Icy conditions today gave me time for altering a couple of photographs in Photoshop.  I used two original photos and layered them in Photoshop, and before and after applied different filters to the layers individually.  I love that you can "see through" the top layer into the background layer; and I was able to manipulate the way the leaves had "grown" and how the branch of the tree grew, giving it even more personality.  I can see this being printed onto fabric, then layered with other complimentary hand dyed fabrics around it in some way, with maybe some yummy hand stitching for accent.  So, you may see this piece again, just dressed in a different way.

     I love trying new things with fabric!  I am always looking for new ways of making marks on fabrics, and lately I'm looking into more natural ways of doing that.  As I mentioned in this post, I wanted to try something called Eco-printing: using leaves and plants arranged on fabrics and heated to leave an impression of the leaf material printed on the fabric.  I love the faint, muted and natural tones of these types of prints.  Mine did not turn out as vivid as I would have liked, but it was my first attempt, so I was open to whatever I came out with.  Here are a few images showing my method and the resulting fabric.

     I hope to enter this competition in Virginia soon.  I am very excited, as I feel my art quilts depicting  trees with scriptures on them are so sacred to me, and they seem to fit naturally with the vision of Sacred Threads as a whole. 

Sacred Threads was created to give those of us who love to use spiritual/inspirational/healing themes in our work,  a "safe" place to be, where as these things are not entirely embraced for display readily in the art quilting world as a whole, currently, though I believe that will change over the next few coming years.  Check out their website HERE if you're interested in learning more about it.

     Just finished this book (one of my favorite Christmas presents this year), and feel that I could read it 100 more times and not absorb everything it has to offer!  This book is packed with the most information I have ever seen compiled into one book before, and I love to read.  I will be reading this one over and over again! 
     One day recently, I realized I am producing works that do not represent my very favorite colors, and those are the muted, soft colors you would find by the ocean in the sea shells, the sand, the weathered wood that is everywhere from the effects of the salty air and constant breezes...I'm talking about the palest of shades, that may even be called the "whites" of colors.  These are the colors that please me most, but they just don't work well as a background for my trees, made with white silk organza...so I'm exploring new directions, materials and techniques to continue expanding my experiences, my library of skills and techniques used to make my work, and am excited/nervous about this change.
     If you are drawn to the soft, muted tones that natural dyes produce, as I am, you may enjoy this book also.  India Flint, a pioneer in this field, writes just as if you are sitting by her in her living room and with a surprisingly interesting Australian lilt that will leave a smile on your face.  Ms. Flint's signature technique is an extremely interesting one that I can't wait to try called "eco-printing," which involves taking real leaves and rolling them up in fabric and binding it and either leaving it to sit cold, or heating, or steaming it on the stove in an effort to leave the dyed impression of the leaf on the fabric...Gorgeous!!  Wish me luck in these new adventures, and I'll keep you posted about how it turns out.