Momentum Spotlight Video

Momentum Tulsa opens a week from tomorrow.  I'm going to Tulsa this weekend to begin putting my installation together (the most exciting part!).  Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition and Invisible Arts put together this great preview video on the Spotlight artists for this year's Momentum Tulsa exhibition.  It overviews my project, as well as the other two Spotlight Artists and the work they are creating for the show.  After watching this, I'm even more excited about seeing their projects in completion than I was already!  Check it out..

Saprobia || Juglans Nigra

This is a preview of the black walnut phase of my Momentum Tulsa installation, entitled "Saprobia".  You can read more about Saprobia here and here.
Momentum Tulsa opens on October 12th at Living Arts in Downtown Tulsa.  These forms will be incorporated into a larger installation for the exhibit.
Materials: yarn dyed with ground black walnut hulls, walnuts
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Saprobia || Taxodium Distichum

This is a preview of the baldcypress phase of my Momentum Tulsa installation, entitled "Saprobia".  You can read more about Saprobia here and here.
Momentum Tulsa opens on October 12th at Living Arts in Downtown Tulsa.  These forms will be incorporated into a larger installation for the exhibit.
Materials: yarn dyed with baldcypress leaves, baldcypress bark, decaying wood
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Saprobia || Juniperus Virginiana

This is a preview of the eastern red cedar phase of my Momentum Tulsa installation, entitled "Saprobia".  You can read more about Saprobia here and here.
Momentum Tulsa opens on October 12th at Living Arts in Downtown Tulsa.  These forms will be incorporated into a larger installation for the exhibit.
Materials: yarn dyed with eastern red cedar heartwood, eastern red cedar needles and bark

Saprobia || Maclura Pomifera

This is a preview of the osage orange phase of my Momentum Tulsa installation, entitled "Saprobia".  You can read more about Saprobia here and here.
Momentum Tulsa opens on October 12th at Living Arts in Downtown Tulsa.  These forms will be incorporated into a larger installation for the exhibit.
Materials: yarn dyed with osage orange root extract, osage orange leaves
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Cleaning Knits at Home Using Eucalan

It happened.  We finally broke 90 degrees.  I know Oklahoma's summer was particularly short this year (jump for joy), but to be honest, I LIVE for the milder seasons of fall and spring.  Crisp evenings with a hint of chiminea smoke in the air?  Of course!  Long sleeves and scarves and pumpkin everything?  I'll take it! One of my favorite parts about fall is the wardrobe changes and the shift from wearing as little as possible without looking indecent (ahem), to carefully selecting the layers - texture upon texture, solids with patterns - warm and cozy all the way.

In preparation for this exciting time of year, I recently brought out my sweaters to start getting them ready for wear.  Woolens don't typically need as much cleaning as other types of garments, but they are also a little more finicky than your every day cotton top or pair of jeans.  So for the most part, I err to my laundry motto:  "When in doubt, DRY CLEAN".  However, when one has as many sweaters as I do (which is a lot), this can quickly add up to a costly visit.  Clearly, some alternatives are needed.

 

Love Knitting offered to send me some Eucalan to try out, which is a delicate, no rinse wool wash intended for cleaning a vast array of garments, but of most interest to me: knits!  It's an eco-friendly product containing lanolin, which is a natural conditioner for wool that reduces static and makes the fibers softer.  Eucalan comes in a variety of fragrances, including eucalyptus, lavender, grapefruit, natural scent, and Wrapture, which contains jasmine oil. (I'm refraining from jumping down the rabbit hole that is reminiscing about the intoxicating jasmine bush in my childhood back yard.  Mmmmm).  Once I received my package from Love Knitting, I set to work and washed literally every sweater that I own.  Yes, every one.

 

 

For the garments that specified "hand wash" or "dry clean only", I soaked them in my kitchen sink after adding one tsp of Eucalan per gallon of cool water.  Each sweater was washed separately unless I had another one of similar coloration.  After soaking for about 15 minutes, the instructions direct you to squeeze the garments gently in the water in order to make sure the lanolin oils get to all of the fibers.  Then drain the basin, squeeze out what water you can without wringing, and reshape and dry the garments flat.  After I drained the water each time, I rolled the garment up in a towel and pressed on it lightly to soak up some of the excess water before laying out to dry.

 

 

 

I felt comfortable washing my less delicate sweaters in my front loading washing machine.  To wash with Eucalan in this type of machine I added 2 tbsp to the fabric softener compartment and set the machine to rinse and spin only with cold water.

 

 

Both washing methods worked great for my garments.  While a couple of the fragrances sound like they might be a little overbearing (i.e. grapefruit and eucalyptus), they are actually quite pleasant.  Each scent  lingers on the garments mildly, adding just enough aroma to be rendered enjoyable without even coming close to overdoing it.  I noticed a stronger scent in the garments that I soaked in the basin than I did on the ones washed in the machine.  Despite the faintness, I think they will be very soothing in wear.  Overall, I loved the Wrapsody scent the most - very feminine and romantically perfumy without disappearing into old lady-ness or obnoxious odor.

