...

Happy Friday-
In Light*
b

I added some clothing...

2007-04-19T18:02:00.000-07:00

Just a few pieces... I still have some to add, but the sunlight is gone now and my photo guy (aka the hubby) had a few things to do. So yeah- the turquoise velvet is now up. ;) It's a small biz, we don't have models, shoes, or a nice place to shoot the pics, so the neighbors fence is the only viable backdrop. But I'm digging the fact that I can dig my hands into new textiles and patterns--- while i love the patchwork clothing, I really missed making other clothing as clothing and art, too.

so whats up now? some gorgeous velvet pieces, a reconned fleece top, and a few skirts....

whats left?- well I have a few backless tops, a patchy skirt, a gorgeous batik leaf skirt and some corsets coming up there soon.... stay tuned.

we call it the 'booch...

2007-04-19T15:05:00.000-07:00

Kombucha.

I figure i owe one tribute blog post to this amazing and beautiful drink. And i owe a huge thanks to the connection who keeps bringing it over to the house. Currently- I'm looking for a Kombucha baby so I can make my own- anyone have one in NJ? I love the GTS Trilogy the best. :)

I can't sing its praises enough- it really is meditation in a bottle.... this tea never fails to speak to the one who drinks it. opens that third eye real nice,too. and replaces all that midnight oil i burn... me and the booch at baconfest.

Wooden it be nice....

2007-04-17T15:15:00.000-07:00

for the first time since 1995, this girl once again carved up some wood. inspired by a recent conversation I had with someone regarding printing- i decided to try my hand at it again. The only real art class I ever took- we learned wooden block printing... - my hands turned bloody and raw and sliced up learning how to do it, and shavings were EVERYWHERE. I never liked it- I'd rather stick to linoleum. But ya cant just go and buy that stuff anywhere- no! not when you have weird scrappy pieces of mystery wood in the downstairs workroom! NO!
I Whipped out the exacto tools and went to work. I remembered why i didnt like it, too. I managed to make it through one block without cutting myself- but I see it in the future. SO i guess I'll be doin' this in the meanwhile until i get off my keister and order some linoleum. So... keep an eye out for the printed stuff thats coming soon.....I'll be hand printing some fabric- the wood blocks give a nice effect i think... We're cookin' with gas now! And sharp tools! whee!
It's all fun and games till I lose a finger...
::my first wood block in 11 years:: (so tiny!)

and alas... the first printing run. its just a scrap of hand dye olive cotton... (using Setacolor paints in black, gold and burgundy)
just a trial stampity stamp stamp, but hey- it works! and i think the imperfect leaves kinda add to its look :) not bad for my first try woodblock printing on fabric i'll say. deinfitely need some practice with this, though...lol.

ITS ALIVE!!!

2007-04-13T20:54:00.000-07:00

just like the robot chicken.

I decided to put the site live. There may be a few cracks n errors here and there, but its been months of work.

The clothing! my main bread n butter is NOT up yet though!! :(
my host and its freaky shopping cart are down for the moment and I'm waiting on engineers to fix it. sit tight and don't fret.

Its worth the wait to see the turquoise velvet (the photo sums up how nice it is) ::dyed silk velvet is delicious::
Like George Costanza, it would be nice to walk around draped in velvet all day.

...until my shoppin cart gets fixed...enjoy....

flux capacitor....

2007-04-12T20:58:00.000-07:00

into the future!

the red guitar is next.

decorating with the peaces of my heart.

new prints up on etsy.

2007-04-11T06:45:00.000-07:00

big shakes! i got 1 whole item up there now. I found 5 minutes to do it=- and now its there. this sparseness is driving me crazy- !!

http://twilightdance.etsy.com

theres 2 up right now- the untitled lines pictured and yacqui . the lines one.... its an odyssey i doubt I'll take again in intensity.
its big, crazy and will hopefully keep you staring at it for some time::
yacqui was inspired by the corn magic of don juan and carlos castaneda. spirit of the plant. ;)
I worried about folks just printing it out for themselves- but its scanned where it looks boxy when printed. hahah. hi res pirates!

buy one today. theyre cheap!

~AND THESE ARE GOING TO BE MADE INTO TSHIRTS!- i'm psyched. i should have them by summertime- but I'm really happy to finally be able to offer these to wear.
maybe stickers too. who knows....
!

I'm thrilled that my website is all finished except for the clothing part- it's holding it all up- but I'm gettin' there....

~* happy evening*~

the birth of a batik.

