Thought Forms

A Tour of the Midwest, Our Process…

See You in Chicago ~

Flower of Fiery Light, 72×48” indigo and madder root on linen

A quick note – your inbox may cut off some of this email. Select “View this email in your browser” at the top of this email, or be sure to hit “Read More” as you scroll to the bottom. Much thanks – D&B

Here We Come Again

Greetings from our studio and the whirlwind of happenings that have us zipping around the studio, our home, out the back door, back inside, up the stairs, in and out of the van, to the hardware store and back, and so on. We can’t believe the day has arrived; by the time you read this, we’ll have packed our bags & wares and hit the road for the Old Town Art Fair in Chicago!

The excitement we have toward the show season has us smiling through the the madness, singing Here You Come Again at the stress and transmuting it to sugar. Just when I’m about to make it work without you…

Sometimes there’s no avoiding the dizzying nature of springtime, no matter what schemes we’ve concocted and fantastical timelines we pursued. I wanted to take some time to acknowledge the long series of steps in our process, who each deserve their own time and attention. For today, I’ll try to keep it short.

The work of painting goes well being the act of applying the medium to a canvas. Most painters tend to prep their canvases (gather materials, stretch canvas over their stretcher bars, gesso the canvas, wait for it to dry…) before the fun of painting begins. Compared to this process, we work in reverse. Once our linen yardage is scoured, it is ready to dye. With our indigo vat prepared and dutifully cared for, the painting begins. If you’ve gotten curious about the alchemy of an indigo vat, Graham Keegan provides a great outline of indigo basics for free on his site, which you can read here for free.

Once the pieces have been dyed with indigo, we determine if they are finished or destined to be dyed in another series of dye baths. While some of our pieces have predetermined designs and compositions, we often left the growing season of native dye plants and palettes of the latest sunsets dictate our color planning. Before being dyed in another flower bath, the pieces must go thorugh a process called mordanting. This involves soaking fabrics in a salt bath that prepares the fibers to bond with the dye (indigo is different than other dyes for this reason, among many others… but that is for another newsletter).

Once the paintings are mordanted, we can release the them to the flowers. If a piece was designed to be sewn together, a new math is introduced to the process. Larger pieces of fabric are cut down after mordanting and divided into several dye baths to generate the range of colors you see in our Pond series, including new pieces like The Sound of Rain and Everglades.

The Sound of Rain, 60×40” indigo, weld, logwood and madder root on linen/cotton

Everglades, 60×40” indigo, weld, logwood and madder root on linen/cotton

Many steps are often revisited. Often a piece must dry completely before we decide where to go next. Many steps are revisited as we tinker with compositions at the indigo vat and navigate surprises and mischief notorious of dye plants. Again – so many stories we must save for other newsletters.

….a look into our little world and the friends we meet there….

We are now entering the stages of dry work. This includes a composing and recomposing pieces in our sewn series, sewing them together, and a whole lot of ironing. Each painting must be stretched, which Dan does meticulously only after he builds each of the frames (properly called ‘stretchers’) himself. This means part of our work involves spending hours at the hardware store carefully picking through the lumber.

Okay – so wood acquired, stretchers built, pieces ‘finished,’ ironed – the paintings are ready to be stretched!

Well, not exactly – but I’ll spare you more meticulous details. Once the paintings are stretched, they each need a hang wire installed on the frames so they can hang neatly in your homes later on. Then we photograph them in our home studio & Dan generously takes on the job of spraying each piece with a UV protective spray to ensure color is preserved for years to come.

And then… yeah, sure, they’re finished.

… not pictured: hours in the woodshop and a whole lot of ironing ….

And so, we offer you a window into the circus of our process. Not to mention, and didn’t we? We got a van! This itself has included a serpentine task of building it out to securely fit all of our new work. Speaking of – you can find 15 new pieces listed on our site, as well as a list of pieces we have available at each upcoming show (work is removed from this page as it is sold). You can also find our long awaited price sheet by clicking here.

Path Finder, 24×36” Indigo, Madder and Weld on Linen

Upcoming Shows

The Moon Rose, 60×40” indigo, osage, pomegranate rind, logwood, madder root on cotton

Please note we are happy to deliver & install your paintings during the hours following the show.

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Commissions

Several folks have asked us if we could recreate a painting in a particular color scheme or in a particular size. Barring some constraints: yes, we would love to create a piece to harmonize your space. If you are located within 100 miles of Philadelphia, we can deliver and install your painting once it is complete. If you are interested in a commission please contact us directly at studio@thoughtforms.art or by responding to this email.

Summer Halo, 69×42” indigo, weld, and madder on linen (Commission)

Sending out a whole lotta love as we head west(ish) for the rest of the season.

Take good care,

Bixa + Dan

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