Friends, Cyanotype, Indigo Dyeing and Weimaraner’s

Laura Roberts aka Hastypearl

Have you ever had a good idea and it morphed into something new? That recently happened to me. I had the idea of some friends and I, teaching some art workshops here in my home. A couple of things came about and before I knew it, we realized, that at least for right now, what we were really yearning for was…drumroll…some Playdays! Way less stress than a workshop, but with all the benefits!

So, three of us, decided to meet quarterly in different homes and the host would share their favorite paper art techniques. Isn’t that a great idea? I’m going to learn new things, they are going to learn new things. Perfect!

My art compadre’s are Lisa Stamper Meyer and Michelle Carson. It’s funny, because I once had another friend say, Laura, you need to meet these two girls…I know you will love them. Well, she was right! Don’t you think it’s great when things like this work out? The first playday was led by Michelle Carson, in her beautiful century home, in the inner city. Blue, Blue and Rust was the theme, along with some new to me techniques. It took some fancy footwork to get things started in the right order, so it would all get done, before she had some carpool commitments!

We rusted pieces of iron. Fun! Spray bottles mixed with vinegar and water, paper and fabrics with iron bits sandwiched in between, couldn’t have been easier. By the end of the payday, our papers were already rusted and ready to dry.

Next, she presented the Cyanotype products. We used a two part liquid by Jacquard, that you paint on paper. We lay on top of the  dried painted paper, leaves, previously printed transparencies, lace, doilies, all sorts of things. Then we placed a piece of glass on top to make the item contact the paper better, set it in the sun and waited. On a sunny day, you will get a print, almost instantly. Be patient on cloudy days. You can peek to see if you have a print. Then, you dip the printed paper in a tray with a mixture of water and hydrogen peroxide and the colors will pop! The instructions are included with the products.

The paper above, is what I considered a fail, and come on, it’s how we learn. I didn’t use the glass cover and my piece of native seed headed grass, just didn’t make enough contact to print, but as you will see in the last image in this post, it was redeemable in a Collage piece that I made the next morning. Fails can be useful, too!

Next, Michelle generously shared her two dye vats of indigo with us. I had never dyed with indigo because…you might should sit down now, because some of you are going to be shocked…but, I dont care for Blue. Eeeeeek! Did you just “un-friend” me? I hope not : ) One of her vats was a shared bit from a friends vat, and the other was synthetic. Follow the link to Jacquard to purchase, or you can Google for other sources. I’m sure for the purists, they know a difference, but both vats were enjoyable. We wrapped rubber bands around, used clothes pins on and dropped our cotton, silk, vintage fabric pieces, in to the vat.

It’s amazing how much artists can get done in such a short time. I loved learning some new techniques, but always for me, the best part is the Community we shared. Three women, same and different, regarded our time together as a Win. For me, it was a BIG WIN !

The next morning, I made this Collage piece as a gift for some friends. I was inspired by a photograph of their family Weimaraner, Hudson, of course…in a hoodie. Don’t all kids love to dress up their pets?  He just looked so tolerant/indignant/stately, that I had to draw/paint him! Do you see the “fail” piece behind him. Perfect backdrop, dont you think? And on the bottom, a little slice of that rust paper we made. The two colors are awesome together, don’t you think? It makes me a little more “tolerant” and less “indignant” of the blue, just like Hudson !

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Sometimes, we need people to nudge us into trying new things and being open to the prospects. Can you think of a few friends that you could host a playday for?

I hope You are well and trying new things in Your life. I said in my last post that I have enough ideas to last 400 years and a fellow art friend agreed in her comment. Whatever we are into, isn’t it wonderful to be stretching and learning new things?

What have you been experimenting with lately? I’d love for you to share it here. It might be an idea for someone to try!  

As always, thanks for stopping by. I love that you do…

I’ll be back, very soon.

Take a look around my shop, here. I’m always creating and adding new things…

Best, Laura Roberts aka Hastypearl

…p.s., keep watching as Laura Roberts Art will be replacing the name, Hastypearl, in my business. Change is Good 🙂