2007-04-06T16:50:00.000-07:00

cant seem to shake the mandalas. ive been having a block lately- desperate to try and think away from the usual- my hands just seem to want to go someplace else.

so i plug in the crock pot- the thing with the wax and brushes- get ready to paint up a primed piece of hemp to paint. ganesh?mmm no. shiva? mmm no. a happy tree?mmm no. freeform. Not even that. its like a musicians having all the notes in the front of his hands and not being able to play something coherent. its been driving me nuts these past few days. i cant seem to grasp a vision of anything. so in times like these...i say 'just sit down anyway and force it out"

so i start: pictures to be added as the project progresses (this is my first documentation!!):

initial-

drawing out the idea in pencil - folding for guidelines and using a romano cheese container lid for a circle template.....
(photo credit goes to azie)

working at sunset doesnt prove to be for good light. but i draw out all the lines before the wax gets to the fabric.

___________________________________________
now to sit and obsesses over the color choices...

to be continued....

- ok day 2- about 2PM.... I'm waiting for my best friend beth to get here so we can dye some curtains for her new apartment. While I wait- i put more on the mandala to kill some time.
I drew more on with pencil... the mandala just wanted to keep growing....
plugged in the crock pot again..... i found this cool radio station that been streaming beatles and beatles related music so i've been listening to this all day. keeps the blues away.... good stuff. I love hearing the travelling wilburys too on there. My dad stopped by too. his first time out driving in a long time. I was proud of him.

the crock pot of doom! argh! i dare not try to get that tinfoil out. i like the skin on my fingers...

waxing and waning.... drawing the design on with the wax...... so far- or at least what i want to stay white. I'm still obsessing about the colors.... for whatever reason- im on a fuchsia/magenta thing lately- i even just bought some magenta hair dye. i dont really want to paint any magenta onto this- but these things start to grow a mind of their own once they get going. I guess the forced design is good. I've been getting a whole bunch of crazy ideas now about painting it in....

beatles inspired for this time.... jeez i love this radio station...

enjoy the progress so far!**

_________________________________
to be continued....

yesterday was easter-- today is a fuzzy monday- i'm having a "walking in space" kinda day. Not too motivated to pull out the dye- but I tried to anyway.

I'm getting picky and really not digging the middle part. I'm very critical when it comes to my art. ugh. It's drying right now- once thats dry- i figure I"ll wax over what i painted. then go from there. Making plans for art's outcomes really isn't my strong suit. I kinda just deal with them as I go along. Great quality to have, huh? After I got my Ganesha tattoo fixed- It started a flood of something. Now it's dry again. :( Dyer's block. I go back to the tattoo guy Wednesday night. Maybe it'll start something up again. until then- i forge on. this next stage of the batik should get me outta this funk.

- monday
Today I woke up terrible. Feeling wicked horrible and just so sick- I went back to bed. I woke up and figured I should do something to get moving and out and about.... i had a good feeling about todays waxing and dyeing.... i dyed the square with yellow on the inside, and green along the outside edges.... after it dried- the went along with the points of the mandala with the tjanting as well as using a paintbrush...

after this: I made up a batch of blue. 2 blues- cerulean and turquoise.....

made a huge mess in the bathtub. Like- huge. Everything got dyed blue. yikes. my husband does not like the dye in the tub- but i have no other choice. I'll clean it up. Damn rinsing. Its the step I don't like at all. My hands are BLUE. Add that to gold nail polish and I have Martian hands. It's pretty scary.
-anyway....so i dunked both ends of the square in 2 shoebox tupperwares in the same way the yellow went into the green....the center a messy green... from the turq dyed over the yellow into a cool deep blue. I think I got myself going again into the dyeing. i just felt like crap there for a while. blech.

drying on the fence out back. theyre still out there, so i have no idea when the next stage will be. stay tuned...

Day 4- i think? i forget. it dried- and went through the wax process again. I really didn't want to cover up that awesome turnout of blue into green. it really looked spacey fun. oh well. i had to do it....I waxed the next leg of mandala petals- theyre fancy. then it went into the hot pink dye bath. i tried to avoid the magenta- but it came up and got me! Its an old hot pink. YEARS old passed down from the woman who taught me dyeing- so i figured it wouldnt give so much of a poke- more of a slight nudge for the color. It turned the dyebath like a weird burgundy i guess from the blue/green still being in the fabric. The tub is nice and sparkly now. For all you artists- i recommend Dr Bronner's Sal Suds for cleanups.... !!! its awesome and it has a bizarre tendency to keep dirt at bay after washing something. Cant explain it - but my kitchen floor still looks freshly mopped days later. And if you clean as often as I do- then it's just spiffy.
Anyway back to the dye-
This is what it looked like this morning! Holding it up to the light you can see all those colors buried under the wax. Well this is the final curtain, yes- i did it my way....

