Our younger son has joined jazz band, and practices are Weds. mornings before school.  So instead of sending him to the bus at 6:50 a.m., I drive him to school.  In winter, this means GLORIOUS sunrises, and today was one of the best.  The pictures are with my cell phone camera, so not as good as my good camera, but still pretty darn amazing.  So just an hour ago this is what I got to see after dropping Eli, snapping a shot over town to the harbor and distant islands.  I uploaded LARGE files, so I apologize if they are slow to load; they should be clickable to see a larger view.

Sunrise over Camden, 6:55 a.m. That tall thing is the smokestack from the old woolen mill. Notice the cool vertical flare from the sun peeking through layers of the clouds. The vertical brightness was there in real life; it's not a camera flare!

And here is the sunrise in my neighborhood:

A woodsy sunrise, downhill from our house

And from the road, by the driveway of a downhill neighbor whose house faces more towards the East:

From a neighbor's driveway, looking East

Ahhhh…..Maine!

I keep thinking of my Dad…he was born in 1899, when gaslight was not common, was a teenager when the Wright Brothers flew at Kitty Hawk, when telephones were rare. He used to be amazed at men on the moon, think of what he’d think of the internet and cell phones!  I can’t imagine what he would think to see me have a phone smaller than a deck of cards, that is also a camera, so I can send a photo to my son and to myself then post it to share with the *world* in a matter of minutes.  He’d be amazed and smile!

OH WOW am I in love with a new product and process! 

The product is called PhotoEZ and it allows you to make detailed screens for printing (on paper or fabric), such as the treetops in the fabric postcards in the picture above.   The best place to get PhotoEZ  is directly from art quilter Ginny Eckley at http://www.photoezsilkscreen.com/about.htm .  Wonder how many requests Santa is gonna get now……

Many quilt artists now use Thermofax machines to make their own highly detailed screens for surface design printing.  These machines were on their way to becoming dinosaurs and land fill when they were discovered by art quilters and tattoo artists.   In both cases, the artists involved create intricate designs which are then “burned” into an emulsion-coated screen (or for the tattoo guys spirit masters).  The process removes the image, leaving a screen to use for printing or, in the case of tattoo artists, for transferring the design to the skin to use as the guide for inking the tattoo.  As the machines become more and more scarce, the price has   gone through the roof:  reconditioned machines now cost nearly $1000.  Yes, one THOUSAND dollars.  Plus supplies! My budget doesn’t stretch that far.

Well, a year ago at Quilt Festival in Houston, I visited Ginny Eckley’s booth where she sold (among other things) the PhotoEZ screen kits — a starter kit is $37 — and materials.  Here is a picture of my kit and the photo I used:

PhotoEZ kit, instructions and on the bottom left my image

Ginny told me she likes PhotoEZ so much she actually SOLD her Thermofax machines because she no longer used them.  Rather than carry the stuff home, I opted to order the supplies from Ginny (here) and have them shipped to my home.  One key thing:  You need to refrigerate the screen material to keep it fresh!  I have a flat baggie on the back wall of my fridge, behind the shelves, to keep mine fine.

After a year, I FINALLY got around to trying it out.  I was concerned because I don’t have strong sunlight up here in Maine most of the year the way Ginny does in Texas!  But I used my tulip-lights that I use for photography and they worked fine.  When I asked Ginny a couple of “how to” questions this year at Festival, she said she uses a light box most of the time, so this makes the process accessible for everyone (not just those of us in sunny spots).  In addition to the detailed info in the kit, you can find even more instruction on her website.

I had forgotten that the kit included an inkjet transparency sheet, so I fiddled with my photo of treetops in spring in Photoshop Elements (to turn it into a crisp black and white image) and printed it on paper.  The trick was to figure out the correct time under the lights to get the screen to burn.  I thought I had messed it up, but was elated when I did as instructed and popped the screen into the sink:

The image began to materialize; I used a soft paintbrush to swooosh away the area that had "burned" where the black ink reacted with the emulsion

Anyway, here’s another view:

Part of the burned emulsion removed (lighter area), the rest to be removed

And here are the fabric postcards, for a “circles” swap I recently did, in process:

five of the postcards screened, with the full screen on the lower left

The moons and eclipse glow were done with freezer paper stencils using Lumiere paints, and the treetops were screened with Jacquard Lumiere Citrine (the lime green color).  I REALLY like the squeegee that comes with the kit…it was JUST the right balance between firm and soft for me.

