December 2021 Newsletter
Sweetgum, & Cochineal on Wool
Dearest Dyers-
Here on the Oregon Coast this is a time of winter birds, sidelong light, king tides, driving rain, thick fog, arching rainbows, and roaring winds - December is always very dynamic. I hope that this note finds you well, and enjoying what nature brings to you this season wherever you call home.
The purpose of this note is to share info on a few upcoming shows I am participating in, give you a quick update on what has been happening in the studio, and a heads up about the preliminary class schedule for 2022.
Thank you so much for your loving participation in our tiny art business. Working as an artist means being an entrepreneur, and is always within the context of a community. I feel deeply grateful and lucky for the net of folks who support the three realms of Dream Bird Studio. It is entirely because of the support of my students, and people who purchase art or wearables, that I am able to work as an artist in service to connection, joy and beauty.
Lots of Love & Infinite Gratitude
Iris
Here are the Details:
December shows for Art & Holiday Gift buying on the North Coast:
December Dec. 4,5 & 11,12, Tolovana Art Colony Winter Bazaar in Canon Beach. Open Saturday and Sunday Noon to 5PM each day. I have a collection of colorful adornment scarves and shawls available here. All naturally dyed of course!
December 12th Imogen Gallery Hook, Pulp & Weave Show opens December 12th during Art Walk - and runs through Jan 5th. My contributions: the Indigo Light series are framed Indigo and encaustic works, get a peek on the Imogen website.
December 17 & 18 AVA Gallery - Astoria Visual Arts Handmade Holidays Pop-Up Friday & Saturdays 11-4 This is the best show to come to if you want to see me in person. I will have lots of natural dyed goodies.
The Dream Bird Shop - I will continue to add items to the website as I am able.
2022 Workshops - Save the dates!
We are super excited to announce that we are working on an online class, Elemental Natural Dyes- hopefully it will go live early this winter. It has been a pretty steep learning curve for us, learning to film, edit, and do the many myriad tasks needed to put together an online program. We are really excited about what is done so far, and can’t wait to share it with you.
As of right now, I am scheduled to teach six in-person workshops at other venues in 2022. Registration is open for the first few classes, the others will open later this winter. (Just a heads up, in 2021 both of my classes at Sitka sold out quickly, and had long waiting lists, so register early if you are able.)
February 8, 9 & 10 Book Arts using Nature’s Colors* Sou’Wester Arts & Ecology - Seaview Washington (This is an after school workshop for young people - Registration open now.)
February 12 - Natural Dyed Silk Rainbows Sou’Wester Arts & Ecology - Seaview Washington (For adults - Registration is open now.)
April 22 Natural Pigment Paste Paper Newport Paper & Book Arts Festival - Newport, Oregon (Registration will open Early 2022)
April 23-24 Indigo Dyed Bookcloth & Endpapers Newport Paper & Book Arts Festival - Newport, Oregon (Registration will open Early 2022)
July 12,13, & 14 Real Reds, True Blues & Fast Yellows Sitka Center of Art & Ecology - Otis, Oregon (Member registration opens February 23, 2022 at 10 AM PST
Non-Member registration opens March 9, 2022)August 1-2 Foundational Indigo Dyeing Sitka Center of Art & Ecology - Otis, Oregon (Member registration opens February 23, 2022 at 10 AM PST
Non-Member registration opens March 9, 2022)
End of Year Cliff Notes - 2021 in review:
2021 has been a very busy year at Dream Bird Studio. We grew and processed indigo from four growing locations, worked on making art, and natural dyed wearables, and filmed two different classes - which we look forward to sharing with you in 2022 when all the editing is complete. I taught in person some this year; two classes at Sitka Center for Art and Ecology on Cascade Head in late June, a two day guest artist visit at Nestucca Schools, and then a four week teaching residency at Sou’Wester Arts & Ecology Center in Seaview, Washington in September-October. Being able to connect with students in person was such a joy during these unnerving times.
While wearing my Indigofest hat, Britt and I led a small group through a 5 month dye garden Grow-a-long on Patreon, which was really fun. We also taught fresh leaf indigo together at the local schools for their summer art and science camp, also fun.
I took several online classes this year, including a really wonderful one this fall with Debra Ketchum Jircik of Circle of Life Studio, on making sukumo. Sukumo is a traditional Japanese method of composting indigo leaves for making vats. Joe helped to tend to the barrel of steamy composting magic. It is curing now, and ought to be ready to dye with next spring.
In Late October it was an honor to learn I had received an individual artist grant from the Cannon Beach Art Association for my Red-wing Blackbird Project. (Link takes you to more info about that project.) The grant will cover the cost of some of the materials for phase one of the project. If you would enjoy receiving little art postcards in the mail, you can support this work by purchasing one or more of the limited edition hand rendered postcards I will be creating each month of 2022. See listings in Shop.
November found the studio windows steamy with big simmering dye pots. “Smells like a dye lab in here.” is usually how my family greets me when they come to visit in the studio. The scents of Queen Madder, the fermentation indigo vat, and the various flowers, that accompany the dyeing of silk, wool, cotton & rayon all the colors of the rainbow, can be heady at times. This is the first year dyeing with homegrown Madder - after a five year wait! Indigo, Marigold and Weld also all did well this year on the back deck dye garden. Getting to revisit the smells of summer while dyeing during rainy season is a delight for me, if not always for my children.
Lately I have been working my way through some long needed maintenance on the Dream Bird Studio website. This includes finally posting images from last year’s solo show Preserved: Healing Stories of Plants & Ancestors. And posting a few pieces from Preserved in the shop. They are available to purchase here.
It is hard to believe there are only a few weeks left of this crazy year. I hope that you are finding blessings amongst all of the intensity of these times. I especially hope that you have space to do creative work - somehow it feels like creating beauty makes the world a little bit brighter.
May your days be filled with good health and happiness.