silk shibori ribbon shop update

yes, i did get it done today- mostly.  aside from making the actual ribbon, there’s the sorting, cutting, choosing the combos, photographing, uploading, naming, photoshopping in the color names/titles, uploading and listing. phew!

in the shop now.  and thank you!

gemstones

3 borealis baby

berrylicious

bodacious

earthbound

green grocer

kindred colors

pansy bouquet

sahara sky

all spiced up

tender hearted

oh, and a really lovely scarf too…

arashi sea dragon

some more indigo moons made it there also…

practicality

just working with some vintage kimono lining silk and came across a piece that still had it’s tag on it.  these tags were placed to identify the owner when the kimono was taken apart for cleaning.  often, they were never reassembled.  i removed this tag and realized it was washi (handmade paper).  i loved that the end of it was just twisted into a string/cord and run through and tied into the silk’s selvedge. 

practical.  and lovely. 

 

 

arashi shibori now…

just a quick post to show you a couple of new pieces.  when i began them i had in my mind’s eye what i wanted-almost.  lots of what i do is like that.  i have it about 80% worked out in my head.  the last 20% comes as i am working on it. i learned a lot making them.

i’m looking forward to making more of these in other colors.  that will have to wait for mid november though.  i’m adding these to the shop  as shown and you can order the make me one option and we can talk about colors.

this is arashi shibori now.

restoring faith and wonder, creating solutions

It was a rough weekend here in shiboriland considering the energy that had to be expended to sort out the problems created by someone who’s complete lack of ethics and honesty ended up with her taking all the materials from my online class and using them as her own.

Adele at A for Artistry responded quickly and became part of the solution by removing the class and communicating with me to complete resolution.  I thank her for that.  She further sent me the class materials that were to be posted for this online class-and guess what?  They were all my materials! My samples, my words, even photos of my own hands demonstrating the techniques!  I was blown away.  I thought that it was likely that she was using the materials in some way but jeeze. All she did was remove my name at the top and the copyright notice at the bottom and replace it with her own name.   Can you imagine?  Adele of course was horrified and feels terrible.  I will be taking further measures tomorrow by informing sites such as the Dyerslist, the Dyers Forum, and several other sites where she has been posting her workshops and let them know what has been going on. It will be up to them as to whether they remove the posts or not.

I will also be changing the nature of my online classes.  The class that was most affected was the older shibori techniques class. Most of the lessons were PDF based.  The blog featured other videos and such but the PDF’s are easier to steal.  It looked to me like she just printed them out, cut and pasted them and recopied or scanned them back in.  When I get a chance, I will be reworking that class in a way that makes it more difficult to steal.

We are both interested in creating a solution! That is how we can feel better about all of this-by creating a solution.

In yesterday’s post, I created a list of guidelines for those who want to teach…even Martha in the comment section chimed in with a very good addition to the list.

Today, I made a list of the things I would want from a teacher if I was hosting their class. I’m sure there are things you would add (please feel free to do so in the comment section). I think these sorts of things would help protect the host, other teachers, and the students from fraud of this nature occurring in the future.

•  All teachers would need to have a decent online presence. Look, if you want to teach online, then it is essential that students can see your work and get a sense of who you really are. Blogs and Facebook pages are great for this.  They are free and simple to create.
• Teachers would have a website or a flickr account where more information about them can be found as well as a collection of their own work for all to see.
• Teachers would have email and respond to it in a timely fashion.
• All this would be very transparent and easy to find-not “in the works”.
• Class postings would include these links to the teachers sites.
• I would want some references -past venues, student references.
• I would probably do a skype interview. Or at least a phone call.
• I would Google their name, their email address and review it all.
• I would have them sign a contract stating that all materials submitted for the class are their own works and that necessary attribution is given when referencing the work of others. (this addition suggested by Adele in the comments below)

This would be a start.  What would you add?

This is the world we live in now and we better get smart about it. Mediocrity will become the new norm if we let it.  Things are changing. It’s awfully easy for this to happen if we don’t take precautions.   Remember this piece?  I am still working on it…it is about transparency…and hope…and seeing on through to the other side.

trans boro window covering-indigo

I do want to thank everyone who chimed in on this past post-especially those who offered solutions and ideas.  I know we are all outraged by this sort of behavior, but in the end it’s what we DO about it that will count. We can’t just sit around being outraged and exhausted by it all. That’s not gonna change a damn thing!

those who kill the creative joy

After yesterday’s somewhat subtle post and other ongoing nonsense which once again took up a bunch of my time to deal with -here is what is going on.