 

 

One of the great things about the product is that since no rinsing is required, you run less of a risk of felting or agitating the fibers on your more delicate knits.  In addition, I especially loved that the wash seemed to moisturize my hands instead of drying them out.  One thing I used to hate about my barista days was the dry skin and split fingers from washing sinks full of mugs.  Despite the constant rinsing of my hands during this process, it really felt like it was conditioning my skin in addition to my woolens... Win-win?

Overall, I'm excited about the quality of washing I observed from using Eucalan, the pleasant aromatherapy I will enjoy when donning my favorite cardigan next month (!), the lovely skin treatment my hands got out of the deal, and how much I am going to save on dry cleaning bills this winter (!!!).  Now I just need to take a pill remover to these babies and they'll be good as new!

You can purchase Eucalan products from Love Knitting here.

Love Knitting provided the products for this review; however, the words and opinions are my own.

Saprobia || Celtis Occidentalis

This is a preview of the hackberry phase of my Momentum Tulsa installation, entitled "Saprobia".  You can read more about Saprobia here and here.
Momentum Tulsa opens on October 12th at Living Arts in Downtown Tulsa.  These forms will be incorporated into a larger installation for the exhibit.
Materials: plant fiber yarn, nipple galls harvested from hackberry leaves
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Saprobia || Pinus taeda

This is a preview of another phase of my Momentum Tulsa installation, entitled "Saprobia".  You can read more about Saprobia here and here.
Momentum Tulsa opens on October 12th at Living Arts in Downtown Tulsa.  These forms will be incorporated into a larger installation for the exhibit.
Materials: loblolly pine needles
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Saprobia || Populus deltoides

Populus deltoides refers to eastern cottonwood, from which materials for these pieces were harvested.  This is a preview of another phase of my Momentum Tulsa installation, entitled "Saprobia".  You can read more about Saprobia here and here.
Momentum Tulsa opens on October 12th at Living Arts in Downtown Tulsa.
Materials: cottonwood seed, cottonwood leaves, thread
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Weekend Workspace || 9-15-13

Things are coming together on the Saprobia project.  I was able to get some finalized photos of a couple of phases today, which I will share with you in the next week or so.  Things have been a little silent around here simply because of the amount of time and energy going into this work.  Less than a month to go...

 

Weekend Workspace || 9-8-13

The "Saprobia" project is coming along.  I've had a few different phases going at the same time that I was able to wrap up this weekend... More on those soon.  Some of the phases are comprised almost entirely from materials foraged from their respective tree, while others are more fiber based with limited foraged elements.  I'm looking forward to the installation, and intermingling these unique phases of the work in the staged forest floor setting.  Seeing the pieces come together is exciting, but the installation itself is by far the part that's most fun.

 

Infused Witch Hazel Yoga Mat Cleaner

It was time to retire my dingy, rubber yoga mat, discolored from afternoons of after work class days in the back seat of my car (don't judge) and crumbling into lace like patterns on the corners from the teeth of an overzealous cat who just can't seem to leave my things alone... even if they are hidden in the closet.  Oh, faulty old house closet doors that won't fully shut for portions of the year.  Needless to say, it was time to start anew.  With a brand new yoga mat.  On my 30th birthday this month, I received such a luxurious gift (thanks Mom and Dad!).
I resolve not to let this mat fall into disrepair in the manner that my last one did.  (I swear it's not my fault!  If only you knew this cat!)  One way I have planned to go about this is by making some delicate cleaner to use on my mat after home use.  At home it's easy to get lazy.  I wanted to use ingredients that are eco-friendly, not harsh on my mat, and that smell nice, a rejuvenating fragrance to keep that post yoga euphoria going for a while longer.
After a little research, I discovered that the Lululemon mats have pores that can become clogged from popular DIY cleaner additives such as essential oils or tea tree oil.  (Sigh of disappointment as the "rejuvenating fragrance" criteria flies out the window.)  However, I came up with an alternative to solve this problem - infusing the other ingredients with herbs.  Clearly I have solar dyeing on the brain. Infusing with pigment, infusing with fragrance.  Whatever.  As long as it works, right?
This is an incredibly simple mixture that I based loosely off of this one here.  Initially, you will need a mason jar, lavender buds (or herbs of your choice) and a bottle of witch hazel astringent.

 

Empty the witch hazel into your jar, and add some lavender.  It really doesn't take much - I think I used about an ounce.  Seal the jar and let it sit for about a week.  You can check every few days to see how strong the scent is becoming.  Witch hazel has a unique soapy odor of its own, which will probably not be overpowered, but you can get a mixture of fragrances in there.  This is what it looks like as its infusing, below.

 

Once you determine that the witch hazel is ready (I went with about 7 days of infusing), strain the liquid from the buds and return to the jar.  Now you're ready to mix your cleaner.  And when I said this was simple, I really meant it.  Fill a spray bottle 3/4 full with filtered water, and then top off with the witch hazel.  Apply to a clean, soft rag and wipe down your mat after use.  I would recommend not spraying the mixture directly onto the mat, because it will absorb into the pores and really won't do much good when it comes to wiping down the surface since it is infusing into the mat (see what I did there?).  If you spray down the rag a little bit, it's much more effective at cleaning off the mat.

