More Fabric Marbling with the Regina and Dan St. John

 

 

Happy Earth Day!

Fabric Marbling, Day 1

Scenes From Pioneer Farm at Mount Vernon in the Springtime

It was a treat to work at Mount Vernon for a few hours on Saturday morning.  I had the pleasure of meeting people from all over the country who were thrilled to learn more about our First President.  And, at the farm site, we make sure to tell you about George's Washington's love and gift of agriculture.   This time of year, we always speak about the shad and herring that were farmed from the Potomac River.  My clothes from the day have been washed 3x and still smell like dead fish from handling the fish when I would explain to guests about the shad, usually holding a dead fish by one hand....

The shad above are planked and roasting by the fire, and a catfish stew is cooking in the big kettle.

 

Rides around the farm site,

The reconstructed slave cabin.

Fiona Appreciates My Colonial Clothing

 I am excited to work at Mount Vernon in the next couple of days, so Fiona the cat was thrilled to see the wool cape come down from the attic, along with the rest of my colonial clothing.  While I ironed a petticoat, short gown and apron, she made the most of her opportunity!

This Week's Marbled Soap

I've made a few batches of soap this week: Honeysuckle/Bergamot, Litsea/Lavender and Peppermint/Lavender, all marbled on top.  The Honeysuckle/Bergamot (below) had just been poured, while the others were a day or two old,  I'll cut them all in a few days and let them cure for 6 weeks.

Cherry Blossoms

 

New Labels for Soap

We are very excited to have new packaging and labels for our soap.  Many thanks to Carys of Carys Ink for putting together a lovely design for us.  And, she also helped us with my website and our Black Forest Artworks logo, so we are loyal customers!  We worked very hard to package about 10 batches of our soap for next week's Garden Market at River Farm, the headquarters of the American Horticultural Society.  Some of the lovely new marbled soap is with AHS, as well as our favorites -- lots of spring citrus scents, lavender, honeysuckle, lemongrass.... lots of good things!

 Jeff had some puppy help while cutting the labels:

Savannah Scenes, Part 2

Lafayette Sqaure

Colonial Cemetary

Bonaventure Cemetery

Savannah Scenes

Hand-Marbled Soap with Sweet Orange, Vanilla, and Cinnamon

Just waiting for it to cure enough to cut.  Looking forward to seeing how it turns out!

A Stable's Field Trip to Laurel Hill

   

 

Upon a Forecast of More Snow....

For the Sake of the Guinea Pigs, We Moved the Loom

Marbled, Honeysuckle/Lavender Soap

I am getting the hang of marbling color as a bit of "icing" on soap!  This is a batch of honeysuckle and lavender scented soap and I am thrilled with how it turned out.  The colors change the composition of the soap a bit, so it is rather tricky; also, the colors sometimes change in the process (this purple started out as a bright blue!).  Now, the soap will cure for at least 4 weeks....

I have one more batch waiting to cure a few days before cutting, and for this batch, I got out my marbling book and attempted a get gel with the stylus.  I also tried to mix the colors into the entire batch of soap, rather than as an "icing".  We'll see how it turned out soon!

Knitting (Starting Over, Again)

The last time I worked on these finger-less gloves, I was in the waiting room prior to my shoulder surgery the Saturday before Thanksgiving.  It's been awhile!  Maybe the fact that I picked these up again means that I am healing?  I am hopeful....

Marbling My Soap

I just tried something new -- combining my love of marbling and soap-making.  I just made a batch of lavender/rosemary/patchouli soup and painted on it with several mica powders.  So far, the results look amazing!  Since I have never tried to marble on my soap before, I used a simple design with a stylus.   If it works, I will try out some of the techniques that I've been taught by Regina and Dan St. John at classes hosted by Cat Tail Run Hand Bookbinding.  How fun!

Jeff Presents at the Upcoming ABANA Conference

Jeff is passionate about teaching youth so he is very happy to be co-leading the Youth Teaching Tent at the upcoming ABANA conference in Salt Lake City in July.

Here is the conference description: "We realize the youth are the future and have a thirst for trying new things. This tent will offer forging and more! This will offer a fun intro to various crafts including leather working and enameling.

Jay Burnham-Kidwell and Jeff Dunkelburger will lead the children's (of all ages) education program. Jay and Jeff have extensive experience in smithing and teaching. Their teaching station will introduce young people to blacksmithing using demonstrations, discussions of history and samples of smith made objects. There will be lots of interaction between Jay, Jeff and the children while they learn about tools, materials, history and a bit of humor!  

Demonstrations will teach how steel and other materials can be shaped by hammer. Following the demonstrations there will be the opportunity for hands-on forging experience to experience what smiths do at the forge." 

Jeff can't wait!

"Blacksmithing Through History" Summer Camp

Jeff is very excited to be co-leading a "Blacksmithing Through History" camp this summer at St. Albans School from June 20-24 for 8th through 12th graders.  We love working with St. Albans!

Here's the course description: "This one-week course, open to students grades 8-12, offers a unique opportunity to experience a cross-discipline approach to the history of blacksmithing. Students will learn the role metallurgy, in general, and blacksmithing, in particular, had in shaping human civilization and culture. In addition to classroom topics that include mythology, the arts, and technological advancements from western Europe to western Africa, students will spend half of their time at a forge creating their own pieces. Under the guidance of professional blacksmith Jeff Dunkelberger, students will forge three pieces and learn the basic skills of blacksmithing."

"After the Wedding Photos" Chosen for Exhibit

I just received word that my photo (above) was chosen as part of the "Culture" exhibition at the Darkroom Gallery, opening March 3rd.  Wonderful news!

Winter Baking with Summer in Mind