Painting fabric and silk ribbon

 

My friend who reads tarot convinced me to make and sell tarot deck bags on Etsy. I don't know how people will ever find my bags among the hundreds already out there, but I'm going to give it a try. Mine will be set apart because I'm painting most of the fabric, including the pure silk ribbon drawstrings. (Plus I'll offer some affordable quilted items and maybe some beaded jewelry.)

So that motivated me to dig out my fabric paint and play with it for the first time in years. Here is some of what I did in the last two days.

I only painted the fabric for the bag on the right, but I painted all of the ribbons. I line the bags with silky soft garment lining fabric.

Here's my setup, on my cutting table right inside the front door. Not that anyone ever comes to the door.

I wet the white cotton fabric and white silk ribbons (I order them from www.dharmatrading.com) and paint them with cheapie foam brushes. I use Setacolor, Jaquard, and Lumiere fabric paints, also from Dharma.

After I paint the fabric, I scrunch it up while it is still wet so that it develops hills and valleys patterns. I crumple the silk ribbon in pie tins so that it dries in interesting patterns.

This shows the dried and ironed fabric and ribbons -- you can see from the patterning that it still looks three dimensional. The pink and orange-yellow piece above was overpainted with a wash of buttercup yellow to give it more depth. If you let the fabric dry and heat set it by ironing, you can then add more layers of Setacolor transparent paint on top. 

Note: Setacolor by Pebeo recently started calling its transparent paint "paint for light colored fabrics." Also, if you use opaque paint it will cover up the first layer completely.

And, did anyone else notice the quilt behind Rep. Katie Porter on TV last night!? That was exciting! I love her chunky necklace, too.

Have a colorful day

Christmas cards, check

 

I'm so ready for this year to be over that today I ordered my Christmas cards and wrote my holiday newsletter. And I ordered winter scene stamps. And I updated my address list.

Amazon is loaded with desert cards, so it was hard to make a decision. I finally settled on the first one, with the lighted saguaro under a full moon.

Here are some of the others that caught my eye. Most of them are by Stonehouse and you can find them on Amazon by searching for desert Christmas cards.

Check out the roadrunner card. Just yesterday I took the picture of a roadrunner at Tohono Chul Park near my house! And one appeared on my courtyard wall a few days ago and looked at me for awhile, but when I raised my camera it took off.

I also was tempted to choose this one with the pink house and big prickly pear cactuses by the door. Pink walls are pretty common in Tucson, like this one at Tohono Chul:

I don't have a pink house, but I do have a giant prickly pear out front:

But saguaros are the real star of our desert -- the Sonoran Desert -- and there were plenty of cards featuring them.

I almost ordered this card that says, "Don't worry, they say it's a dry heat!" That's what all my friends said as I was leaving for Tucson. Believe me, when it's 111 degrees even a dry heat is unbearable.

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More on Day of the Dead exhibit

I went back to the Tucson Botanical Gardens yesterday to take in more of the Dia de los Muertos exhibit of huge, colorful sculptures of fancifully dressed female skeletons.

Read more about the exhibit in my Oct. 15 post titled La Calavera Catrina, which is the actual title of the exhibit. La Calavera Catrina refers to the skeletons, which were born out of social satire in the early 1900s depicting the upper classes in Mexico. The skeletons have become an integral part of the Day of the Dead celebration.

 

This first lovely lady (above) is none other than Frida Kahlo, the famous Mexican painter. Frida proudly wore traditional costumes and decorated her hair with bright flowers to show her sense of pride in her Mexican heritage. Her clothing choices from villages around Mexico highlighted the important place women held in Mexican indigenous communities.

The lady with the basket of fruit is La Vendedora de Frutas and represents the abundant offerings to the dead that are part of festivities. One of the most personal aspects of the offering is the banquet, a feast in which family members offer their deceased their favorite foods. The delicious aromas are said to help attract the spirits after their long journey home.

Because the holiday takes place Nov. 1 and 2 close to harvest time, fresh fruits and vegetables are typically offered in great abundance.

The Aztec Lady of Death in Aztec mythology presided over the ancient festivals held in honor of the dead, where her role was to watch over the bones of the dead. These festivals evolved during the Spanish conquest of Mexico into the contemporary Day of the Dead festivities.

Maria Felix, above, is revered in Mexico as one of the 20th century's classic Latin beauties. Her impeccable style made her the source of inspiration for renowned painters, musicians, composers, writers, and filmmakers.