 

Now to be fair, if you aren't interested in going through the trouble of infusing your own witch hazel, you CAN go to Whole Foods and buy a bottle of lavender scented witch hazel.  I discovered this as I went to buy supplies and was slightly annoyed since I thought I had a brilliant idea... but you know what?  It's about the journey, and INFUSING THINGS IS FUN, dang it!  So there you go.
Also, I realize that a tiny mister like the one depicted above will not go very far in cleaning a yoga mat on a (hopefully) daily basis, but let's be honest here - who really wants to look at photos of a cheap plastic spray bottle?  You're welcome.  Let's just infer that you can use one of those big ol' guys for real life purposes if you want to.
Namaste.

Saprobia || Introduction Part 2

The words from the first part of my introduction to this project describe the biogeochemical cycles continuously occurring over time in natural ecosystems.  Rarely do we think of a tree as a product of the growth and death of all other trees in that place before it... Perhaps as the offspring of another tree's seed, but rarely as an organism nourished by the same building blocks that it will one day again become... in order to support life going forward.

Saprobia communicates this idea through the representation of a tree as a decomposer organism that would contribute in returning it to the soil to continue the cycle.  The project manifests as an installation of various forms of fungi, each constructed from components of a certain species of tree.  These saprobic representations of a species connect the viewer's perception to the continuity of forest mineral cycling and the interconnectedness of all organisms in an ecosystem, past and present.

Saprobia poses the question of what is next for the elements that once comprised a plant. How will they contribute to other life going forward? How can so small a thing have such an impact? The balance and interaction within nature transforms into a muse for our rejuvenation and strength.

For a number of weeks going forward, up until the installation in October, I will share a little about each saprobic form created for this project. All parts of an ecosystem depend on one another in the delicate balance of the environment.  Natural intelligence guides phenology harmoniously, in a magnificent symphony of self sufficiency.  How remarkable it is that we get to witness this strikingly mysterious collaboration of life.

Photos: 1. dye jars with baldcypress leaves, eastern red cedar heart wood, and black walnut hulls 2. working with honeylocust leaves 3. knitting with seed of cottonwood

 

On My Needles || Brise

Once again, I'll talk a little bit about how much I love Hannah Fettig's patterns.  Brise went on my queue as soon as the collection of Knitbot patterns for Quince and Co's new linen yarn, Sparrow, came out.  Unfortunately, Sparrow sold out before I could get my hands on some (good for you, Quince/Knitbot!), and I didn't really want to wait until the warm weather left us to cast on such a perfect summer project that I can wear through the fall.  Enter Louet Euroflax Sport.  What better excuse did I need to let myself live a little and indulge in some of this luxurious linen?  My colorway here is Ginger, and while I always question myself about knitting fingering weight cardigans (I mean, really?) I can't stay away.  It's going slowly, but I love the yarn.  It's a perfect project for finishing the evening on the couch after putting in a few hours on Saprobia.  My love for Knitbot lives on, and my love for linen has just begun...

52 Forms of Fungi || #20

This mushroom holds a special place in my heart.  While I have no idea what species it is, this is a replica of one of my favorite mushrooms that I encountered on my visit to the Pacific Northwest last summer.  We were on a coastal trail surrounded by ferns and, well, mosquitos, and there was an eerie darkness under the trees near the creek bank where it was found.  I won't forget that moment for a long time.  Blackish red russula?  What do you mycologists think?  The actual mushroom was a little more reddish than my interpretation.

This structure was knitted as part of my 52 Forms of Fungi project, through which I will knit a different type of fungi for every week of 2013. Check out more of the forms from this project.

 

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Solar Dyeing || #3

Smooth sumac is a common thicket-forming tree here in Oklahoma, usually found on the edge of prairie and disturbed sites such as roadsides.  It's native, and pops up in these areas as a primary succession species to make way for the slower growing, more shade tolerant trees of our native forest type.  In the fall, these trees really stand out because of the large clusters of bright red berries that form at the meristems.  When I first tried out natural dyeing, I thought of these berries and how curious I was to see how they would work.  Here we are in late summer, and I finally got my chance!
To start, I picked the berries off of the stems and then boiled them in some water to extract the pigment. I may get a larger jar later and put some berries in it with the dye mixture, but the lace weight skein of yarn I used was a little too large to fit in the jar with both the liquid and more berries, so this is why I left them out.  Mordants used: alum and vinegar.
Eventually I'd like to try cochineal, but this looks to be a nice light red dye from a plant native to my area.

Honeybee Activity

Several months ago I posted about the bee colony living in a huge hackberry tree in my neighborhood.  At the time I was excited about the amount of activity I was seeing; however, that activity was nothing compared to now.  The mild weather this summer must have really benefitted our neighborhood honeybee colony.  This comes as a huge relief since Colony Collapse Disorder places a veil of uncertainty over the longevity of any bee colony.  Needless to say, it fills me with joy to walk by and see something like this.  Keep on keepin' on, little guys!  Pollinate the heck out of things!  Live life to the max!  If I could fist bump a honeybee with no ill effects (to either of us), I would.