One Week from the Opening ... Let’s Teach a Workshop!

Sweet Gum (Liquidambar styraiflua) on paper

For anyone with Sweet Gum trees in their garden, you know that, although they are beautiful shade trees, the seeds are spikey hard spheres that can sprain an ankle or cut through a bare foot in a heartbeat.

Sweet Gum Seed from Eat the Weeds.Com

But on the other hand, the leaves make beautiful prints on both cellulose and protein fibers. The image of the leaf above was made by soaking a leaf (that had been pre-dried and saved back in 2013) in iron water for 10 minutes (iron water = iron bits of metal + water in a jar that sat in the sun for about a week), placed on 120lb paper (that had been soaked for 5 minutes in an alum + water bath), then steamed for 30 minutes in a stainless steel pot between two bricks to hold it in place.

Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina) and Osage Orange (Maclura pomifura) on paper

With an abundance of trees in my garden and nearby woodlands, I’ve been testing a few leaves, such as Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina) and Osage Orange (Maclura pomifura) in preparation of teaching printing with plants and rust to my Art 1 students at Oakville Middle School in St. Louis, MO. 

Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina) with iron acetate, copper, iron water and alum on paper

In the meantime, my dear friend and fellow fiber artist, Pat Vivod, has agreed to share a bit of her rusting-on-silk magic in my classroom tomorrow with the three other middle school art teachers from my school district. Take a peek at Pat’s blog, Sentimental Pentimento to see her very large  and most beautiful rust printed and naturally dyes silks. Since Pat shared a few of her secrets with me back in 2012, I’ve also been rust printing and eco-dying on fabric and handmade paper. At tomorrow’s workshop, Pat, a retired art teacher herself, will show a few of her pieces and discuss her process while the teachers have the opportunity to make their own rust printed artwork on paper. I’ll bring along a few of my own pieces for inspiration. 

Rust on paper

Although my students return to school this week, Pat and I are crazy busy preparing for our international fibers exhibition that opens in just one week!!! 

 From the Inside Out -

      Felt, Paper, Textiles: 

      Revelations in Natural Mark Making

      A Surface Design Association Exhibition

From the Inside Out is an international exhibition of five artists who share a devotion to ecological, economical and sustainable ways of dyeing and printing natural fibers, fabrics and handmade paper, but whose individual processes and ideas are quite diverse.

Each artist explores distinct interpretations of the overarching theme through personal investigations defined by their individual key words: Tangent, Seeds, Mapping, Feast, and Core. From handmade paper to heavily textured felt, from rust printed silk hangings to profusely embroidered eco-printed silks, the title describes both a process and an artistic vision.

                      Elizabeth Adams-Marks (Illinois, USA)

                      Irit Dulman (Tel Aviv, Israel)

                      Fabienne Rey (Utrecht, The Netherlands)

                      Patricia Vivod (Illinois, USA)

                      Rio Wrenn (Oregon, USA)

Opening Reception: Friday August 22, 5 to 9pm

Artist Talk: Friday August 22, 7pm

Exhibition: August 18 to September 21, 2014

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville - Art and Design West Gallery

75 South Circle Drive, Edwardsville, IL 62026

618-650-3073

This exhibition is the recipient of a 

2014 Surface Design Association Small Works Grant. 

For more information: http://exhibition-fromtheinsideout.blogspot.com

Sand, Summer and Sumac

Rust with Sumac

Where did the summer go? I suppose we were just too, too busy to notice it slipping on by. First things first, I am feeling well these days, and am cancer free! Each day is a gift and a blessing.

The bride and her momma

Secondly, my dear sweet daughter, Betsy, married a remarkable man in front of friends and family on a beach very close to where they live in SW Florida. We were overjoyed that my husband’s family from England could join us in the five day festivities along with Peter’s son and daughter-in-law-to-be from California, plus the groom’s parents and closest family members. 

New Work on Handmade Paper in Progress

But once the wedding cupcakes were eaten and the sand was shaken from our luggage, it was time to get back to work in the studio.  Although I still am not quite a strong as I was physically pre-chemo and radiation, I did manage to work in the garden almost every day, ticked off a few of those home repair chores, and made a few new pieces for our upcoming exhibition, From the Inside Out, that opens (gulp)  in less than two weeks at the Art & Design Gallery at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. 

