Wishi Washi Studio

Aqua Lab, No. 47, nine lakes.

What I’ve been doing this summer.

The blue and green colors you see are underwater photos taken in my open water swim adventures from nine different lakes in the Sierra Nevada Foothills. The colors in the small squares are painted with earth pigments gathered from their shores. The earth pigments are also in the bottles.

I’m finding there is a correlation between the color of the water and the earth pigment surrounding it and this is a presentation of that data. This work also represents miles of driving mountain roads, swimming, paddling, and scrambling up the banks to gather the pigment. I see the colors of my adventures here but there are also lots of memories that go along with them including the company of those that come with me on my adventures who put up with my detours when I see a color I need to get to, the feel and personality of each lake, and the interesting shoreline, birds, and other flora and fauna.

Transferred underwater photos on old European linen. Earth pigments painted on European linen. Hand painted thread. Accordion book.

Mr. Jones and I are in the exhibit “Ties That Bind” at mkcontemporary.art in Santa Cruz, featuring artist with connections. Opening reception is this coming Saturday from 4-6. See you there!

After teaching mostly zoom workshops this summer I’ve got a number of in-person workshops coming up and here’s a round-up (direct links in link in bio):

Printing and Stitching on Textiles - I’m teaching this next week at Art and Soul (Portland, OR) and in September at ASIF: Artists' Studio in the Foothills (Grass Valley, CA)

Also at Art & Soul: Mending as Utility and Embellishment, Stitched Photo Collage, and Embroidered Wrist Cuff - next week!

Mending Sampler Needle Book at San Francisco Center for the Book on October 5th

The Studio Coat! At Botanical Colors in Seattle, October 31-November 3rd.

It’s been so nice staying put this summer and teaching via zoom so that I can swim in lakes and further my Aqualab research but I’m really looking forward to seeing you all in-person! Here’s a link to my blog page that lists upcoming workshops:

https://wishiwashistudio.blogspot.com/p/blog-page_22.html?m=1

Sunday visit Interview with me over on Botanical Colors blog.

Sunday Visit: The Storytellers Studio Coat with Jody Alexander - Botanical Colors For Sunday Visit, Botanical Colors sits down for an interview with a luminary in the natural dye, textile and art world. This week we visit with the inimitable Jody Alexander who has an upcoming workshop with us! Grab a cup of tea and settle in to learn about someone you never knew! Catch up on all....

Just released! The Studio “Storyteller” Coat workshop Botanical Colors in Seattle. October 31st - November 3. This is a very special workshop that Kathy Hattori and I have designed to be an experience in the studio and beyond the studio. We will visit the Seattle Asian Art Museum to view examples of Japanese Noragi coats, and we will also visit the Kyoto Art and Antiques Event that only pops up twice yearly in Seattle. There is also a great little Japanese market near the studio - we can pretend that we are in Japan! In the studio we will hand stitch the studio coat using fabric specially dyed by Botanical Colors for the workshop. You will also have the opportunity to try your hand at dyeing fabrics that can be added to the coat. I will guide you through designing, cutting, and printing stencils on your fabric to make your coat unique to you and that will reflect your experience in Seattle and at Botanical Colors. While the coat is hand stitch, and you should be comfortable with that, this workshop embraces imperfection and your stitches do not need to be neat and tidy. This coat will tell your story, and can be added onto for years to come as it travels with you, lives with you, and changes with you. I hope you will join us! More information here:

https://botanicalcolors.com/shop/workshops/the-studio-coat-indigo-dyed-and-hand-stitched/

In-person workshop in Portland, Oregon this coming August at Art & Soul Retreat! I’ll be teaching four workshops: Print and Stitch; Embroidered Wrist Cuff; Mending as Utility and Embellishment; and Stitched Photo Collage. You can take one or all of them and there are other great instructors there too. My workshops run from August 13-15. Hope to see some of you there! More info:

https://www.artandsoulretreat.com/retreat-pdx24fall-artists.php

The Art of the Mend: Textile Mending Techniques and Surface Design. Four-part Zoom workshop. Starting this Saturday. We will take a deep dive into textile art surface design that will include mending techniques as design and also stencil printing and transfer techniques, bookmaking, and garment embellishment! No experience necessary. We have a great group already. Hope you’ll join us.

