She's Making Jewelry Now*

* Thanks, PORTLANDIA

Broke print head on fabric printer
Waiting for replacement.
What to Do?
Clean studio
Find old supplies
Plastic and metal name tags
Print on them
Button collection
String
Necklace


Secret Beach at Lake Tahoe

 Moon Girl

MOUSE CELLS

 Ahhhh...the beauty of biology. Mouse cells in lavender on white cotton gauze

WHAT I'M WORKING ON

Jackets, Vests, Scarves and Blouses.  Upcycled fabrics and cottons.
Hoping these will go to a trunk sale.

FABRIC DOODLES

Doodles are so much fun to play with.                    Wait!  Isn't doodling already play?

DOO DOTS
Here is the doodle that got me started - a doodle by my fabric colleague, Sandy Scott.  She created this marvelous doodle of dots to compliment one of her jewelry designs, and I translated it on the computer for fabric printing.

This is just a doodle I made while waiting for fabric to print

 ....and this is the reverse

UPCYCLED TABLE CLOTH

I bought a rose colored table cloth in a local thrift store and overprinted it with designs based on doodles, snakeskin and art deco.  I was able to make two unique jackets.

A FABRIC DESIGN FOR TODAY

MOUSE CELLS!

My brother-in-law sent me a picture of mouse cells that he took while staring in a microscope.

I turned it into this

 or this

or this
















the color possibilities are endless.

I haven't posted for a long time...

Blogging - is it a vain exercise?  Most likely.
I haven't posted for a long time because I just got tired of it.
I am not longer concerned about the profundity of it, though.
Just the fun.
So....enjoy this link

SOME DAYS ARE JUST FRUSTRATING

Long day in the studio.  Printing on Bamboo I ordered from Infinite Cosmos Hemp.  roning that fabric to the freezer paper was a real pain, but I got it done.  Of course, each printing was different.  Arrgghhhh.  Some of these are blurry because I decided to double print.  Can't wait to see what the image looks like after steaming and washing.  Perfect weight for a jacket.

DOODOTS!

DooDots Fabric ready for Sandy to sew into fabulous circle skirts.  I printed this pattern on re-purposed sheeting. 

I can't wait to see the results!

DooDots drawing by Sandy Scott. 

SNAKES!

Nice to be back in the studio for a few days, though it's still hot. I repurposed these fabrics (a sheet and old curtains) by printing snakeskin patterns on them.  The sheet fabric on the left is perfect for a flouncy circle skirt, while the curtain fabric on the right has a "linen" feel that is great for a bolero jacket.
Time to sew!

Join Venus d'Pyro and Queen Bee Studio, Booth 266

TREASURE ISLAND FLEA, Sept. 28 & 29, 2012,  Great Lawn, $3.00 Admission,  Free Parking - Dog Friendly.  Live Music, Scavenger Hunts, DIY Workshops, Great Food

            

 

SIGH. THE FTC AND BAMBOO FABRIC

I was researching bamboo fabrics for a bulk order and came across this article.  Sigh.
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt160.shtm

JOIN US AT THE TIBURON ART FESTIVAL!

Join Venus d'Pyro in Booth 24 at http://www.tiburon-artfestival.com/ August 25 and 26. Bring this coupon to get 10% off any clothing item.

 Sandy Scott and Gini Holmes

CLEANING

I've been cleaning my closets.  Ugghhh.  What to keep. What to give (throw) away.
I found the dress I made for my Senior Prom. 

I designed it to go with my grandmother's shoes, which fit me perfectly. 

Brown satin.  Tuxedo style.  Gold beading (yes, my first beading job) to go with the shoes.  Yellow coat to complete the outfit.

I just can't get rid of it.  So...off to the cleaners. 

Maybe someone will want it, someday.

WHY I PRINT MY OWN FABRICS

I know I could send out for fabric printing.  I know I could save time on "process" by doing so. But... enjoy the process. 
I know I could buy pre-treated fabric that is already backed with paper, but  figuring out my own formulas ironing the fabric to the paper backing are, to me, integral to making the final product "mine."
Yes, the fabric goes wobbly on the paper when I iron it by hand, but I get to do the math and figure out the best placement, knowing that it will not be perfect - guaranteeing each piece is unique.

I just need to remember not to totally zone out once the fabric is in the printer. 

It's the Zen of it.

These three pieces are ready to be steamed and then sewn into a Kimono.  

The beginning of my Keswick series.

More work before the temperatures rise

I'm trying to print fabrics for the Tiburon Art Festival before the digits go over100 for the rest of the summer.  These silk fabrics are for:  A short kimono jacket with Lil design and Two Buddah Scarves

TWO MORE IN THE TRANSFER-KIMONO SERIES

I'm having a wonderful, albeit slow, time reinterpreting my gel transfer images onto fabric and into Kimonos. Though  will never reach one-fourth of the level of Itchiku Kubota, I won't stop experimenting with images on fabrics. It's such a joy!