Cornwall [re]Constructed - Solo Exhibition

I am very excited to announce the solo exhibition of my handmade paper abstract landscapes, "Cornwall [re]Constructed," opening August 23, 2013 at the 

St. Louis Artists' Guild in Clayton, Missouri. 

This newest series of landscapes [re]constructs divergent tangents of historical meaning and myth, abstracting place over time and space, by building up layers of handmade paper subjected to natural elements that rust, tint, dye, emboss, and inform the marks left behind. 

 

Located on the farthest western tip of the United Kingdom, Cornwall holds two coastlines (the English Channel and the Atlantic Ocean) and is divided from England by the River Tamar.  Cornwall is a land of one-lane hedgerows blanketed in wildflowers; mythical piskies; wild ponies and herds of sheep wandering the moors; tidal pools and estuaries; Neolithic stone circles; and Iron Age villages.  From the time of the early Bronze Age, Cornishmen have mined for copper, silver and tin down into the earth … and out under the sea.

Since kaolin, used for porcelain and later paper, was first discovered in Cornwall in the mid-16^th century, the china clay industry pitted the moors and altered the horizon with their white mica waste tips standing proud like gleaming pyramids on the uplands.

 

While Cornish tin mines are now slowly rusting into the granite landscape and china clay tips have all but disappeared, replaced by modern mica plateaus, the people of Cornwall are as strong and resilient as their ancestors. Working fishing villages hold dear to their culture while embracing 21^st century tourism. Celtic crosses and ancient stones still stand watch along rocky cliff paths and yellow gorse lined moorland trails. Yet deep in the woodlands, where moss covered stones lead to pre-Christian wells, and hillsides of blue bells are walled by mountainous rhododendrons, one only need to quiet one's heart and listen - for the flutter of wings, the gurgle of springs, and the Spirit of God all around.

The exhibition runs through October 20, 2013. For more information, visit the St. Louis Artists' Guild website. 

From the Inside Out - Felt, Paper & Textiles: Revelations of Natural Mark Making - An International Exhibition!

Elizabeth Adams-Marks, 2012

My dear friend, Pat Vivod, and I, both from Illinois, USA, were approached by the Jacoby Arts Center 

to put together a fibers show of our recent work in rust printing, eco printing and natural dyeing. After many long, but lovely planning sessions at our favorite coffee houses, diners and kitchen tables, we decided to invite a few other fiber artists who also use natural materials to join us.  

And they all said YES!

Thus, we are pleased to announce we have partnered to curate and participate in 

a 2014 international fibers exhibition

From the Inside Out 

Felt, Paper, Textiles: Revelations of Natural Mark Making

at the

 Jacoby Arts Center 

Alton, IL, USA

August 22 - October 3, 2014

Our honored guest artists (in alphabetical order) are:

Irit Dulman - Israel

Fabienne Rey - Netherlands

Rio Wrenn - Oregon, USA 

Although Pat and I have been friends and exhibited together for many years ... 

Fabienne and Irit got together for few days in the Netherlands in 2013 ... 

and Pat has spoken to Rio many times by phone ... 

and we all communicate regularly through social media and emails ...

as a group, we have never met face-to-face. 

Yet, maybe ... someday in the future ...

we might gather in the St. Louis area, or perhaps, 

somewhere overseas!  

Elizabeth Adams-Marks, 2012

For more information about the exhibition and each individual artist, plus regular updates over the next year as the project develops, here is the link to our blog:

From the Inside Out

Please join us for the opening on August 22, 2014!!

Rust Printing with Pat Vivod

What does one do for excitement in Illinois when the summer +100F temps continue to soar, play in water of course. Not in a sparkling cool pool, oh no! But with a garden hose, a few boxes of tea, and rust!!

