forward and onward

I think the dyeing process is finally done on the length of silk. Here is the final result:



There's lots of variation, and yet the whole holds together. Since this picture was taken, I have cut three larger pieces out of the whole, and begun work on a medium size piece.

This series, barely begun, has already morphed somewhat. My original concept was more restricted, an exploration of the shapes of goldenrod galls--shapes that always caught my eye during my walks in the restoration prairie at Kibbe Life Science Research Station.But as I looked at one of the bigger pieces hanging on my wall, and as I walked in another prairie yesterday at Morton Arboretum, I realized that what I wanted to capture was the assault on the senses of walking through a prairie in its glory--the grasses taller than your head, the spots of brilliant color, the flitting of butterflies from bloom to bloom, the memory of the past that we, modern men and women, have all but destroyed here in the 'Prairie State' of Illinois.

So what does this mean? That while I expect the shape to show up in the works (here is one of my monotypes exploring this shape:



it won't necessarily be the focus of the series. The focus is the experience, to maybe evoke a sense of what we're losing in the natural world.

On another note, I have made a printing surface for further screen printing. It uses a large scrap of old countertop, covered with two layers of white acrylic felt. This is supposed to provide the proper softness for sharp prints. The future will tell.



That is all.