Medium length silk chiffon Kimono from TAHOE ROCKS gel transfer image. 
Hand sewn with turquoise glass embellishment.

Short Habatoi silk Kimono from Whiskeytown VI series (left side).
Hand sewn with bead embellisments.

SILK SCARVES

Just a few items from our scarf collection. Looking at some of them, I get the urge to bead.

Scarves1

View more presentations from Gini Holmes.

What it's like in the studio on a hot day

20 minutes ironing the fabric to the freezer paper
5 minutes calibrating the paper and the printer
15 minutes watching the nozzles go back and forth
1 Passion Flower panel down - 1 more to go
then............
3 hours steaming the fabric
1/2 hour washing and drying
errrggghhhhhhh

Palo Cedro Art-Wine-Music-Merchant Walk

Join Venus d'Pyro at the 1st Annual Palo Cedro Art-Wine-Music-Merchant Walk this Friday between 5 and 8 pm.

The 1st Annual Palo Cedro Wine, Art, Music and Merchant Walk is a fun community event, designed to introduce our downtown merchants to our community members, and to support two great causes - the Wings of Angels organization and all the Good Works they perform, and the effort to save the Millville Grange as a community resource for us all.

The idea is simple... we have invited ten local merchants to sponsor pavilions near their businesses. Each pavilion will feature wonderful local wineries pouring their wines for tasting, art works by local artisans, and live music by local musicians of all sorts. Each pavilion will also offer wonderful h'ors douvres especially prepared and paired to the wines being poured, by Etched in Elegance Catering of Redding.

 

What could be more fun than to stroll through these pavilions

and enjoy all that?

 

You will enjoy all these treats to your senses for 3 hours on June 8, 2012, for the cost of $15 per person. You will also be entered into raffles at each pavilion for prizes including donated goods, wine and more. And, you will leave the event with your own commemorative "PC WAMM Walk 2012" wine glass to remember us by, and the knowledge you have helped your community! (Plus the anticipation of "PC WAMM Walk" 2013!) 

 

Tickets on Sale NOW - only 400 tickets will be sold!

 

Tickets are available now at any of the merchants listed on the Merchants link. Only 400 tickets will be sold for this event - if tickets sell out, no tickets will be available the night of the event.

THINGS I DID TODAY

I finished another in my series of Kimonos from Gel Transfer Prints.

DEVIL TREE was influenced by one of my prints I made after hiking around Mt. Diablo.

I moved on to printing fabrics in a Yellow Theme.
Butterflies and Leaves.















I was pretty worn out by the time I took this picture.




It's always best to know when to stop.

Perhaps I should have stayed home, but the fact that the temperature was under 100 was too tempting.

VENUS D'PYRO IS AVAILABLE FOR TRUNK SHOWS

Trunk show

View more PowerPoint from Gini Holmes

KIMONOS FROM TRANSFER PRINTS

 FOLSOM TREES


















The Silk Chiffon came out so much more pastel.
I really love it.

I RIPPED OFF MY SON!

Can't help it.

I love his work.

This is for someone "special."

What to do, Today

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

I've been on a "hand sanitizer gel transfer" print binge lately.

I think I'll...

...use these images to print on silk for future Kimonos.

Today's print:

DEVEIL TREE

The two on the left are for the body of the Kimono.

The one on right is for the sleeves.

NEW SILKS

Just a small slideshow to show new silk kimonos I just finished.

This slideshow generated with Smilebox

NEW INSPIRATION

I took a break from beading to browse through FB and found, via THE PEOPLE'S PRINT, this great site, THE PATTERN PEOPLE, and their featured (blog) designer, SARAH ARNETT.  With collaborator Kim Hunt, she has created MODERN LOVE.

To tell the truth, I get sooooooooo  overwhelmed by all the amazing work out there.  How to keep up?  Guess I need to get up earlier.


photo courtesy SARAH ARNETT/MODERN LOVE

Contemporary Woman 6

YeeHaw!  I entered three pieces in the Chico Art Center's Contemporary Woman 6 juried show, and all three were accepted!

Submissions of 245 artworks by 104 artists from around the country were viewed by juror JoAnne Northrup, who has selected 40 artists and 66 artworks for Contemporary Woman 6
May 26 - June 23
Reception: Saturday, May 26, 7-9pm




 

SANDY'S SHOWER

Here is the final glass piece for Sandy's shower.  (Sublimation print on textured glass.  Image not mine.) 
I finally broke down (actually, my printer totally broke down) and bought a Ricoh GX7000 sublimation printer from Conde Systems. 
Yes, the boys at Alpha Copy have been more than patient with me, constantly fixing my ever depreciating junkyard printers, but I had to finally give them a break, if only on one of my machines.  I still have the 7600 to terrorize them with.
WOW!  No hours of color adjusting and test printing. So easy to install and use.  Why did it take me so long?    

DRAGONS

Sandy has been creating stunning new fused glass works using the dragon theme we have been incorporating into our fabrics.  The pieces are soon to be delivered to Enjoy, The Store, for some lucky customer(s) to pluck off the shelves.