June 29th - July 20th. Saturdays. It will be recorded and available after each class and for a month after the end of the class. There is a private Facebook group where we can share and ask questions during the week.

More information here:

https://jodyalexander.bigcartel.com/product/the-art-of-the-mend-textile-mending-techniques-and-surface-design

4-part zoom workshop: The Art of the Mend: Textile Mending Techniques and Surface Design. Coming up! Some very talented artists have signed up - it’s going to be a great group that will take a deep dive into textile art surface design that will include mending techniques as design and also stencil printing and transfer techniques, bookmaking, and garment embellishment! Hope you’ll join us.

June 29th - July 20th. Saturdays. It will be recorded and available after each class and for a month after the end of the class. There is a private Facebook group where we can share and ask questions during the week.

More info and registration here:

https://jodyalexander.bigcartel.com/product/the-art-of-the-mend-textile-mending-techniques-and-surface-design

“to girl and flowers” is in the exhibit “Misfits” at The Center for the Arts Granucci Gallery in Grass Valley. Opening reception is this coming Saturday, June 15th from 3-5. The exhibit runs through July 27th.

The premise of the exhibit is for artists to show work that doesn’t quite fit with other art they’ve made. I created this piece for an exhibit called “my mother thinks I’m a great artist” curated by Janet Fine a number of years ago. We were asked to respond to an art piece made during our childhood. I choose a drawing I made in second grade of two girls with hats and flowers and a sun and featured some groovy Spirograph action. While I love this piece and it was super fun to make it doesn’t fit with the series’ I’ve made so it has remained in storage. This is a fun way to get it out! Hope you’ll stop by if you’re in the area.

Stitching and transfers on a mended and deconstructed old European night shirt.

And…poof…just like that…Aqua Lab Project is gone!

Thank you Minnow Arts for hosting me, and trusting me, and letting me write and draw on the walls!

And, thank you to everyone who visited, and looked, and listened, and appreciated its watery ways!

Looking forward to exploring more bodies of water, documenting colors and data, and most of all swimming and chasing that third thing.

Last day to seeeeeee Aqua Lab: In Search of the Third Thing!

Minnow Arts
204 Locust Street, Santa Cruz.

Open 2-6 today. My talk is at 3:00.

Seeeeeee you there…

Happy World Oceans Day from Santa Cruz California to Sydney Australia (first and second pic respectively) and beyond!!! Taken with my little funky underwater camera used to take most the photos in Aqua Lab: In Search of the Third Thing.

Perfect day to visit Aqua Lab at Minnow Arts (204 Locust, Santa Cruz). Open today and tomorrow from 2-6. I’ll be there 2-4 today and tomorrow and will be giving an informal talk about the project tomorrow/Sunday at 3:00. Go jump in the ocean or walk near it and dip your toes in and then float on by!

Aqua Lab: In Search of the Third Thing. First Friday reception tonight. I suppose it’s technically the “closing reception” but I still feel like it’s fresh and I hope you come by and see it and say “hi”!!!

Minnow Arts, 204 Locust, Santa Cruz.

I will be there tonight from 5:00-8:30. And, from 2-4 on Saturday and Sunday (gallery is open until 6:00). And, I will be giving an informal talk from 3-4:00 on Sunday.

Hope to see you there!!!

Last weekend of “Aqua Lab: In Search of the Third Thing” at Minnow Arts, 204 Locust, Santa Cruz!!!

I will be there Friday evening from 5:00-8:30. And, from 2-4 on Saturday and Sunday (gallery is open until 6:00). And, I will be giving an informal talk from 3-4:00 on Sunday.

Hope to see you there!!!

Aqua Lab: In Search of the Third Thing will be open this weekend from 2:00-6:00 Saturday and Sunday Minnow Arts, 204 Locust Street, in Santa Cruz. Hope you’ll stop by.

