As It Was In The Beginning...

I will be teaching three new electives this school year and am spending much of the summer writing the curriculum for these courses. This week, I have been focusing on the planning for "Botanical Watercolors." I started painting in watercolors 7 years ago and grew to love the medium. Today, I dusted off the top of the fishing tackle box that houses my tubes of watercolors and inventoried the lot. It has been three years since I considered watercolor as my primary medium and I am need of purchasing a few tubes of paint: phthalo blue, lamp black, payne's gray, and lemon yellow are all available in Windsor Newton at Jerry's Artarama in Raleigh. Unfortunately, I am completely out of Quinacridone Gold which is only available online at Daniel Smith! It is my very favorite color in the whole world and although I have a good supply of the hue in acrylic paint, I am without a watercolor tube. I will need to be patient and wait for the order to arrive at my home next week. Patience is a good lesson for me in many areas of my life, but especially with regard to watercolor.

Back to Reality, Part II

Just back from a few days at Ponte Vedra, a longstanding tradition of the Easterlin family. Re-entry was much easier than my return from Blowing Rock. WHEW!

At the beach, I claimed leisurely hours to read and had the opportunity to feast on the newest issue of Cloth Paper Scissors. As I read, I stumbled on the first published announcement for Debbi and Cheryl's new book, Mixed Mania. This book, available November 1, promises to amuse and astonish the reader with "recipes for delicious mixed media creations." I am thrilled to say that a piece of my work is included in the book! The photo of Cheryl and Debbi featured above was taken by me at Arrowmont a few weeks ago. As is clearly seen, collaborative writing is a piece of cake for this dynamic duo!

Summer Garden

butterfly bush, yarrow, snapdragons, rosemary, shasta daisy, baptisia

When God's plan can not be discerned, I am thankful for the beauty that He has created for me in my garden.

Back to Reality...

photos by Renee!

We packed our things this morning, took a final hike down to the lake, said our goodbyes, and departed for Durham. WOW! Our time at Chetola was magical. We are counting down the days until next summer.

Duck, Duck, Goose!

Renee's photographs of the ducks and geese at Bass Lake on the Chetola property.

Following dinner last night, we hiked down to Bass Lake to walk the trail. The geese and ducks were captivating and I admit to doing more sitting and staring, than walking. Renee was able to get up very "close and personal" with the geese!

Blowing Rock and Ben Long

fresco at St. Mary's Episcopal Church in West Jefferson

I drove from Gatlinburg to Blowing Rock on Saturday to join portions of my family for a relaxing few days at Chetola. Yesterday, we went to see Ben Long's frescoes in West Jefferson county. I had seen the frescoes last fall with my students, but enjoyed them even more during a second viewing. The frescoes are magnificent!

Friday at Arrowmont

Whew! What a week. I will never again roll my eyes when I encounter hand-dyed and screened $300/roll wallpaper or fabric. It is worth every penny!

Thursday at Arrowmont

"all systems go"for silk screening of fabric!

silkscreen pattern complete!

It is Thursday night and I am just now ready to screen my fabric! The prep and process has been beyond my imagination. I have great compassion for Colonial women. Class concludes tomorrow after lunch and then we clean the studio.

Wednesday at Arrowmont

I purchased a book today in the bookstore. The title is an understatement!

The clock reads 9:45 PM and I am back in the dorm so early tonight! Anytime prior to 11 PM seems like a half-day here. The routine of waking at 6 AM to walk, shower, and eat by 8 AM followed by 12 hours in the studio (we do leave for lunch and dinner in the dining hall each day) is wearing on me. As I worked in the studio tonight, I mixed the wrong chemicals for a particular process and didn't realize it until I had hand-painted several yards of fabric! I received this as a sign that I needed to retire to my room for a full-night's sleep and be ready to accurately mix the chemicals in the morning.

Tuesday at Arrowmont

sketches for silkscreen design

pat·tern
/ˈpætərn; Brit. ˈpætn/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[pat-ern; Brit. pat-n]
–noun
1.
a decorative design, as for wallpaper, china, or textile fabrics, etc.

Seems pretty simple, doesn't it? WRONG! Today, I spent a good 10 hours working up a seamless repeat pattern that will fit on a 14" x 20" silkscreen and be printed on several yards of fabric. The screen frame had to be prepared in advance of the dye screening. This involved:

1. covering the unprimed wooden frame with duct tape to prevent warping;

2. caulking the seams where mesh meets frame;

3. scouring the mesh with Comet and then a special soap to eliminate all traces of bleach from the Comet;

4. drying the screen in the sun;

5. coating both sides of the screen with photo emulsion in the darkroom; and

6. leaving the screen in the darkroom to dry overnight.

Whew, I am tired and very satisfied. Off to bed for a few hours of sleep in our newly assigned room at the opposite end of the hall from where we were first assigned. The new room does not receive 36 hours of direct sun on all sides each day (as did our first room). With two window fans, Debbi, Cheryl, and I are happy art campers at night!