A moment to reflect....

 

Saturday evening...

Burn Baby, Burn.....

 

Once I returned from an enchanting 30 days in Scotland and Ireland....

I was compelled to ignite those pesky morning pages I'd accumulated over 10 years, 

from 1994 and 2004, as I wrote neatly on the spines of the journals ....

this was a more difficult task than I anticipated

creating mounds of ash

slow to burn

I ended up burning only the loose pages,

figuring burning the books would take hours.

I read some of the entries...picking up snippets of how unhappy I'd been for so many of those years,

before I tossed the rest in the recycle bin.

Feels good to let that go.

Adios...for now

Yesterday had us depart Skye

 

with weather clearing and still lochs....

we drove through the stunning highlands on our way to Glasgow to spend our last days in Scotland...

I've decided poking at this piece of glass is NO fun, and posting from remote locations is tedious and time consuming often producing no results...

I'm going to recap our adventures when I get home in October....

So Adieu ....

 

While I take advice from an old friend...

and

BE HERE NOW

Wet...

                                                                            The weather has been seriously wet on The Isle of Skye.

 

Not too chilly though....in the low 60's for the high and low 50's for the low.

It has not dampened our spirits though, and with rain pants on board we have been trapesing about this magical island.

We have also been eating our way through Scotland....the smoked salmon has been the best...buttery and delicious.

Tomorrow we head for Glasgow....the land of Charles MacIntosh

This one's for Kelly....

Real time Isle of Skye...

 

One small photo per day is all the speed here will allow....

We've passed this graveyard three times now going back and forth from our B & B on Skye...

The weather has turned to driving rain .... not totally unexpected

Good news ... no midges.

OX

Orkney Islands, Scotland, UK

 

Standing Stones of Stenness

(with sheep...)

Houston we have a problem....

Try as I might, it has been impossible to post my blogs due to slow internet speeds where we we've been.

So I'm going to try a brief version....

Weather has been warm & sunny and cool and rainy.

With lots of

 .

Whiskey, Plaid & 

white knuckle driving down narrow winding roads....

(To be fair, it's me the navigator with the white knuckles, gripping my seat as we get too close to the curb...)

Let's see if this works....

Edinburgh....

Our first few days in Scotland have been spent in Edinburgh...

These are my impressions...

 

Roslyn Chapel...

 

 

Amazing stacked rock everywhere we look...

 

Villages within a city...

 

 delightful passages...

 

And lanes

 

My happy place...

 

Bountiful hanging baskets...

 .

More pubs than we could count...

 

A haunted graveyard...

 

A meet up with an old friend...

 

Lots of hills and interesting architecture...

 

Baffling artifacts...

 

And an inspiring exhibit of Joseph Beuys works on paper...

We spent these last few days mostly recovering from a grueling journey here plus jet lag.

Now rejuvenated, Mr. H and I are driving (he the pilot, me the navigator, itinerary in hand...)

north through Cairngorms National Park and we'll spend the night in Aviemore.

We head for Findhorn in the morning.

The weather has been lovely, we have great wheels and a GPS....we are in heaven.

Touchdown......

Glasgow, Scotland, UK

 

 

 

 

 

First impression....

Green

(Second Impression....wet)

Morning Pages and Journals….

This morning I opened boxes that had been sealed in 2003 for our move to Toronto.

They've moved with me, boxes unopened, several times since then.

Journals and Morning Pages….

I discovered Julia Cameron's Book,  The Artist's Way

and began writing Morning Pages (3 long hand written pages) in 1994.

At first I wrote on pads of lined paper,

then transitioned to writing in 'book form' journals a few years later.

I prepared a shelf for my journals and these morning pages….

as part of my

 S. P. A. C. E.

(an acronym for Sort, Purge, Assign a place, Containerize, and Equalize, the last I changed to Evaluate)

project.

This is organizing specialist, Julie Morgenstern's system for organizing and purging.

I read Julie's book 'Organizing from the Inside Out' when it first came out in 1998

and I've turned to the 'SPACE' concept every time I attempt to organize. 

Part of how I'm attacking my current sweep of organizing….

is to go through everything I own, and put 'like' items together in one spot.

