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Pre-summer calendar
As usual, spring has renewed my energy and I have quite a schedule of activities in the next two months. In fact, I had to draw up a calendar on paper so Tod can keep track of me. Plus there are guests coming, woodworking projects, more botanical color making and my own art, never-ending garden…
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Yoga with Technical Difficulties
This morning I came into the yoga space six minutes before class but instead of starting Zoom at the click of a link, I was presented with a laptop that had suffered a power outage yesterday. It was off. The old thing takes its time booting up, so I quickly thought through the options for…
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Mad for madder
Madder is one of the few botanical sources of deep red. In its various forms it has been used to color military uniforms, fine clothing, and even the red sun at the center of the Japanese flag was once colored with madder. The red color comes from anthraquinone compounds in the roots. Of course I…
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Spring Petal Colors
There are so many flowers blooming right now. Of course I decided to see if I could make color with them. I had some successes and some failures. YAMABUKI (Japanese Kerria) was a success. A bright yellow, as hoped. These are from the Kawasaki’s bush that flowered abundantly this year. BUGLEWEED produced a palid purple-grey.…
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Project 2025 Bingo – No Joke
It’s April 1, but this post is not a joke. I think we have BINGO. Or maybe we don’t. I think it depends on your perspective… There have been 103 Executive Orders signed since January 20th. Not all of them can be acted upon immediately. Congress has power over some of them. For the EOs…
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Color journey with freesia
This did not turn out how I imagined – every step was a revelation. Several weeks ago, I bought a bouquet of freesia to brighten up the house. They were cheerful colors – red, fuchsia, and pink as well as the classic yellow. As the blossoms faded, I decided to see what color I might…
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Project 2025 Bingo, day 50(ish)
We’ve reached the halfway point of this Bingo game. Time for an update. Not much has changed on the card in the past few weeks. There’s legal pushback with numerous lawsuits, so maybe we will unstamp some of the squares. The “big beautiful bill” budget (H.Con.Res.14) passed in the House and is currently under consideration…
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Painting and thinking
This morning I was feeling unsettled. American government is transforming into something unrecognisable as the democracy that I am comfortable with. The Constitution is being cherry-picked just like the Bible. Whatever supports the narrative is mentioned and everything else is ignored. Checks and balances of power in Articles I-III are out the door in favor…
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Planning the Color Garden
Energised by spring’s return, I’m starting to plan the hatake for 2025 and beyond. Having been told that monkeys, boars, and deer are likely to eat any vegetables I might plant, I am pivoting to my interest in botanical color. I will create a color garden that produces plants I can turn into dyes and…
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Lake mishap
I was all excited to make a lake pigment with some iron-modified cypress (hinoki) dye I boiled up last week. It was a dark grey and the paper I made with the color is gorgeous. But when stabilising the pigment for paint, I messed up. I didn’t warm the water for the alum, so my…
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