Next up today is the final bath. BLACK. the color that doesnt come out of your hands for a week. I'm gonna wear gloves for this one- black hands and gold nail polish? no thanks. All the while testing the limits of how big the images I upload. thanks for the bandwidth, google.

up next- the black dye and the boiling!!! yay! fun!

stay tuned.....

whee- the next day... Friday the 13th...kinda weird today was the black dye day. i love a fresh black dye, though. it was a nice brand new container of fluffy powder. its black. its none more black. I forgot to put on rubber gloves- but its ok- theyre kinda grey. not so bad. I had a pair of crazy blue china slippers too i wanted black so they went in the bucket too. now its in the final stage- hanging to dry on the back fence. i guess i should invest in a clothesline, huh? its been neat documenting all of this so far- thanks for being spectators to this, blog readers. I love this art medium- and the stages are almost like a samsara of lives. waxing poetic now- no pun intended- every piece is its own bird. no doubt. every dye and batik seems to grow a life of its own- telling me where to add things, dye colors, etc... its kinda neat serving the muse whatever she wants at the time. ... next up- once this dries outside- it gets boiled and dried. i love new burns and scars!

stay tuned....

Ok... its 9:30... that baby dried out....
much to my surprise- the black didn't blacken it out! but with that color- you need to keep it in the bucket for a good long time to get a nice dark rich tone. Unfortunately- 1 of the ingredients in the dye bath- soda ash (the recipe is made up of water, salt, dye and soda ash) does a number on the wax and causes it to eat away with every dunk...so you only leave the waxed piece in the dye bucket about a half hour. and black is a sinister color- its either friend or foe- it gets in every crack and crevice- it darkened the piece ultimately- but i was glad the orangey and deep gorgeous blue tones stayed. if i wanted a deeper black- i would have had to paint it on- but i didnt-

i like bucket dyeing better for the most part. esp. with the darker shades. i left those slippers in the bucket for about 3 hours- and yay!!! I have NEW black slippers! I'm thinking of sewing some beads and sequins on them maybe... anyhow- its boil time at my house! i have a shitty pot i just use for dyes- fill it with super hot water and wait for it to boil. once it gets rolling- you dunk that baby in. after a final dyebath-

the dye must be rinsed out as much as possible- cause once any dye gets into the pot while boiling- it sticks to the fabric. so rinse! rinse rinse! After waiting 3 minutes on a rolling boil, the wax is out- and it gets run downstairs to the warshin machine. HOT wash cycle- lotta soap! ok- do the wash- (btw- my 4 year old daughter is taking all the pictures here- she wanted to take one of "mommy waiting") then I had to run a few errands today for my dad ( pardon me while i ramble here for a bit)- had to deal with nasty grey hands while handing people money and stuff at stores. its totally embarrassing-lol. i forget they are colored by the time i get to the store. so I'm out and about- hearing stories from my dad about this band the Muffins that used to play at this local bar around here in 1966 - 6 days a week! my dad was a bartender at another bar close by here at the shore- and the owner decided to get the one day the Muffins werent playing and book them at his bar up the road. this band drew at least 100 people a night during the summer (and where are crowds like that now?)... my dad mentioned the lead singer of this band was a bit of a nutcase- but excellent at what he did.... the bar where my dad worked- called D'Jais, also had a bouncer named Terry McGovern that worked there. Terry knew this kid who was 16 or 17, not of legal age and just wanted to watch the band play-- and Terry asked D Jai (my dads boss) if it was ok if this kid could come in. D Jai said yeah- as long as he just sits there and doesnt walk around the bar.... So this kid used to come in every Monday night and watch this lead singer of the muffins. My dad described him as this skinny kid with crazy hair and pimples... turns out it was bruce springsteen. Terry later - and still now- works for Bruce. My dad swears Bruce replicated his whole thing and image from that lead singer of the Muffins, who he said later disappeared and probably went crazy someplace. LOL!!! Dad also told me later on Bruce auditioned to get a gig at D'Jais and they said no to him... I love my dad's stories- I definitely need him to write them down and make a book out of them one day... anyhow-- all the while while i'm hanging out with azalea and my dad- I'm gone from the washer- I go home and go right to the washer to see the washed out mandala....
NEAR TRAGEDY...
I forgot to put the lid down on the washer and it never started!!!! It sat and was stewing in the washing machine the entire time I was out and hearing Springsteen stories from my dad. Now this black dye- remember is NOT forgiving- that piece was sitting- with all the wax boiled out and NAKED in the Kenmore -floating sadly in a black pool of dye for about 2 hours. I gasped- screamed a little bit- and closed the lid--- praying when it came out the black wouldnt cover all that work.

........................................................ and the final result... unexpected beauty. this piece now has a voice... a rich baritone of color! I'm so happy that lovely blue wound up never
getting covered up by the black (or grey now), it suffered minimal black dye intrusion, and the orange is surreal. cosmic rust is what i'll call it. it is NOT at ALL what I expected her to look like- and theres an annoying mistake I made that I'm not going to worry about. Lastly- this hemp fabric takes dyes almost too well- i doubt i'll be dunking this fabric anymore...I'll stick to just painting it and printing on it.
tel me what you think if you've stuck with me this far....
its been a nice week and some extra working on this and photographing the process- (again- photo credit goes to the 4 yr old miss azalea standing on a chair mostly and my hubby)
in light*
b:)