Moving frequently, and being under construction for most of my adult life, with several studio moves,

had me duplicate items that I want (and need) to condense. 

Also, I've just kept too much stuff.

The next step will be to go through these papers, and see what I've been up to all of these years.

As for the daily writing (Morning Pages)….

I wonder if any of you have done that, and purged the pages?

They are not really journals. I consider them Brain Drain. A way of purging my mind of useless worry.

Who needs to save worry (and fear and anger)…..?

OK there were lots of desires in there too 

(that came into fruition I must add.)

I'm also sure that half of the pages in the formal journals are empty. What do we do about that? 

I need to free up space. 

I'm considering a ceremony.

or maybe I'll just dump them.

I know how good that will feel.  Just getting them out of the boxes feels good. 

Releasing their energy and all that….

Read what Judy Martin did with her journals HERE and HERE…..

I'd love to hear what the rest of you do with yours.

+ + +

Addendum:

I just Googled 'what to do with morning pages'

and came up with

THIS 

A discussion on Julia Cameron's blog regarding the subject.

Looks like a bonfire is in my future.

Kakishibu update...

And the experiment continues,

Both with my iPad posting and the dye process.

These photos were taken with my old Cannon point and shoot (instead of my phone),

then downloaded directly from the camera card to my iPad.

I really missed using that camera.

 

Kakishibu on cotton muslin after a day of recoating with the dye and folding (and refolding) for effect.

I used mostly a spray bottle for the subsequent coats.

The Kakishibu is a rich tannin coating, not exactly a dye.

What you see here, is not the same on the other side of the fabric.
 It does not penetrate with subsequent coats.

 

Same on linen with same technique. 

I like the linen better & wished I had not wasted the expensive brew on the cotton. 

As my Montenegren housekeeper used to say,

"Education costs money, whether you go to school or not."

Ha!

I also found out I probably need to buy a new computer. 

I think this iPad might be fine for now.

Kakishibu distraction....

I'm attempting  to do two things at once here...

Fuss with this blogging app (now from my aging iPad, instead of my phone)

whilst describing a process I was compelled to undertake after finding this bag of Kakishibu during my studio clean up project.

It's probably the last thing I should be doing...the dying thing....

But combining it with the blogging experiment keeps me on track as I ready my house and suitcase for our upcoming to Scotland and Ireland next month.

1st...

What IS Kakishibu?

Kakishibu is made from persimmons that have been concentrated, filtered, fermented, and matured.

Kakishibu is a Japanese traditional natural paint or dye.

Since ancient times, Kakishibu has been used as a waterproofer, insect repellent, and antiseptic, by applying it to woods, clothes, and other items.

This can make some products have greater strength, and last longer.

I had used this in the 'far long ago' to stiffen handmade paper and fabric. 

It's more concentrated when used in this way, and painted on in layers to achieve it's protective and hardening qualities.

Used as a dye, this is how I proceeded.

Step 1: 

I soaked 2 yards of fabric in soapy (ph neutral) water

 

Step 2:

I added 50 grams of Kakishibu powder to 2 liters of water. This is the 'dye' ratio recommended by an instruction sheet I had on hand. It could have been three liters, but two were enough cover my two yards of muslin.

 

Wow. This photo looks blurry!

(Remember this is a blogging experiment too!)

 

This is what it looks like while I whisk it in.....foamy and the powder sits on top

BTW I wore a dust mask.

I added it to one liter of warm water first.

It takes awhile to mix in.....

Then I added this to a small bucket and added the rest of the warmed water...

To that I added...

 

Two yards of wet cotton muslin.

I did not rinse the soap from it.

 

This is what it looked like after an hour.

Much like my Avocado dye result...only quicker!

From my experience this is an additive process....so I will continue this experiment over the next several days

Inspired by the rich color and texture of Sakabukuro (sake bags).....

Which is not pink or whimpy peach.

Although it will become darker when exposed to light.

Sorry....no link 

You'll just have to look it up.

Checking in and a test....

This is a little test to see what blogging from my iPad looks like.....

I'm preparing for a month long journey in September and I'm thinking about blogging from the path...or not. A two year struggle with the photos on my MacBook has me grumpy with the whole process...

