Natural Dyes and Resists

Ciao dear hearts..

there are so many things to experiment with

concerning natural dyes..

I almost didn't know where to start..

except..

that I knew I wanted to conduct some light fast experiments..

and sadly salt did nothing to keep the color

from fading in the sun.

I did not bother with the vinegar baths, since the color was so dramatically changed with

salt...

and worse with vinegar..

 

I used just a teaspoon of salt and it changed the blue berry dye to a pink shade...

 that did not turn paper and fabrics blue...

that salted blueberry bath was however, beautiful mixed with unadulterated dye baths.

the resists are easy and will be a nice addition to stitches..

I will be using these papers and fabrics in the next video

for the 

Stitch A Thon

I invite you to make some beautiful papers and fabrics

and stitch along with me in two weeks..

we all need a little 

stitching meditation..

don't we?

The end result will be a sweet little book..

Be well..

C4N!

String Journal Cover and Collage

Ciao, gentle viewers!

well ...

we started with plain cardboard

and we end with a 

book that holds

fabric and paper collages..

the marriage

of stitches, fabric and papers 

unrelated pieces..

that create 

an entirely new narrative..

of meditation.. breath.. connection

and 

community..

Thank you for watching..

Be well

Stay healthy..

find small things to cheer you.

xox

June Art Journal Pages

Ciao,

gentle readers..

my heart is heavy as I write these words,

for my country, for the people and for my friends suffering

through this horrible disease..

Detail from June Art Journal Pages, Caterina Giglio Hollyhocks..

My June pages reveal the inner turmoil

that I have been experiencing..

I know I must create..

and give myself over to the act of creation, 

and

 I find this dark cloud hanging over me.. in so many ways..

Caterina Giglio, June Art Journal Pages, mixed media.

Perhaps you have felt this way too..

at first it was a stifling feeling of being stuck.

a lack of freedom..

of movement..

and experiences...

Though we are safe and leave only

for marketing..

I know many are suffering

and this country is ripped at the seams..

Each day I rise ..

make my way to my studio

and take my materials into my hands, 

it is the best way...

I know 

to release the concerns I have..

the creative energy moves through me, 

 onto the page

the board,

and each fiber of the stitch..

reconnecting

me to the source of all there is..

to 

soothe me.. 

if for only

a few hours..

I will take them.

Caterina Giglio, detail Art Journal pages..

Ingredients: Mono prints with Caran d'Ache with personal photos, acrylic paints, antique papers, paper ephemera.

Be well my dear ones

and keep creating..

no matter how difficult it might be

to 

focus and concentrate..

for art heals 

and aways will..

xox

My Frankenstein String Journal

Ok, so calling it my

Frankenstein journal is simply 

affectionate..

it is an

altered book

cobbled together with hardware 

 

and recycled bits..

all those things I adore..

the abandoned bits..

the wrinkled papers..

the left over leather scraps..

but I think it is going to be

gorgeous..

Be well my dear ones..

C4N!

The Little Sampler Book

I have been quietly stitching..

when I have not been watering..

the yard and the plants..

We are in an epic dry spell..

this should be the rainy season..

which is often a pox in itself..

but lack of water means that our tall forests run the risk of fire..

So I hand water what I can since we have severe water restrictions...

I think I could fill the other tiny French Journals 

with these meditative stitches..

and I just might do that..

I love gathering unruly bits of hand dyed cloths and 

stitching them together..

when I listen gently..

they tell me which pieces go together..

like little playmates

drawn to one another..

So I stitch and think of rain..

and puddles..

and the garden flooding beautifully..

Now I have a place for them..

I will have to dream of a new body of work to

put them all to work..

Please take good care of yourselves..

We are home together..

wearing masks when we gather food..

and taking no chances..

I wish you all a healthy and happy week..

Ciao, Ciao!

Mono Printing with Caran d' Ache

Ok,

so this is not the video that I had planned..

but you know how plans go..

right?

But I have to say, I love this technique and I want to

work with it, until I have it mastered..

I forgot to mention that you can color a plate

and simply print it on a journal page..

or a canvas..

board, whatever..

just moisten the substrate and rub it on..

have fun, 

it is so meditative 

and I hope it puts you in a very peaceful place..

Ciao, my gentle viewers..

hope your weekend is 

Magnificent..

C4N!

May Art Journal Pages

People asked..

how many days have you been home?

How long has it been?

The days just pile up..

Caterina Giglio, May Art Journal Pages

the numbers increasing..

in cases, in deaths.. in the amount of time

we spend at home

and isolating..

I spend each morning in the garden..

connecting with the earth,

transplanting flowers,

cutting back the overachievers..

and weeding

which is a gardeners job security ...

Numbers, Numbers, Numbers....

being in the garden affords me

a sense of serenity and enchantment..

a dragonfly buzzes the spray from my hose

and I catch the magical copper shimmer of it's wings..

and suddenly the numbers all disappear ...

Caterina Giglio, detail May Art Journal Pages

The flower images are from

some recent mono prints that I made..

on book pages..

and the tiny stitches are on text from the 

Plague Doctor writings..

Caterina Giglio, detail from Art Journal Pages, May 2020

Ingredients: Mono Prints on book pages, antique ephemera, acrylic paints, colored pencil, red thread, stitches on paper, pencil

Caterina Giglio, Art Journal Page detail, May 2020

I have made a lot of mono prints

in the studio lately

practicing for the next video..

and making tiny stitches for my 

little French Journal 

so perhaps you will see those next time

I post..

Be well my gentle readers..

 

XOX