Amanda Snavely 3/25/21 Amanda Snavely 3/25/21

Dyeing Support Group

Do you feel quarantined, lonely, and still experience a desire to dye? If so, some of my friends and I are starting a Dyeing Support Group. I love to read art books, grab a couple of tips from each, but fail to ever complete the exercises. I am challenging myself to work through all the exercises in Color By Design by Ann Johnston. My friends and I are going to work at our own pace, as we all have other things going on even if we stay in our pajamas all day. All of those 1950’s photos of women wearing heels and a dress in the kitchen were obviously staged. Through zoom and email, we will cheer, curse, and share our experiences with each other. The book is our guide and as long as we all work in the order of the exercises we should be able to support each other. We have to get creative to find ways to stay creative and motivated to reach new goals.

Day 1

Dye Mixed and in the Fridge: Warning Sign for Kids that hang out in my basement

**My Studio Assistant, Indie**

It looks like she didn’t read the sign, but I promise she didn’t drink the dye.

Happy Dyeing!

Amanda Snavely 3/24/20 Amanda Snavely 3/24/20

Sanctuary

I am excited to announce that my piece, Sanctuary, was juried into the SAQA Oregon Habitat Exhibition. Habitat, is currently scheduled to show in six galleries throughout Oregon. It will then travel to be shown in a gallery in New Mexico.

*Sanctuary - Detail 1*

27 w x 41 h
Hand-dyed fabrics, commercial fabrics, various threads

Hand-dyeing, silk-screening, hand-stitching, machine-stitching

*Sanctuary - Detail 2*

Early in the morning when the neighborhood is just waking up, the smell of blooming star jasmine greets me. A bird hops along over the soft carpet of moss searching for breakfast while a breeze rustles the tree leaves. I am always welcomed and comforted by the embrace of my yard. Here I can finally breathe, sit, and be myself without judgment. Even when neglected, it never judges and waits patiently for my return. With time, love, and attention we heal each other. *Sanctuary* - A culmination of the shapes, colors, and shadows of the yards I have created and loved.

Sanctuary - Detail 3

Amanda Snavely 10/4/17 Amanda Snavely 10/4/17

Ice Dyeing

Saturday was a fabulous day of experimenting with ice dyeing with Sheryl LeBlanc and Judith Quinn Garnett.

The process steps we referred to for this experiment were from Linda Johansen.

Prewash fabric with Synthrapol if it is not PFD fabric.

Make a Soda Ash Solution:

1 Cup of Soda Ash
1/2 Cup of Salt
1 Gallon (16 cups) warm water

Stir until dissolved.

Soak the fabric in the Soda Ash Solution for 10 minutes. Wring out fabric. Scrunch, pleat, or fold the fabric as desired and shove it in a small (32 oz. ideal) clear container. Clear containers allow you to see the dye penetration. The tighter the fabric is gathered the more crackling and resist. Break up a bag of ice in to small pieces (as small as possible). Cover the fabric in the containers with a layer of ice. Immediately sprinkle dry MX dye powders on the ice (roughly 1/4tsp or more per color). Wait for the ice to melt. Rinse. Final wash in machine with Synthrapol.

I use Dharma's MX dyes primarily and have referenced my samples with their dye color numbers (unless otherwise noted as a ProChem Dye).