What I learned:

• I LOVE THIS PROCESS!
• And it costs a fortune less than a Thermofax.  It isn’t, however, cheap per screen, but it will work and cost less per screen I think than a Thermofax.
• Spring for the extra cost for transparencies for your images.  Then you don’t have to guesstimate the exposure time for your screen.  With a clear sheet, exposure time will be consistent.  If you print on paper you have to think about how heavy the paper is and how much it impedes the light working on the emulsion-ink reaction.
• Play with your image and print it in black and white (to make sure you like how it turned out) before printing it onto the not-as-cheap-as-paper transparency.
• Think about your images; in my case, I deliberately took the photo with only sky behind the treetops to make the photo editing process easier.
• Clean your screens promptly so the paint doesn’t clog the screen permanently.
• There is a learning curve about how much paint is enough but not too much; like most things, it takes a bit of practice and testing the various consistencies of paint
• I’m gonna do more of this!

PS–I am not affiliated with Ginny in any way.  I just really liked the product and process!  I surfed around online and Ginny’s prices seem to be the best out there.  Plus she’s a quilter! While you’re at her site, check out her artwork, here.  Her newest work uses the screens and is amazing (click on the New Work button).

And a last look at all the “circles” postcards:

Spring Moonrise and Spring Eclipse postcards

There has been so much going on, that these photos were taken about a month ago.  But Maine in autumn is so beautiful, and the kids did SO well in cross country, that they deserve a blogpost or two even if it is late!  Paul and I (at my nagging) went for a country drive the morning of the championship meet.

A typical crossroads in rural Maine. Don't blink, you'll miss it.

Rabbit Path Road (dirt). I am not kidding. That's the real name.

Sometimes the trees open up and you get a vista like this one, to the west, with the russet blueberry barrens in the mid-ground

Another byway

And one of the funniest signs I've seen ever. Yes, Mainers DO have a sense of humor!

Across from Cows**t Corner, the typical deteriorating Maine barn (still in use)

We arrived at the Great Salt Bay preserve, where the meet was being held, early, so decided to go for a walk….How glorious can the world be?????

Breathtakingly, achingly beautiful--this former farm is now the Great Salt Bay preserve. Maine is wonderful in protecting its beauty; there are nature preserves everywhere!

As you can tell, a front of crisp and wet air was about to arrive

Looking across the lagoon

From the far side of the lagoon looking back to the old farmhouse and parking

LOOK at those clouds....time to pull out Charlotte Ziebarth's book on digital photo manipulation for art quilters and play with this photo!

Part of the Cross Country race trail, mown for safety (no mole-holes!)

About 3/4 of the way around the loop we walked, looking at the march and old farmstead

Tho not the best year for color, there are still spots of brilliance

Be still my beating heart....autumn is my favorite season!

Next post I’ll actually talk about the race!

Nearly two years ago, someone on one of the lists I’m on posted a link to this video… I am thinking it must have been someone from Australia who had seen this on television there.  Anyway, it is a moving and powerful song, and  having just watched it again felt the need to share.  I hope you enjoy:

Wow….Kathy gave US a major treat for her birthday!  Summers are difficult for the three of us who still come every month (Hannah is overwhelmed with family and her burgeoning business, see her blog here, and Deborah is now in Maryland, which is blissfully closer to Maine than was Texas):  Kathy has lots of family gatherings, Kate and I have kids underfoot.  So we are now skipping meeting in July, but reconvene in August.  The end of August is Kath’s birthday, and she happens to have a deal to use a waterfront cottage down the peninsula south of Damariscotta for a week.  This was a barter for a major quilt she made for a friend…I don’t know who got the better deal!

Here are a whole bunch of photos with captions…enjoy!

The owners found the old whale rib washed up on shore and added it to the front porch

We ate on a small patio off the living area...glorious!

The birthday girl snapped this photo for me (on left) with Kate (on right)

Bundt cake, berries and fresh whipped cream for dessert

the cabin, with the tail of my car on the left--Maine doesn't get any better than this!

sea glass wired to the dining table lamp shade

Lobster buoys that must have washed up, clustered under the pines

Kate’s Delectable Salad

Kathy made peanut-curry soup, I think the recipe is from Mrs. Cutko (kates MIL) --either that or from Kate's mom. It is SO GOOD!

Kate and I have been sidetracked by summer and kids, but Kathy actually had work to share. Here is her floss box..beautiful colors!

And a nearly finished bird of  from Kath:

And I have NO idea why the formatting changed.  I put the text into the same places, but clearly I am missing something!  Oh well…at least you get to share.  What a wonderful place to be:  in Maine, by the sea, with friends who make and love art and cloth and thread!  I am blessed.