An online shibori techniques on silk class has been announced on another site.  (I actually know this person as she was a past customer who has previously asked my thoughts on formatting her own online teaching site-I shared my experience with her.  She even asked me to teach there.  I have not, preferring to do my own thing -as usual.)  Interested in her new online shibori class offering, I clicked to the class signup page.  I saw it was being taught by someone who has taken all my own online dye classes.   The images selected to present for the class seemed a bit off.  Having seen an awful lot of shibori I questioned the site owner as to whether or not these pieces were the work of the instructor.  She assured me they were.  I actually signed up for the class, wondering.

Then, I received my DYERSlist email for the day.  There, the List Mom is promoting this same online shibori class.  I wondered about this.  I emailed the List Mom and asked if I could also put a link to my online classes there.  I asked because it was my understanding that since this list is hosted on a public university site there was to be no personal commercial promotion.  I received back an email saying that no, I couldn’t post like that-that I would need to have someone else post for me, preferably someone who had taken the class. I emailed back and asked if she had taken this class. No response so far (impossible I think as the class hasn’t yet occurred).  OK.

So back to the class listing.  I decided my best recourse was to do a new blog post (yesterdays post) and remind folks that I too have a class offering online shibori techniques on silk.  So I did.  So as a matter of course I was looking over my class site and re-reading what I had written almost 2 years ago.  Uh oh.

Some thing seemed odd.  I clicked over to the class on A for Artistic and saw the write up for the class with new eyes.  It is word for word the intro to my class.  Seriously.  Word for freaking word. I hadn’t recognized it the first time around as it has been a long time.  I wonder what the other materials for the class look like?

Screen Shot 2012-09-21 at 2.01.08 PM

I took screen shots of it so you can see it yourself-in case it gets changed.  I imagine once I post this  it might be removed (and the link above may not continue to work).   I approach it this way for a reason… as an example of what can go wrong when you host classes by people you (apparently) don’t know… when you don’t check things out yourself…when the urge to make a buck or two or to gain some sort of attention gets ahead of doing the right thing.

And who knows what is in the mind of someone who is copying and pasting the work of someone else and calling it their own?  In that moment doesn’t some kind of bell go off?  A twinge of guilt perhaps?  You obviously know what you are doing is wrong (of course you do!).   And now you have drawn others into your chaos…those who host your class…those who promote it sight unseen…people who sign up…other artists and makers that are part of the association or co-op where you teach and who support you and cheer you on.   Even I was taken aback by this brazenness.  Huh?? Just clicking to the previous link I newly discover that the write ups for her other shibori classes now posted all over the internet are very, very close to those I have written for other venues such as Quilt Festival, HGA, JANM and so forth.  This sort of nonsense calls everything you do into question. How can you not understand this?

OK.  So can we have some rules to follow here?

• Create your own class descriptions.
• Write up your own handouts.
• Use images of your very own work to promote your teachings.
• Create original content-both visually and in words
• Have a little respect.  If not for others, just for yourself for cripes sakes.
• Recognizing that much art is derivative, and that we learn from one another, provide a reasonable, if not complete, reference to your source. Give them credit and then add your own twist. (added from Martha’s suggestion in the comment section- thanks Martha!)

Some may think posting this is “unfair” or harsh.  I am willing to take responsibility for this and hope that whatever wrath I suffer will be balanced out by someone thinking twice before doing this again-to me or any other person trying to make a living off their work and using the internet in that pursuit.  I hope it helps in some small way.

Those of us who make a living encouraging creativity, artistry, learning, & craft want to share what we do and see others take what they learn and make it into something of their own. Speaking for myself, I want to enhance and expand your creative joy and sense of wonder. I enjoy teaching you new things in new ways…offering a new view.  I am not looking to see it duplicated or slightly modified so you can put it out there as your own.  What purpose does that serve anyone?  These sorts of instances take away the joy I find in doing what I do.  Please don’t kill the joy.