Along with the written experiment....here are iPhone photos of our daily doorstep visitors.

This one is sure I can't see him.

Hmmmm. I'm not sure about this format, but in a pinch it might do.

Progress report….Avocado Dye

So this is what happened with the Avocado Dye experiment.

After scouring everything on the subject I could find on line,
I picked out the techniques that made the most sense to me and proceeded this way…..

To prepare the fabric:

I soaked a thrifted silk shirt (that had been previously 'eco' dyed with eucalyptus, walnut and iron),
and small pieces of undyed silk and cotton jersey fabric
in warm water with a squirt of ph neutral dish soap 

(in this case Mrs. Meyer's Lavender).

I soaked these overnight and kept them wet in the solution until I put them directly in the dye pot
(when the dye solution was ready*).

*To prepare the dye solution:

I covered the skins and pits of 15 previously frozen Avocados with cool water in a large stainless steel pot.

I did not weigh the fabric or the dye stuff.

I slowly brought the pot to a 'just before' boiling point and left it there for 1 hour.

While it was simmering, I skimmed (and skimmed and skimmed)
the green slush of the avocado meat from the surface.
All accounts said this is not necessary, however it seemed like the best thing to do,
since I was 'into' it 

and curious….

while waiting for the brew to become the infamous 'pink'.

After one hour of the 'almost boil', I turned the heat off and let the pot cool on the stove over night. 

In the morning I poured the sludgy brew through some cloth placed in a sieve until it's liquor ran clear.

To dye the cloth:

I squeezed the soapy water from the items to dye and placed them in the cool dye bath.

I did not rinse the fabric (of the soap) before it went into the pot with the clear liquor.

I may have added a bit more water to cover the fabric.

I used my tap water for the whole process.

Then I repeated the 'almost boil' process, bringing the pot to almost boiling, and cooking the fabric for one hour.

After the hour I turned off the heat and let the fabric sit in the dye to brew overnight.

The next morning, I extracted the items from the pot,
then ran them through the wash with no soap in cool water.

then I said….

"oh, pink rays of morning sunlight please bless this wet shirt"

(just kidding, I didn't say that)

this was a surprise.

here's the almost dry…

thrifted shirt in the background, 

fabric from left to right…

some kind of silk, PFD cotton jersey from Dharma in the middle, mystery fabric on the far right.

I'm sorry I don't have the 'before' pics of the fabrics

The silk was off white and the cotton was very white.

The results:

The shirt color did not shift as much as I'd hoped,

 however it seemed darker and more uniform in color than before.

Obviously the silk took the dye more than the cotton did.

I did not presoak the cotton in soy milk as is often recommended. 

I'm not sure it would make a big difference, but it might. 

I would definitely go to the trouble if I were to dye a cotton garment with this process.

The dye bath does not seem exhausted, so it's in the freezer for future use.

I'm not sure what I'll do with this information, 

but I consider this experiment a success.

Yes I do.

Seeing Red...

I've had some extended time alone, and realize I haven't written a post since April.

A brief report.

I've been traveling, sewing and continue with my de-cluttering and organizing. 

I made myself a commitment
 to get my place settled and into my studio before the end of the summer. 

It's been a huge undertaking.

 Moving is hard.

 Disrupting.

It's often been difficult to maintain and re-establish equilibrium. 

And it seems to be the theme of my adult life. 

In my case, I believe it's greatest toll is felt on my creative pursuits.

 The giant glitches in my computer over the past two years have also taken their toll. 

For instance, as I attempt to post a photo from my phone, this is the new muck I must wade through before it happens….

iPhoto has detected inconsistencies in your library. Please click Repair to avoid any potential problems.

So today I have a dye pot on the stove filled with Avocado skins and pits.

 I'm hoping for the pinkish color that's claimed.

Sort of this color….

or a 'Wood Rose' shade would be nice.

In the mean time, as I photographed this zinnia, 

I became enamored with the quality of light shining on my stove top. 

In addition to the soft pink….

thanks to this morning's visit to our local grower's market...

I noticed some reds.

Raspberry

and

Tomato.

I was amazed to see what local growers produced in this year's searing heat and drought.

The pickings were slim at best, 

but SO appreciated.