Wandering in Full Color

I love fabric and I love color. Color makes me happy. It’s definitely a mood lifter for me. I love bright colors. I love combinations of color. I love mixing colors. I love working with color in my art. The last several months I have been obsessed with fabric dyeing, tie dyeing, playing with colors, in primarily what is called the geode pattern.

It’s the creation of color that is so exciting to me. I do my tie dyeing in the ice/snow method. This produces soft watercolor like bleeding effects. I never know exactly how a piece is going to turn out; I do some planning but the snow or ice does its own magic when it combines with the dyes. I work with powdered MX Procyon dyes that are already pre designed colors and I spread the powders on the fabric with some plan in mind. But as the ice or snow melts and combines with the dye powders, the dyes split and bleed in beautiful unexpected ways. It’s these soft watercolor effects that I love the most. MX dyed fabric has to batch (sit in the dye bath)for at least 24 hours before they can be rinsed, washed and dried. It is soooo hard to wait for the reveal!

I have progressed from dyeing large pieces of fabric to now doing t-shirts. I also make purses and totes out of my dyed fabrics. Now that I have done so many pieces in the circular geode pattern I need to branch out and try another pattern.

I am still art quilting and some new pieces will be up in my gallery soon. But I’ve been wandering off on this side path and enjoying every minute of it. At least my color play still revolves around fabric and making things with fabric. I love being able to wear a t-shirt I’ve dyed or carry a purse or tote I’ve made with my dyed fabric so everyone can see all the beautiful colors.

I will leave you with two quotes from artist Wassily Kandinsky that resonate with me:

“Color is the power that directly influences the soul.”

“Color provokes a psychic vibration. Color hides a power, still unknown but real, which acts on every part of the human body.”