Last night I dreamt that every time I lifted my hand to the sky, a hummingbird landed on it. They were beautiful! And last week, I held a dragonfly who was on the verge of drowning in the backyard pond.

he sunned himself in the grass and flew away-

India Flint workshop in Los Angeles

India Flint wanders to Los Angeles

Yes, it is true! India Flint will be in Los Angeles to give a 3 day workshop (July 30,31,& Aug 1) at the studio and shop of Claudia Grau in Los Angeles.  I don’t know Claudia, but she contacted me to let me know there are still a few spaces left and wondered if I knew anyone who might want to join the workshop.  India’s west coast trip has her in the Santa Barbara area giving a workshop there as well but that one sold out rather quickly and hence the LA area workshop was quickly conceived.  There really is not much time to ponder it as registration will close on Friday (this Friday!).  I hope to attend as well although I will be just finishing up the Long Beach International Quilt Festival and the Houston Silk Exhibit planning team will be in town to meet so time is pretty booked.

India Flint Workshop in Los Angeles

For those of you who might not be familiar with India and her work, she is the author on two two books, Eco Color and Second Skin, both books on sustainable dyeing using local windfall to color cloth. She wanders and wonders wherever the trade winds take her, sharing her knowledge, experience, and methods with dyers worldwide. It is a rare chance to be able to have her in Southern California.

Speaking of books, I recently received a copy of a book called Shibori Recreated produced in Australia which features the work of 20 shibori artists, dyers, and makers worldwide.  I was asked to participate in this project and found myself in the company of some others whose work I admire greatly- Hiroshi Murase, Yvonne Wakabayashi, and India Flint to name a few.  I was also pleased to be introduced to the work of Sally Campbell and Barbara Rogers (among others), two shibori-ists whom I had not been previously aware.  The choice of covers for the book (front and back), leave a little to be desired as they don’t convey the topic of shibori very effectively in my opinion.  But I was interested in the content.  Each artist was asked the same set of questions about their own work, shibori in general-past and present, and the future of shibori in terms of technology and this modern world, among other things.  It was interesting to read the artists answers, in their own words, from such a broad and diverse set of folks whose work all focuses on shibori.  I found there were several consistent themes running through the answers of many and thoroughly enjoyed reading through them.    The only other caveat I would add is that the font style and size that was chosen makes for extremely difficult reading.  An odd choice for a book that you want people to read and is actually worth reading.  I think it might be a case of getting carried away with design and form over function.  But all in all, I enjoyed it.

Back to the workshop- if you are anywhere in SoCal and want to wonder and wander a bit with India Flint, give Claudia a call, an email or click to the link to join in- I hope to be there to join you!

i’ve been mending lately

The great abundance of things at our fingertips temps us to forget the value of caring for the things that we do have and the way we can make more of that which we already have in our possession.

mending

Mending can come in many forms. I always admire the ways that jude mends. I’ve spent some time too, really looking at the examples of boro fabrics I have.  Recently, I’ve been mending jeans that my son and I wear. Putting  lots of different thoughts I have been having into action.  And of course I have plenty of my own indigo dyed fabrics and threads which to utilize.  And then there is the utility of it all. It seems I just can’t give that up.  I want things to be useful. And beautiful. Maybe not universally beautiful, but at least in the eye of the beholder.

jeans mending kit

We all know that fashion, industry, and media push us towards wanting new and more. But what if we collectively began to desire less and old (used,worn,repaired) and saw the beauty in that? The folks of the Tohoku region in Japan created their boro textiles out of necessity but today we can appreciate and take meaning from this unintended artform and apply it to the new necessity that we have to conserve our modern resources using and reusing that which we already possess.

modern boro mending

I also recently listened to an interview with the author of the book “Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion” by Elizabeth Cline. It seems that there are more and more people beginning to consider this. Her blog ”The Good Closet” gives practical tips on how to reduce, reuse, and resist the urges to fill our closets with, well, crap.

What if it simplified our lives, mended our ways, and just used less. Would we be better or worse because of it? Jeans seem a good place to begin.  We all wear them. They last. They are very mend-worthy.  So with that in mind I offer this:

Ready-To-Wear Again Mending Service

Now of course, you don’t need someone else to do your mending, but but if you would like me to do it for you I will.  I’m just putting out the thought…the idea…and wondering.