And who is this last lady dressed like a flower? Me, wearing the latest dress that Judy in Flagstaff dyed for me! It's a loose, breezy rayon number that will be fun to wear the next time I go to the Botanical Gardens. And it matches my bougainvillea. 

You, too, can get a dress or other colorful item from Judy at her store on Art Fire:  JudySallOriginals

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Wooly owls

 

Some wooly owls have come to roost in my lantana! I spent the last week stitching up seven of the little creatures from a pattern by www.rebekahlsmith.com.

I'll let them fly away at Christmastime.

 

Here's a closeup of the lantana in my backyard. I just planted it a few months ago and it has really exploded. It loves the hot, dry desert climate here in Tucson.

Here's another blooming plant that I saw on my neighborhood walk this week. The birds seemed to love it, but I couldn't get a photo of them.

In other news, I just bought my lifetime Senior Park Pass online, which will give me free access for the rest of my life to national parks and other recreation areas, including Sabino Canyon right here in Tucson. You must be 62 to purchase it. I wish I had bought it when I turned 62, because now only two years later it has quadrupled in price to $80. But that's still a bargain unless I kick the bucket in the next year.

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La Calavera Catrina at Tucson Botanical Gardens

 

You know how much I like bold color. Well, last weekend I went to the Tucson Botanical Gardens thinking I would enjoy a leisurely stroll among the lush plants, which I did, but I was also wowed by giant brightly colored sculptures in La Calavera Catrina exhibit. 

The eight- to nine-foot-tall statues, by Mexican-born, Los Angeles-based artist Ricardo Soltero, portray Dia de los Muertos's most recognizable figures, large joyful skeletons born out of social satire depicting the upper classes in Mexico.

The exhibit was organized by the Denver Botanic Gardens. This is the first time it has been shown outside of Denver and it is a real treat for those of us in Tucson. I'm just showing a few of the sculptures -- go in person if you have the chance! It runs through Nov. 29, 2020.

Signs explain the meaning behind each figure. For example, the one above is covered with Monarch butterflies. Butterflies represent change and transformation in Mexican culture. The Monarchs migrate south to Mexico during the fall around the Day of the Dead celebration and symbolize the return of the souls of the dead for the joyful holiday.

This lady holding a basket of marigolds is La Vendedora de Flores. The Mexican marigold is one of the distinctive elements of the Day of the Dead. Its color evokes the sun, which in Aztec tradition guided the souls of those who had passed on. The petals were used to form a path for the spirits of deceased loved ones to follow from their altar to the door of what had been their home in life.

About the artist: Ricardo Soltero (born 1962) is the set designer for the largest Dia de los Muertos celebration in the United States, which takes place every year at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles. He is a sculptor and costume designer (no surprise there), who uses materials including fabric, fiberglass, papier-mache, wood, and recycled items.

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Dungeness Spit, gondola and Feet & Forks!

This final installment about my trip back to Washington is all about water! So much blue after all the  desert rocks in Tucson.

My sister Kathleen and I spent an afternoon beach walking and taking photos at the Dungeness Spit in Sequim. It was gorgeous weather and clear enough to see Mount Rainier on the horizon.

Silvery driftwood was piled up and beachgoers stacked rocks into photogenic pyramids. 

Another day Kathleen and I wandered through Port Townsend, where I took this photo of the sun sparkling on water. The pace was lazy in the warm sun, and we spent a long time just leaning on the dock railing watching the water.

But the most memorable water fun was the surprise gondola ride arranged for me by the Feet & Forks!

It was a leisurely one-hour ride around Gig Harbor in an authentic 25-year-old gondola from Venice. Our gondolier was from Orange County, but he did sing in Italian.

We shared the harbor with sailboats, kayaks, paddleboards, and yachts.

One interesting tidbit shared by our gondolier was that this eucalyptus tree (which normally wouldn't grow well in the chilly Pacific Northwest) has its own underground heater. He also pointed out a vacation home  with a lazy Susan in the driveway. You back your car out of the garage onto the lazy Susan and it rotates so that you can pull out front first onto the street. That would be nice to have!

Earlier in the day, the Feet & Forks walked along Commencement Bay in Tacoma in beautiful fall sunshine. We saw two huge sea lions -- that's the head of one below. Then we bought halibut tacos at a seafood shop and had a picnic before heading back to Gig Harbor to rest up before the surprise gondola ride. After that, we continued to be blessed with good weather and enjoyed an outdoor dinner at the Green.House. (Yes, that period is supposed to be there in the name.)

I sure do miss my walking group.

Have a colorful day