(Peaches: Not more cloth prep. Sheesh!)

The longer time I spend making art, the nuttier the journey can seem. For example, some of the ways that I think I need to prepare my cloth. Ridiculous.

To back up a bit, I was (again!) listening as I was driving down the snowy country road, and they were talking about making the movie, Frozen. I guess the first attempt in the studio was really bad. And, to get to the final one, there was a process full of dead ends and mistakes. The gist of it all was the value of mistakes.

I know that one well. Even so, it’s sometimes amazing to hear – because the result can seem so effortless. And, often, when I’m seeming to waste time, I forget that it’s all part of the darn process.

So, in this piece I’ve been working on, there was a point where I needed to make the cut pieces. I knew I had cloth prepared with the soy milk application. What I didn’t consider ahead of time was that I had prepped the fabric months ago – maybe six?

Over time, the soy on cloth stiffens. It becomes like a board. I pulled it out and thought to myself, “Oh no. It’s old. Probably too old.” I wasn’t sure the dye would penetrate.

As luck would have it, the dye took really well. AND for the purposes of this piece, the stiff cloth was just what I wanted since it held the cutout horse shapes so much better than the more usual draping silk. It was a fortunate mistake.

And now?

The long process that I use to prepare my cloth just got lengthened. By months. Crazy. (And I already was bitching and moaning as some of you know well.)

Peaches the pup? She’s just chasing ants. We live in the woods. Spring arrives, everything comes to life. The darn ants – they are always ahead of the curve.