THIRD ANNUAL RETREAT

Three of my Cyber Fibre peers- Terry, Dawn, and Barb, came over to Refuge last weekend for our annual three day "dye fest". We took over my studio, surrounding area, the yard and bushes for sessions oozing with fun and creativity. We played with dyes and cotton and dyeing paraphenalia (sounds like drugs...yes, I'm addicted to dyeing!) to create a beautiful collection of new fabrics to use in our compositions.
                                                

The weather was beautiful...almost too hot. My friends slept in the "Hope House" located down by the docks and enjoyed the view and ambience, but hated how hot that place was at night. My studio is open air but well covered (shaded) so it wasn't too bad. We used the bushes and lawn to dry our pieces.

On day#2, my friend Suzie joined us. She and her husband charter a boat every summer and spend two weeks in Desolation Sound. A while back, she asked to join us and I was excited to have her as part of the gang. Suzy is an amazing calligrapher and has done quite a bit of work on fabric. She and my friends really hit it off.
Here are the techniques we played with: tree bark rubbings, reflection pieces, bubble wrap prints,deconstructive screening, cross-over dyeing, "dark, light, 1,2,3", using leftover dyes, fractured folds, wine bottle wraps, credit card smears, moon dyes, vaseline freckles, tray dyeing, cedar bough printing, rust dyeing, clamping, plastic paintbrush wraps,lace pressing, using cheesecloth, stamping, using and filter wraps.  We also collectively painted a white sock doll, sent to Barb from her Aussie friend. By the end of our three days together, she was cute and colorful, all ready for some of her own dyeing fun with her own paintbrush. She started out as "Thelma" but before long she was renamed Lady Dye.
                                     
I can't wait to see what we all will produce with our beautiful new fabrics.