dyeing with Judy Gula

On Saturday I drove to Scarsdale, NY to partake in a dyeing class with Judy Gula as part of Art-is-You's summer tour of Art in the Garden. This class was about learning how to dye colors in layers versus "precision dyeing". We spent the day learning various ways and techniques in working with dyes. I've done some amateur dyeing on my own, so i had a few troubleshooting questions. There was one technique that we did that i really enjoyed that involved the use of chopsticks. I see me using that one in the future for an upcoming class where I plan on dyeing all the fabric needed to complete a project that I will be teaching in California, May 2012. (more info on that soon enough!) After rinsing and drying all my dyed fabrics, I decided that the pieces I loved the most, were fabrics that were quite textured, like old table cloths and a chenille bedspread.

Judy also discussed "rusting" fabrics - something that i was highly interested in. i had attempted to do it before with minimal results (turns out I wasn't doing it correctly). however, after following her directions, results were still iffy. so i'm thinking variables like the type of material, the age of the material and the type of rusted item being used as a source, will affect the outcome. my best rusting results came from an old piece of rusted ceiling tile.

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in other news:


today was tucker's last day of school until September when he begins the adult education program (usually he will attend school during the summer as well). Dillon is graduating on Wed and Thursday I am leaving for Roanoke, to visit good friend, Lesley Venable. she's arranged for a few of our Nags Head compadres to come over for dinner on Saturday while i am visiting - so that will be fun!