Thursday, June 25, 2009

Keepin' The Creative Juices Flowing

So its been busy the past week. I have spent much of my time creating(and re-creating) images to print. One thing I have discovered is that I CAN draw. Well, maybe not a proportionally beautiful figure but sketches of other things in nature.

Much of my time has been spent preparing stencils for printing, mixing colors and doing test prints. I have been printing some shirts but have been wary of printing more because I have a little devil on my shoulder whispering "You're gonna screw it u-up." But what I have printed I like, so it has gotten easier to tell that devil to bugger-off.

Hitting the thrift stores has been a blast as well. It's amazing how much is there that is in good, pretty much new condition. It's also wonderous to see some items that make me think "What were they thinking when they originally bought this?" I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

A big thanks to my friend Gary down at Bison Witches. When he heard about the adventure I was starting he told me he had some stuff for me. What he brought me were a few things that I had wanted but didn't have the expense account to buy. Yay for screen hinges and squeegees!

Well, here I go. Another creative day!

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Butterflies in My Tummy!


So, I have been working on this one for the past couple of days. The actual printing of it took only 5minutes but the design took the rest of the time. See, despite having done stuff in Illustrator before I think I will always be a perpetual newbie at it. After moments of glee and ones of total frustration(yay, computer survived!) I got what I was looking for.

I also did some color mixing. I was wanting a chartreuse and think I got kinda close but it still seems a little green to me. Ah well, I like it!



pic by Maya

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Go Big or Go Home(on a budget[for dummies])

So a few years back I started dyeing and sewing dress-up clothes and various other fiber-things. I didn't really "go for it" for a couple of reasons. First, though I can sew I really don't like to do it as an integral part of my creative process. Second, my "real" job sucked the creative life out of me.

Well, I quit my creative soul-sucking job and decided to proceed with my previous venture, but with some tweaks. There will still be sewing, it can't be avoided. However, it won't be as big a part of Desert Dyeworks as it was before. What I am most excited about is my new obsession with printing on fabric.

I have been experimenting and creating designs with screen printing. At this point I feel like the ADHD kid in art class. I have so many new ideas popping into my head, but despite this I am focused and motivated. Of course, there is nothing like quitting your day job to motivate you!

So, my mantra has been "Go big or go home". Which means do this, make it work, or totally sell your soul to the man. However, leaving my job and having little ermmm...no savings leaves me to be financially creative getting things going and living at the same time. Fortunately, I do have resources and supplies left-over from the old Desert Dyeworks days. I have also found many helpful places on the inter-web that have sprouted ideas in my head on how to make things that look well done without having to buy expensive supplies.

My favorite supply financial work around has been the concept of "upcycling". Huh? What's that? Well, it's basically recycling. I am taking those clothing items that others decided they didn't want or need anymore and giving them a new life. Don't worry. If you see me selling panties or boxers, they were not upcycled. Ewww!

So, check back in to see what's going on with Desert Dyeworks. I'll be here 'cuz I am definately goin' big!