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a forest wanderer, maker of marks, stitcher, kind and gentle soul
has arrived
pots are simmering with windfall bundles
a side trip yesterday found this dear brass teapot
to compliment an eco-dyed wool cloth…..
“Fieldwork” begins tomorrow
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this is a great time of the year on the farm
we may have some rain
we may have some heat
but we mostly have peace
in the early morning, the sun catches fenceline work from the overnight
during choretime neither the pups nor the sheep are concerned with moving.
Luna and Kalie in my sights with Della in the background
old Crystal, just hanging waiting for us to open the fenceline to pasture
Tybee, one big wether with NO agenda at all
his mother ewe, Bea. see that eye? that’s a happy eye
the hens are living large and loving every minute of it
the additional barn garden is feeding the monarchs, bees and hummers along with some
delicious cucumbers, broccoli, tomats and brussells for us…
it’s all good in late August
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It was a stellar morning for the first day of the workshop with
Joan Morris here at Long Ridge Farm. crisp and bright just like the fabrics we brought to class.
mine drying on the line at the last minute.
Joan asked us early on to “suspend disbelief” and “stay in the present”.
wonderful advice under any circumstances.
some pieces of Joan’s to spark a visual journey into the art of shaped resist dyeing
a view of ‘camp” after hours. my husband walked in to take a peek and said “wow, how do you all know what you are doing?”
we did with Joan’s wonderful teaching style and experience
we stitched and stitched and stitched
and took our dyeing tasks like masters…..madder root soaking
Anna in the indigo…the vat was central and ample
view from the field as pieces dry
magnificent color from cochineal bugs. our well water is a gift for natural dyeing
by day four students were working alone with confidence, the sign of a good teacher.
Joan was there to assist but the early first days of instruction paid off
with personal freedom and expression
on the last day we all wished for one more day;
we had so much we wanted to still try.
what a lovely problem to have!
a piece I created that I love.
a technique I enjoyed learning
It was a wonderful week.
The weather cooperated, the students were a great group to be with and Joan Morris is an amazing artist and a very patient and thorough teacher.
pssst! for those with some experience, she will be back next year!
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…or as Theresa commented yesterday, beak breaks. Mom is getting into feed them, sometimes with us all there and always if we break here and there. the babes are growing fast…here is their standard position all day. my jaw aches just looking at them!
the color exercises continue…we are now in paint boxes working on taking a primary color to it’s compliment through careful mixing and blending…challenging work
the heat beat on yesterday and Katie tried to beat the heat on the studio deck doing some skeining yarns….great hat!
this morning we have a lovely summer day on tap, much cooler and less humidity. yea!
Workshops
The Color Institute workshop is underway here at the farm. First day gave us scorching temperatures with high humidity. But the class of 10 are eager to learn and increase our levels of expertise in color theory with Michele Wipplinger at the helm. Her experience with color spans more than 30 years with an acute eye and thorough style of teaching.
we spent much of the first day working with the Munsell Color System.
quiet work while the heat pressed on. we had lots of whirring fans, water and refreshments to keep us comfortable.
then the class moved to analyzing textile pieces by finding the nearest matching color chips.
discussions and observations ensued and tomorrow the concepts and training will deepen
the one stickler in the day is we have a robin’s nest with two bitty birds in the rafter above our workspace.they are going to fledge any day. the past weeks the mother and I have chatted away while I was getting the space ready. she would come and go and feed them in my company. just this morning I sat and chatted with her in the wee dawn light while she came and went with worms and bugs for the babes. but yesterday she wasn’t keen on the other 10 people in the barn. so we took “bird breaks” every hour so she could keep feeding. I am thankful for understanding students who came to learn not worry about the robins. hopefully today she will relax a bit more….we are a peaceful, happy group!