Pat and I met at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville  while she was working on her MFA in Printmaking and Textiles and I was completing my BFA in Art & Design/Textiles and BS in K-12 Art Education.  For the next few years, we exhibited together during Art East, Madison County's annual art tour. Pat would be displaying the most beautiful silk scarfs and large wall hangings, all dyed and printed with rust, tea, berries and walnuts, while my art focused on handmade paper from plant fiber and book arts. At the time, I had just started teaching art at Oakville Middle School while working on my first masters degree. During each exhibition, I listened intently to Pat's newest discovery, and even managed to write a few notes on rust dying in my journal, but didn't have the time, or brain space, to take on another art form. Yet in July of 2012, I finished my second masters on a Friday and planted myself in Pat's garden studio bright and early the next Monday morning. What a glorious way to celebrate!!

Silk scarf folded and wrapped on metal pipe

Leaf resist pattern exposed as scarf was unwrapped

My first silk scarf - Pattern made from leaf resist, tea, vinegar, and rust

At Pat's suggestion, I had purchased and read India Flint's Eco Colour, as well as Jenny Dean's Wild Colour. As an avid gardener for many years, many of the plants used in dying were already in my garden. Pat had been experimenting with Eco Dyeing after she had taken a workshop with India in 2011. While we were waiting for the silk to rust, we also Eco Dyed a few bundles of silk, wool and cotton. Those bundles were put aside for three weeks to cure and will be opened on a future blog post. 

With a basic understanding of chemistry and experience with an indigo vat, I scribbled down notes as Pat shared her expertise. For more information about Pat's beautiful artwork, read her blog, Sentimental Pentimento.

My second silk scarf - Pattern from leaf resist, tea, vinegar and rust on indigo dyed silk scarf

There are many variants when rust printing. I am just a novice, but did learn that no two pieces will be the same and the overall design depends on: the type of fiber; how the silk is folded; where the leaves or other materials are placed inside or on top as a resist; the various types of tea used; where the tea is sprinkled on the silk; how the folded silk is wrapped on the metal; the amount of rust on the metal; the humidity; the day/night temperature; the length of time the silk is wrapped in plastic on the metal; and any other berries or plant fiber used in the design that may add their own colors.

Pat Vivod washing tea and leaf fiber from one of her silk scarfs

I brought along a hemp blend cloth given to me by my English sister-in-law, Wendy Evans, who picked it up on one of her around-the-world adventures. It probably came from Africa. Pat allowed me to pick out any rusted metal I wanted to use and I chose five of the sun bursts seen below. 

Farm equipment used to make sunbursts on hemp blend cloth

Layers: plastic - metal sunbursts - hemp blend cloth soaked in vinegar - tea - salt - more vinegar - plastic - bricks and walnuts to hold down plastic

Bricks and walnuts hold down plastic overnight

Tea and rust print on cloth uncovered and placed on table to hose off with water

Final print on hemp blend cloth from Africa (turtles pre-printed on cloth)

After three days in Pat's garden studio, I took my supplies, cloth and notes back home and set up my own garden studio out of a few make-shift crates, a skid, a few bricks and a bit of plastic.

Although I don't have the cool rusted gadgets that Pat owns, I found a few things sitting around that had plenty of rust - our burn barrel, the grill found on big trash day, the four claw foot tub feet from a yard sale, and bits of pipe and chain from who knows where. I began with a piece of pale yellow silk from my stash. It was smooth on one side and bumpy on the other.  

I soaked the silk in vinegar and folded it lengthwise as I attempted to make a few designs with used Earl Grey tea leaves, unused Lipton Tea leaves, fresh sassafras leaves, and boiled down walnut "tea" before I clipped it shut with clothespins long enough to tie it to the burn barrel. Once it was tied in place, I covered the barrel with plastic and waited about five hours. The temps were well over 100F. 

Silk cloth soaked in vinegar, folded with tea  and leaves then wrapped in plastic for about 5 hours in 100F+ sunshine

Removing the hemp twine 

Twine marks and rust

Before it was opened

My husband, Peter, helping to open the folds and remove the leaves

Leaf resist, black tea and rust print

Opened cloth before rinsing

Cloth rinsed with water to remove tea and leaves

Silk washed and dried on the line. 

Pat was a wonderful, patient teacher. I was so excited by the success of rust printing on silk, I decided to spend the next few days testing rust on paper. But that just have to wait for the next blog post.