.a sliver of light.

 With the short days of fall - almost winter, my hikes are limited to the weekends during the shrinking afternoon window of not early morning freezing temps but before the 4 pm darkness. The darkness always feels shocking every year. The limited light put a sense of urgency into the day. I think maybe others slow down, but I'm so hungry to get out and walk the land. I went for a quick hike near my house this weekend. I was working on a project and then realized it was 2:30PM, so I dropped what I was doing knowing that I would have only a hour or so of light left for a walk. The path is on the north side of the hillside so it was already out of the path of the sun, but I began to notice the tiny sliver of light that draped on the surrounding hillsides. Just a peek of light. 

Winter is not my favorite season or even a season I enjoy most of the time, but I'm always in awe to experience the transition of place in a season. The impermanent art of nature.

.rabbitbrush dye.

 I've wanted to make a natural dye with rabbitbrush for the past few years. I took an online course from Aaron Sanders Head last summer and learned a lot about the natural dye process, but I hadn't explored beyond indigo and turmeric. I went kayaking in Grant County and noticed a ton of rabbitbrush, so collected blooms and knew it was the time to finally try it! I can't believe the results! 

Rubber Rabbitbrush is a native plant in the Shrub-Steppe that blooms in the early fall. I love it for its vibrant yellow blooms. You can tell time by the plants of the Shrub-Steppe. I know fall is here when the yellow blooms of rabbitbrush appear. I had heard they produce a natural dye, but there wasn't much information online. I found a digital pdf that mentioned it was a common plant to use for dye with indigenous groups living in shrub-steppe landscapes. I found one post about rabbitbrush dyeing, but it didn't have much information. The sparse information gave me enough curiosity to try it. 

I used two yards of cotton fabric. I didn't have soda ash, so I opted for a hot second wash in the washer. All sources highly recommended scouring the fabric. I then used aluminum acetate to mordant. I finished the process with a chalk bath. While the fabric was soaking, I started to simmer the rabbitbrush blooms in another pot. Most sources recommend boiling for an hour. I think I was a little over an hour. Then I introduced the mordant fabric and left it in the hot water. I immediately saw the color. After an hour, it was already a decent shade of yellow, but knowing it would fade, I left it overnight and am so happy with the final color. 

The first picture is the dye after an hour. The second, after an overnight soak. With the final color below! I was honestly shocked to see such vibrant color come from the blooms. Plants are amazing! 

.rabbitbrush season.

 A new season slowly arriving. Walking the same trails over and over again offers such a beautiful opportunity to witness a season slowly arriving. Arriving at different paces on the hillside, buds and blooms. The rabbitbrush arrived weeks ago up on the Waterville plateau, but here in Wenatchee it just beginning. 

I'm missing summer already, the days are shrinking, but the heat is still here. I love rabbitbrush season, but it also marks the end of summer and the promise of fall. 

I'm hoping to make some ink and experiment with dyeing some small pieces of fabric to see what might happen. There's so much to learn from the plant. 

.the road home.

The road home - over the mountains down into the valley.

.sage hills.

This bitter cold of New England winter has made me ache for the rolling hills and valley of Central Washington, home. It's strange and beautiful that no matter how many places I visit/discover/experience it's always Central Washington that feels like home. It hasn't always been like that. There was an awareness/connect that settled into me from my time in Malawi, so many things were given to me in Malawi. A time to connect with the place I was living. When I returned to Washington after the land felt different - I felt connected to the hills - I needed to spend time on those hillsides. When I was in El Paso I had the same urge - I would go to mountains whenever I could - getting lost on a trail in the Franklin Mountains which gave me air and space but not the clarity. This year has found me out east in Boston and it fits for now. It is giving me so much in it's own way - giving me a lessons that can only come from a city but this long cold winter (it snowed last night!!)  has made me really miss Washington. 

I am an artist and I process my emotions though creating - leading me to my latest collection of jewels, Sage Hills. Each piece of this collection holds an element of that land and those beloved sage hills.

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That hot dry sun with a gentle breeze

Looking down on the valley with the river 

flowing through the land

The hollow echoes of open space

With a gentle smell of sage

A stark - simple loneliness

A freedom - no expectations

Open faced and openhearted

Pulsing earth

With stories to be hear

Slow down

Connect

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