Let me begin with some dignity, because it won’t last. Soon we’ll be back to silkworms and other silly stuff. Anne Harris of Annie’s Workroom would like to invite you to her exhibition. It’s in Brisbane, Queensland–I am sorry to report this means I won’t be able to see it.
Expressions of Love: Lovingly Interrupted brings together established contemporary artist Kim Schoenberger’s collection of treasured memories assembled from the humble teabag. And introduces emerging artist Anne Harris’s work of naturally dyed, painted and stitched images exploring the emotions of love. Official Opening 14th September 3.30pm. Closes 28th September: Gallery 159, 159 Payne Road, The Gap, Brisbane. There is a special bus to make it easy for sunshine coast people to attend. Please call Anne 0433 162 847 for more information or visit her on the web.
And now… for the silkworm update of the week. OMG, as they say in the classics, the silkworms are still hatching! I have been struggling to figure out a cross-national item to give a sense of scale (US coins don’t work for me). Here is my trial object. Let me know how I’m doing!
Here is a close up of silk worms in several stages of growth–with more hatching every single day two weeks after they started! They were all laid as eggs within a couple of days of one another, I hasten to add. What more can I say? There is still just one mulberry tree with leaves on it in the neighbourhood.
On the weekend, there was lemon preserving (the salty kind)… inspired in part by an anonymous donation of a bag of Meyer lemons left on our porch. Three cheers for the grower and the tree!
I had the urge to cast on, a lot.
I also had the urge to dye and since it was warm and sunny, took advantage by mordanting fabric for future leaf prints. I had the realisation some time ago that I had somehow managed not to find a section on mordanting cellulose fabrics, with quite specific instructions, in Eco-Colour. I had always wished there was a section like that in there. Happily India Flint has indeed put it in her gorgeous book and if only I had paid more attention… Anyway, since I can’t change the past, I have been waiting for sunny weather to dip and dry and dip and dry on a principle somewhat different to the one I have been experimenting with–and now the sunshine is here I got to it! Good dyeing times are coming…
Local & Bespoke 
Is that last picture beans?
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Soybeans! I mordant with them…
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Sounds like a good use for soy beans. I had no idea they could be used as a mordant.
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Instructions in Eco-colour by India Flint, or for a different method in the how to section of my blog. I think you’ve been following the Viking tradition and this is from the Japanese tradition. 🙂
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THANKS!!!! I so appreciate you putting that into your post this week. I will email you a copy of my zine that will be launched when the exhibition opens. And if there is ever a time you need a promo or anything I would love to recipricate. Kind Regards, Anne http://www.anniesworkroom.com.au
Mob: 0433 162 847 Email: anne@anniesworkroom.com.au
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You’re welcome! I hope it goes really well for you!
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I have to ask, what do preserved lemons taste like and what do you use them for? I’m intrigued.
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Salty and intensely lemon-y. The flesh of the lemon goes all liquid and it is really the peel that you use–that goes soft. My favourite applications are in a salad with risoni (or rice if gluten free is needed), baby spinach (or wilted silverbeet), currants, pine nuts (or almonds) and a lemony dressing with olive oil. Or, in a middle eastern lamb dish… mmm.
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The salad sounds great…….somehow I just can’t eat things that say “baaaa”….too many nursery rhymes as a child I think.
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Fair enough!
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great idea with the clothespin…those seem fairly “international”. And yikes, you’re certainly hatching a lot of gaping, hungry maws there!
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Exactly!
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