First Batch of Botanical Inks Has Been Bottled!

The first "batch" has been bottled and shared with a few close artsy friends to demo!

OK, I admit the fun part is ALL OF IT! The gathering, the science, the waiting for the alchemy to surprise me, the design of the packaging and label design...and the PAINTING! What fun it is to be an ARTist. 

These are the various label ideas I designed for the different colors of inks.

I've been tracking and logging the different color strengths, alchemy and experiments using the lichens, berries, mosses, mushrooms with varying results -some are spectacular and others are getting scrapped. 

First bottles of ink! 

Making

A nice rain brought a much deserved break in roofing. I was going to feel a bit guilty if I could have a day of art making while Daddy-O needed to work away on the roof project –it’s much easier with two people. The rain provided the perfect excuse to jump right into some painting on cloth making some Botanicals Art Cloth. Growing around the house are huge ferns and other lovely greens. I plucked several leaves from the ferns, Lily of the Valley and Rhubarb to make leaf prints on 100% cotton batik. For the first pass onto the fabric I used fabric paints and acrylic paints painted directly onto the leaves. Using a brayer I rolled over a protective piece of newsprint, imprinting onto the fabric. I’m finding I have the most success with layering the various colors because the first pass looks a bit flat to me. I also mixed in metallic acrylic paints and hand paint fun details. The next step will be to add some cool image transfers that I’ll either apply directly OR iron on a contrasting fabric and then sew onto the first layer. I hung the fabric outside on lines I strung across the covered deck to dry –otherwise the painted fabric tends to stick to the newsprint. I liked seeing the colorful painted fabric squares flap in the breeze. Some FAB new art supplies from Blaines were wonderful to work with! Check out the photo below of the art paper, pearlescent paint (Genesis Green -one of my favorite colors), the Acrylic Paint Markers(!) from Montana, beautiful Lumiere and Neo Opaque acrylics by Jacquard that gave perfect coverage on the fabric, and finally a good quantity of metallic acrylic paint by Daler-Rowney.  

FAB, new art supplies I bought at Blaines -check out the beautiful PAPER below the supplies. I'm going to SEW it onto some art cloth! The woven PAPER in the background has this rough and stiff texture, I'm going to sew it too! The Acrylic Pens are by Montana -really fun to use.

Some of the finished Art Cloth I've been working on! The Botanicals were from greens around the house. The Halibut fish print was using one of my rubber molds and a brayer with Acrylic fabric paints. The sea stars were made using shapes I cut from foam and hand painted on FW liquid acrylic paints. All Art Cloth is painted onto approx. 13-14" x 13-14" 100% cotton batiks.

All this art making is making for a VERY messy studio! Not exactly ready for a magazine photo shoot -the Virgo in me is going crazy but the artist in me is VERY satisfied.

The front garden is finally in but these cool/warm/cool again temps are confusing my plant starts.  (sigh). It does provide a nice view from the studio window.

Wanting to feel the creative heat

Primarily as a metal artist working in steel, it was exactly a year ago I dreaded layering up in my Carhartt’s, slinging the frigid 4x8 sheets of steel up onto the cutting table, firing up my welder and plasma cutter and create some art. The concrete floor was as cold as the metal and I could see my breath, even in the heated shop. My creative mind romanced new thoughts of working in warmer “indoor” mediums when the North winds blew and the temps dipped below zero. I had been wanting to work in clay again, especially after an incredible Raku experience I had with Gina last Fall.

Combined with Alaska’s weather challenges that exist in my artmaking and wanting to add some sculptural elements to my steel pieces has lead me back to the medium of clay. I admit, working with a red-hot kiln and feeling warm clay from the earth has always appealed to me. Though it has taken a year to get set-up for the new medium addition to my studio, it has been worth it. I purchased a slab roller this last summer, a kiln this last fall and miscellaneous glazes and clay along the way. With the recent addition of an electric kiln being hard wired with an electronic temperature controller, additional exterior power and professional wiring in the shop I’m ready for the new creative HEAT!

One of the first loads in the kiln will be the clay fish sculptures I made from the press molds created this summer with Bill Sabo. The clay fish and tiles have been on the drying racks for over a month waiting for the kiln install. I’ve included some images from the Sabo-Shake mold making project. Bill is dad to the famous and talented Agnes Barton-Sabo or better known as The New Adventures of BettyTurbo at Etsy. Bill and I made molds using potters plaster and semi-frozen fish. I went on to make various seascape themed tile molds from starfish and sand dollars I have collected over the years and shells I found beach combing in Homer.

I will probably wait until after the New Year holiday when I’m back in the studio full time to have a couple of uninterrupted days for my first firing.