Saturday, October 3, 2009

Sue's Hippo Haven


Sue S's art car, "Cheerio", is an unapologetic nod to her passion for hippos.
Cheerio even winks!
(sorry for the weird photo:  I had it set improperly when this was taken)


Cheerio's "backside"
shows the actual color of the art car

Sue, the facilitator of our eclectic tour of Houston, graciously allowed us inside her lovely home.  She collects all-things-hippo, and her home is chock-full of evidence!  We enjoyed wandering through her garden and lovely home.  This was the final stop on our fantastic tour.  We all enjoyed a taste of Houston's "outsider" art scene.

BAPS Mandir


Dedicated in July, 2004, this temple is constructed of
hand-carved Turkish limestone and Italian marble
Comprised of 33,000 pieces, the temple is fitted together strictly
by tongue and groove-no rods, nails, or screws.  The final
piece is the keystone at the top of the center dome.


Photography was not allowed inside the open-sided structure.
This is a sample, taken from long-distance of the intricacy of the carving.

Bottle Garden-home of Erma Lee


Erma Lee's "Inspirational' garden, tea, and coffee shop



There is simply no way to describe the number of glass assemblages
Erma has installed on her property.



Her yard is surrounded by a fence constructed from metal headboards

Erma Lee is a beautiful, friendly woman.  Several years ago she claims she had a vision, and began to build her unique garden installation.  Completely surrounding her house, she invites visitors to tour the property in a very specific order.  Our tour group ate a delicious lunch in her garden, and we enjoyed our time here very much!

Houston "Eclectic Tour" (continued


Indian Summer Lodge

Visionary artist Jeff Law has transformed his quonset hut business into a unique home, including amazing gardens!



one of many unique gates surrounding the garden areas



who wouldn't want to sit & relax in this setting?

Friday, October 2, 2009

"Garage Mahal": the Art Car Museum


1958 Cadillac Seville
Aretha would be proud, but there were no crushed velvet seats,
only pink leather!


The front "head"lights of a metal art car by Scrapdaddy studio
It reminds me of Hagrid's 3-headed dog



The rear of another metal art car by Scrapdaddy studio


Texas Federation of Fiber Artists "Tour of Eclectic Spaces"-Houston


Archway Gallery, where Art Cloth Network is showing
"Unexpected Patterns:  Quake!"


A drive-by of the "Beer Can House"
The house is sided with over 50,000 cans


"Scrapdaddy Studio"
this guy makes amazing sculpture from post-consumer metal,
including many art cars

We boarded a bus this morning to take a really cool, unusual tour of Houston.  It was a fun day of seeing some sights of Houston that are off the beaten path.  I truly enjoyed the day.
More images will follow in subsequent posts...

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Experimenting with iDye (disperse dye) on polyesther


polyesther organza with black iDye
it interests me that this piece has a cooler, bluer appearance


here is a different piece of polyesther sheer prior to ironing
as you can see, this one seems lighter and has a warmer hue


here is the same sheer after ironing

I purchased several packets of a new Jacquard product, iDye, last summer in California.  Ever the procion MX artist, I really wanted to find an easy product to use on synthetic sheers because I am interested in doing lamination with paper onto sheers, and it simply works better on synthetic.

In preparing supplies for my upcoming MIU workshops I decided it was time to experiment with this product on two pieces of polyesther.  The product is quite easy to use.  I would caution that, like any other dye, it should be handled with the utmost care whilst it is in powder form.  I generally don't like to do any dye process at home, but last night was an exception.

I dragged my old aluminum pot out of storage, carefully mixed the powder and color enhancer into the water, and heated it to just below boiling per package instructions.  Once the two lengths of fabric were immersed I turned the heat down to simmer, pressed the cloth into the solution with the steamer rack, and left it on the stove for one hour.  After draining the excess liquid I threw the cloth into the washer with some synthropol, and that was it!  Very easy!  I think I should have put it through 2 rinses, if my hands are any indicator, so I'll be sure to remember that in the future.

I fused each piece with Misty Fuse and cut 4x6 rectangles to be used in my mark-making workshops in Houston.  It will be interesting to see how the cloth behaves!  I've got my fingers crossed....