Sunfest 2013

Last week I was in sunny downtown London... Ontario that is. Sunfest. Ah yes... a wonderful place to be if you're a music lover. What kind of music you ask.. all kinds... Salsa from Puerto Rico to Cumbia from Columbia and Reggae to brass from Rumania --- and let's not forget the jazz stage. Yummy.

Normally at an event like this I would take tons of photos, but I just didn't have it in me. I had badly twisted my ankle and broken a toe so moving back and forth thru crowds of 200,000 or more seemed like a recipe for disaster. None the less, I met some wonderful folks, saw some old friends, soaked up some glorious sun and did I mention the music?? OMG.. it was so wonderful.

Here's a short video of the sights and sounds from my week at Sunfest:

So again, you may be wondering... how the heck does this relate to recycling! Well never fear, I found some treasures to add to the recycle fabric pile. Let's see what I can do with these:

Gelli print 'mop cloths'

I've been dyeing fabric now for a good number of years. I love it. There are a lot of dyers that keep records, use precise measurements and get predictable outcomes. Not me. I tried it. Didn't like it. It took all of the fun out.... besides, I really like the serendipitous nature of dyeing without measuring. Opening every bundle at the end of the process is like opening a  lot of little gifts. 

When I dye, I always, always have bits of fabric handy to sop up any spills.. or clean brushes, what ever.... I work pretty clean, but even I still have a spill now and then. So the 'mop cloth' is always there, ready and waiting. A lot of times the mop cloths looks so cool that I use them in projects!

With my gelli plate printing yesterday, I tried to use some fabric for cleaning brushes, brayers and stencils but it was not as effective as paper... so now I have some painted paper pieces for projects too!

 Here are just a few paper 'mop cloths' from yesterdays session:

Of course, had to try it again while gelli printing today.

I like the throw-away, 'clean up cloth' paper as much as the actual pieces I've been working on.... This a great distraction but way too much fun to stop!

Gelli plate, stencils and paint... oh my!

This past weekend was fairly uneventful. Did some things around the house.. and had somewhere to go for a hot minute. On the way home I hit a garage sale or two. No shock. I managed to find some treasures as any good self respecting junker would do. One was a somewhat dirty wad of canvas ...

Today I just needed to do something creative. It's been a long long time and I'm itching.. So I turned to the lump of fabric that had been tossed onto a dining room chair. Here's a photo of a small hunk of canvas cut from the larger wad after a spin in the washer and dryer.....

 

...then a rather quick meet & greet with an iron, gellli plate, stencils and paint, I ended up with this:

 

 These 2 are close ups:

I need (or want) to add more layers, colors and contrast. I think this is a good start for my first attempt at using Gelli Plates... What fun!

Now, it's back to business.....

Heidelberg-esque Project

I went to the high school today to see how the Caroline Project was coming along. You may have seen the post about our field trip.... 

A few weeks back we took some of our kids to the Heidelberg Project in Detroit to expose them to 'found object art'. The kids had a great time and some super ideas for creating their own installations on the school property. They were broken up into teams. Each team had to 'find' their own bits and pieces to create their work.

Since it was such a nice warm and sunny day, I thought it was a perfect day to take some 'in progress' pix. You can see that they're making pretty good progress. Each team still has some interesting pieces to add along with paints and other treasures... but here's where they are at the moment:

I can't wait to see this project finished! Sadly for me, some of these great kids are graduating in a few weeks. They have been fun to spend time with and get to know. I look forward to seeing what wonderful creations they come up with in the future... they are all so very talented.

 Click this link to see Heidelberg post

Gelli Plate or Slacker?

Just this once I'll allow you to laugh at me and call me names. I deserve it... here's why:

I began making gelatin plates quite a few years ago. I wanted a way to create unique, crazy & cool painted fabric and paper. Then suddenly Gelli Plates came on the market and I scoffed. (I know, who uses that word any more). 

Seriously.....who could possibly be that lame. You mean to tell me that you can't just throw some gelatin in hot water and then in the fridge? Really? I don't believe you. I know you can... if you really want to.

What a slacker. You have to really be a lazy so-and-so to take the easy route and buy a ready made plate. Sheesh.

Well, I spent years of trying to juggle things in the fridge to make room for the container of giggly stuff. Most of the time my refrigerator is just too packed...not an inch of room to spare for food let alone a pan of gelatin. So, I gave in. It took me a few years to get to that point and get over the fact that I would become one of those lame-o slackers, but alas..... I am. I finally succumbed. My new Gelli Plate arrived today and I can't wait to rip into it and paint, paint, paint.

So laugh at me ... call me names ..... say rude things about me, I can't hear you anyway. I'm squealing with glee while I pull out my new Gelli Plate. Go get yours right now.... let's have painting party....

Recycling at its finest

I love to recycle. 

Not sure why, but I do love gathering little rusty bits, bumpy or satiny smooth textiles, odd bits of lace and buttons, old photos, bits of stuff with old cursive hand writing, frayed leather books, utensils..well just about anything and everything really.

Or is it the gathering that's the best part? Could it be just looking at all of the interesting things I've gathered or maybe actually making something from it all that brings joy... maybe it's a combination of it all. 

The video below shows what you can do with 'trash' if you really put your mind to it....

click here to see the Landfillharmonic