not a lazy suzen

I don’t know if I had mentioned here yet or not but I’m teaching my first university-level class in September. I’m really excited/nervous about it. It’s an introductory-level course that gives students a core foundation in textile print and dye techniques fundamental to all surface design practices. There are three of these introductory classes that go on all at the same time, each instructor going about their lessons in a slightly different way. I’m taking on some natural printing with rust and plants, shibori and an intensive look at immersion dyeing with fibre reactive dyes. What’s so exciting for me is that I am jumping into a technical part of my art education that I haven’t utilized since my undergraduate days. While I often feel more comfortable on the “structures” side of things (ie: felting, knitting, sewing, building, etc), I feel a profound amount of joy in the dye lab. And thanks to a technique-heavy education at ACAD and the bizarre talent I have for retaining information, I’m confident that I’m going to do a decent job.

That said, it’s been ages since I’ve dyed anything. In undergrad I was dyeing very large amounts of yardage but that was six years ago. So, to reacquaint myself with the process and familiarize myself with my university’s dye lab, I decided to overdye some boring clothes I’ve had lingering in my closet. What better way to warm up those dyeing fingers than taking on something practical?

1. dye stuff, 2. fibre reactive, 3. overdyed t-shirts, 4. overdyed t-shirts, 5. overdyed t-shirts, 6. overdyed t-shirts, 7. overdyed t-shirts, 8. overdyed t-shirts, 9. overdyed t-shirts

The immersion dye process was just as I remembered it. Though, little things have changed from the process of working I learned and the way the university does it here. For one thing, the dye powder always gets dissolved through a sieve. This is so smart! Why had I never thought of this before? Everything should be dissolved through a sieve–salt, soda ash, dye powder. What a great way to know you’ve got everything mashed up good. Another thing, they take soda ash very seriously here (which is good because it’s super nasty stuff). I remember back in 2002 when we were dyeing at the intro level at ACAD and there were two buckets near the main sinks in the printing studio, one marked SALT and the other SODA ASH. We never wore respirators for either nor kept them near a slot hood. It’s crazy when I think about it know. Especially that time I accidentally took a big inhale of the stuff when I dropped the bucket and it wafted up in my face (I think I shaved 5 years off my life because of that and increased my risk for lung cancer. Yuck.). I sincerely doubt it’s still like that, which just goes to show how much studio health & safety has beefed up across the board in the last 10 years.

Anyway! Overdyeing the t-shirts was a great success. For the most part I did a decent job at getting an even colour all around. What’s kind of funny (and something I didn’t take into account) is that the sweat marks on the shirts totally altered the dye process. When I thought I was going to mask the stains with 3% Fibre Reactive Blue, I actually accentuated them and any other stains I didn’t realize were on the shirt to begin with. To rectify this I’m going to shibori the shit out of them. Hopefully the busyness of tie-dye will overpower the stains.

Sometimes it can be pretty troubling to work from home, especially if most of one’s time is spent alone. Sometimes it can be great. I mean, working from home means I don’t have to put on pants unless it’s absolutely necessary. It also means I have a cat to keep me company and pass judgement on my present endeavours. Most of the time, however, it means I have to work very hard to motivate myself. Being home all the time can turn into a bit of a trap. For instance, I had initially planned to head to the university to work in the printing studios but eventually decided it was just easier to stay at home and work on the face mat. And I did. Periodically. Actually, I spent more of my time feeling guilty about what I wasn’t engaged in than being focused on the tasks at hand. Oof.

I worry about the fall when suddenly I am constantly at home. It’s a weird thing to be in an MFA program at this point but not actually be around people unless the effort is really made. Parties, vernissages, lectures, events…At least that kind of stuff is pretty active in the fall. Unfortunately, I suck at making the effort. I’m not a terribly social person but I’m working on it. I’m honestly trying.

In a way, this blog has always been my MFA supplement. It is here when I need to vent out ideas and share experiments. I feel like I can write about my studio practice fairly honestly here. I don’t tend to hold much back. I feel like this blog is a great space for thinking aloud. I guess that’s what all blogs are about but you know what I mean. When too many days go by and I haven’t updated, I kind of feel bad about it. This place really has turned into the primary way I check in on myself. I know this method of motivation isn’t for everybody but it works for me (for the most part). And I know it is going to become an increasingly important part of my creative life as my graduate degree comes to a close.

So. With that said, let me show you the progress I’m making on the face mat.

I think one of my problems is how I’m sitting as I hook. I really need a better chair. When I get my first paycheque from my teaching gig in the fall, I’m buying a new studio chair (I’m thinking a plush rocker).

Half of the hair is complete. I’m a little annoyed by the top part where there seems to be too much light pink but I’m not so annoyed to warrant pulling it out. It’ll be fine once the background get hooked in.

And here’s the back, looking totally intense as usual. Although, there have been a few hiccups thanks to the nature the tools and materials I’m using.

It may not be super apparent but as I’m working on the mat, the back often gets hitched by the gripper strips on my lap frame. I have to be pretty gentle when removing the mat from the frame if I have it stretched over a hooked area. Unfortunately, since I tend to work with my boobs smashed against the bottom side of the frame, the yarns get re-hooked by the little gripper nails and accidentally unravel as I readjust the mat. It’s such a pain. While I can handle a few unravelled bits of yarn (I just re-hook them), I get really frustrated when the yarn fuzzes out. This makes the back not very appealing (to me) because it isn’t perfect. And Lord knows how I like things to be perfect. Heh.

I keep jumping back and forth between with my decision to show the back of this thing. Right now I’m settling on not showing the back, hemming the piece like I normally do but with handmade bias tape instead of the stuff I’ve been picking up in the bargain bin at the fabric store. I think by making the hem with printed fabric, even patchworking it, could make the back pretty dynamic if I ever decided to show it. I guess I’ll finish it so it has the possibility of going either way. We’ll see.

Lately I’ve been finding it difficult to hook. Maybe I’m not in the right mindset to sit still for so long. Maybe it’s this wooden chair I keep sitting on despite it being horrible for my ass and my back. Maybe it was the humidity from last week. Maybe I’m bored. Actually, I think I just listed all my problems right there. It’s super hard to stay focused on something when there are so many factors keeping the mind restless. Thankfully, knitting has been filling the idle void in my daily life right now so I don’t feel completely useless. (However, don’t let the utilitarianism of the sock fool you! All my procrastinating activities usually have some usefulness involved so I can somehow justify my actions).

Anyway. Slowly but surely, there is progress being made on the epic face mat. I have unrealistic optimistic plans to finish the hair by this time next week. This means at least three hours of hooking every day. And now that I have made plans to meet with my thesis advisor at the end of the month, I really gotta get cracking. There’s nothing like a good deadline to whip me into shape (or help me procrastinate more).

Here’s a small amount of progress since last time:

Plush and fuzzy front.

Extreme plush close-up!

Super crisp, embroidery-like back.

Seriously, look at the back of this thing! It’s so intense!

I’ve mentioned before about how much I love the back of the mat. It’s such an unexpected thing to flip the plush mat around and see such crisp, clean lines in its place. Though, for the time being, this mat is not about the back. The back is like a little surprise that only a few people will ever know about. I think the back looks way too much like an embroidered surface for me to do anything with right now. I mean, I adore embroidery (even though I’m terrible at it) but there isn’t really a place for embroidery in my art plan. Embroidery seems too prim for what I’m doing. I love the kitschiness of the mat much more. Does that make sense? Hmmm…