Beautifying the Office

My cluttered office needed a face lift and more than a little cleaning.  But wait!  Where does one go for inspiration on this task, you ask?  Why, Pinterest, of course.

Some pictures on Pinterest that looked like copycat possibilities:

Here was my start with a dark and boring bookcase of file folders:

And this was the result of slapping on a bit of glue over the magazine holders and covering them with nouveau designed papers (and after seeing what a few others had accomplished with their organizational beautification efforts).

Better. And the office is clean, too.

Painting on Silk

Silk painting originated in China, going back to 2600 BC. Long before paper was invented/made, silk was a medium on which to paint. Silk is durable, portable, and readily rolled for travel.  From this site:

Silk was chosen as an artistic surface not only because of its soft, luxurious feel, but also for its practicality. Silk is light, easy to cut into any desired shape and size and is convenient to carry. Chinese artisans prepared the silk for painting by beating it on a stone slab until the surface became very smooth. After the silk was prepared, the color pigments or ink tones were applied slowly and carefully.

And what lovely works have survived over the centuries. Bing has a large collection of images of ancient silk paintings; this is just one example:

Western Colorado, where I reside, is fortunate to have a variety of talented artists displaying talents in multiple media effects. Vera Mulder is one such artist who has refined batik painting and has a large following of admirers of her work.  As a teacher, painter, photographer and ceramist, she can be found here (with drawing classes the second week of February and more information).

This is one in a series of gorgeous batiks that Mulder showed at The Blue Pig recently:

From All About Fruita:

...a series of batiks titled Rhythms in Red, this batik by Mulder features rich red and lines that create movement for the eye. Cards and prints of the series can be found at Blue Pig Gallery, Palisade, Colorado and Oakley Gallery in the Interiors building, Grand Junction.

(this one can be viewed at the Oakley Gallery in Grand Junction, CO)

And across the pond, from Surrey, United Kingdom, some beautiful paintings on silk can be found at TheWoodFairy's blog, and the author and painter, Betty, has given her permission to show a few of her works here. (If you copy any of her paintings, please be sure to link back to TheWoodFairy.)

Betty's art blog, Imaginary Brushstrokes, can be accessed here.

The Wood Fairy (Betty)  gives a tutorial on how she creates paintings on silk which you can also access at this site.  Another excellent tutorial on painting on silk can be accessed at this site on Chinese painting.

Betty painted the one below for her brother, saying..

I have included the Celtic symbols for the word 'strength' on one of the oak leaves. The oak is regarded as the symbol of strength.

If you are interested in trying this technique, products are readily available from most art suppliers. Several years ago I purchased fabric dyes and raw silk over the internet.  The raw silk was cut to fit six dining room chairs, and then I painted onto the raw silk in colors matching the tile floor on the dining area floor.  Those chair seats are still in use, but I have noticed that they need to be refreshed with more paints as the years have faded the colors.  Or is it that just the wear of sitting on those cushions has caused the dye to fade?  Either way, my next painting project is to re-paint and re-cover those chair seats.

One complete site relating to products needed for painting on silk gives a complete listing of available items including dyes, paints, silk material, resists, etc. This site, Dharma Trading, can be accessed here where I purchased the Jacquard brand dyes and resist products over ten years ago, and the dyes are still strong and vibrant.

For further assistance in painting on silk, a book entitled Beginner's Guide to Silk Painting by Mandy Southan (Search Press Limited, 1997, Great Britain) was my inspiration into dyeing on silk fabric.  This little book (available on Amazon) is a gem and highly recommended if you desire further instruction. Southan gives gorgeous pictures and detailed, step-by-step procedures.  If I can do it, so can you!

Update: as soon as my husband read this post, he asked when those dining room chairs were going to get reupholstered.  Sigh.

Irregular Square Afghan

Never having been a big fan of acrylic fiber, except for the fact that it washes quickly and dries just as fast, I recently ordered a batch of acrylics from Lions Brand to be used on a new project.   I am anxious to start an afghan called the Irregular Squares Afghan, a free crochet pattern available on this page with colors chosen from an extensive palette of colors offered online.

This is a snap of a finished afghan, courtesy of Lion Brand.  I am not interested in the colors it was worked it (in fact, yuck), but I like how it is put together.

Each of the six squares making up the afghan not only is comprised of four separate colors, but each square is also put together differently, hence the irregularity of the pattern.  If not ingenious, it certainly will hold one's attention while constructing the 30" x 45" throw.  Here is the pattern for just one of the squares:

Now the fun part (for me) is selecting colors to match the decor of the area where the small throw will most be used.

This is a collage of the colors in our living room, including pictures of furniture, paintings and accessories. It lacks the brick red color of the entry wall and all the green plants, but you get the idea.

And here are the colors of the acrylic yarn chosen from the Lion's Brand palette that will be used for the project.

If this works up as quickly as others tell me it will, maybe I'll get cracking on a second one as a gift.

Here are two of the squares worked; each square pattern is worked three times, and then put together in an alternating fashion:

Update: 2/27/2012
Finished but not completely happy with this project as the squares are not completely "square" and the overall look is not tight.  It is warm, however.  I will give it a month of wear before giving it a final rating and deciding whether to crochet this again as a gift.