More or less, less can become more.

this and that

Some days, the only thing to do is to clear the fog from your head with a walk on the beach.  Even if it’s foggy there- and doggy, as in dog beach.  So I did (or we did).

And when it’s time to get back to work even if the silk doesn’t want to sew itself and looks like the fog in your head and the fog at the beach, it isn’t. It’s just silk and it’s slippery and finally you manage it somehow even with your very lacking sewing skills and a crappy machine.  Not bad.

So when it turns out that you base dye it purple and discharge it, and overdye it with every color of the rainbow and it turns into purple haze, and ends up paying a bill or two (made 2, paid 2)-the fog starts to lift.  Color can always do that for me. Plus paying a couple of bills doesn’t hurt. Plus when you know that the recipients of the results of such hazy days are such kind folks and so thrilled to receive their pieces, the fog continues to lift.

And the garden continues to feed us and shower us with flowers, and the air is scented with jasmine, sweet peas and the baby birds have flown the nest- then we relax a bit.

In all of this I can’t seem to remember if I mentioned that I removed some eggs from cold storage.  Some silkworm eggs…   Nothing happening with them  yet but I’m still hopeful. It’s been about a week. Maybe they are not going to hatch. This is the first time I have hatched eggs from my own moths. Time will tell.

And I didn’t entirely abandon the vats this week. A little derangement occurred.  The 1-2-3 vat was quite cranky but I think I cured it yesterday with a bit of heat, upping the pH and some more fructose.

I also played around with some hana from the PR vat.  Was just wondering a bit.  What could one do with the hana… this experiment yeilded no answers. But it looked kinda cool in the process. Still I have other thoughts on the matter.

In between I needed to sit and do some therapy stitching as well as make a pile of silk flower broaches for the San Jose Quilt Museum gift shop ( I also sent them some ribbon packs and flower kits if you stop in to the shop looking for such things). On the recommendation of my son, I watched a movie while I worked called Melancholia. He loves Wagner and the film features Richard Wagner’s prelude to  his opera Tristan and Isolde.  Tristan (my son Tristan) loves romantic orchestral music and Wagner’s Tristan is credited with  laying the groundwork for the change of direction of classical music in the 20th century as well as influencing the development of film music. I really did enjoy this dark film about the end of the world as well as the galactic imagery enhanced by the music.  It had me thinking in moons, and the mokume I stitched while watching it became this-my shibori version of the planet Melancholia.

mokume meloncholia moon madness

I’m working on another shop update which will include an in-studio indigo workshop this June (only a month away!) as well as the coming online mandala workshop.  Gotta go!

 

Akemashite omedetou (あけましておめでとう)

(happy new year!)
beginning with an open mind which we all have-a skylike mind. A new mind, a new year. a new beginning. a childlike mind. looking upward.
looking beyond boundaries, beyond categories
-just beyond.
looking, seeing, and best of all-wondering.
welcome to 2012!

a visual “lookback” of this past here at shiborigirl…

the pH of tears

goodbye moon...and tigga

textile therapy

wendy's children

recently,

makiage indigo on cotton

beauty within

indigo mokume shibori on cotton

the moon has followed me here

frolicking in blue

aiko while gathering sansai...

see on through…

trans boro window covering-indigo

obon

circa 1969

post indigo blues

trans boro window covering-indigo

time has arrived

capsule hotel for silkworms

continuing

sacred stitch

sacred stitch

and finally, many thanks to all of you here-the community that stops in every now and then to visit, to add a word or two, to agree or disagree-to contribute something thoughtful or just to silently pass through.
may we all continue on in whatever way we do…happy new year!

make a silk shibori poinsettia broach

it’s always nice to make something by hand, either for yourself or as a gift for someone special. this silk shibori poinsettia broach makes a great holiday accessory, a lovely (wearable) package decoration, and perfect hostess gift. i like to have a couple on hand ready to give at a moment’s notice.

Buy Now

this is the DOWNLOAD ONLY for making the poinsettia floral broach.

the instruction is formatted as a PDF with video links. please consider your ability to watch internet media when purchasing.

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if you would like to purchase the materials kit WITH the PDF instructions, then this is the item you want to purchase:

buy it now in the bigcartel shop
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and if you are in need of one already made up and ready to go, you can order that here.