Next weekend is the final weekend with a First Friday reception on June 7th. Then the gallery will be open 2-6 on June 8th and 9th. I’ll be in the gallery from 2-4 on both of those days and will give an informal talk on Sunday June 9th from 3-4:00. See ya!

The Art of the Mend - four part Zoom workshop - June 29-July 20.

We will explore mending as surface design as well other techniques that create rich and layered textiles such as fabric painting and stencil printing.

Classes are recorded and we will have a private Facebook group to connect during the week in between classes. More information here:

https://jodyalexander.bigcartel.com/product/the-art-of-the-mend-textile-mending-techniques-and-surface-design

New Zoom Workshop! The Art of the Mend: Textile Mending Techniques and Surface Design. June 19th - July 20th.

In this four part in-depth zoom workshop we will explore the art of mending and the many ways it can be incorporated into your projects. I will share mended textiles from my personal collection, demonstrate a number of mending techniques, we’ll make a sampler book, work on clothing, experiment with paper with these techniques, and augment our work with surface design including fabric wash painting and stencil printing. It will all come together in a piece that is personal to you whether that be a book, garment, art piece or object. I’m going to pack a lot of information into this workshop! There will be a private Facebook group where we can check in and share with each other during the week. The workshops will be recorded and available for a month after the last date. More information under the link in my bio. Let me know if you have questions! Hope you’ll join. Here’s the link:

The Art of the Mend: Textile Mending Techniques and Surface Design Four - 2 hour Zoom workshops 1:00 - 3:00 Pacific time 6/29, 7/6, 7/13, 7/20, 2024 $199 USD Mending is a sign of use, care, and the need for...

Thank you to everyone who came out to see Aqua Lab Project Friday night and this weekend. I loved visiting and sharing the project with all of you! If you missed it or want to revisit: Minnow Arts gallery is open Saturdays and Sundays from 2-6 or by appointment. We will have another First Friday event on June 7th, and then I will be giving a talk on June 9th from 3-4:00. June 9th will be the last day of the exhibit. Minnow Arts, 204 Locust, Santa Cruz.

The storm has cleared and it’s a beautiful day to get out and about in Santa Cruz. I’ll be at Minnow Arts (204 Locust) from 2-4 today (they are open 2-6). And, other galleries that have great shows nearby are Felix Kulpa and mkcontemporary.art and fab bookstore Badanimalbooks is just around the corner. There. I’ve planned your afternoon. Hope to see you at Aqua Lab!

Thank you to everyone who came out to see Aqua Lab Project last night! So many people - so much talking. - so good. I’ll be in the gallery from 2-4 today and tomorrow. Perfect rainy weather today to swim on by…

Minnow Arts, 204 Locust, Santa Cruz, CA. Gallery hours are Saturday and Sunday 2-6.

Suit up!

Aqua Lab Project tonight at Minnow Arts. 204 Locust, SC. 5-8:30.

I start installing my Aqua Lab: Project sooooon!

Aqua Lab: In Search of the Third Thing runs from May 3rd - June 9th, 2024 Minnow Arts in Santa Cruz (204 Locust). There will be an opening reception from 5:00-8:30 on First Friday, May 3rd, as well as a closing reception on First Friday, June 7th. I will also give an informal talk from 3-4:00 on Sunday, June 9th.

Since First Friday is often crowded and it’s sometimes hard to talk and see the work, I will be in the gallery from 2-4:00 on the Saturdays and Sundays following the opening and closing receptions: May 4th and 5th, and June 8th and 9th.

DH Lawrence wrote:
Water is H2O, hydrogen two parts, oxygen one,
but there is also a third thing, that makes it water
and nobody knows what that is…

Aqua Lab is an attempt to define that “third thing” through open water swimming and the collection of data including: swim dates, water and air temperature, latitude, longitude and elevation of swims, the collection of earth pigment from the shoreline of lakes, recording swim routes, and photographing the color of the water. All of these elements will come together in the gallery with a watery and swimmerly installation. I hope you’ll float by…

One of the things that I love about my Aqua Lab project is that I’m not just sitting in my studio thinking and making (which I love to do) but I’m also making this work with my whole body and it’s experiences. From planning our next swim, and driving the mountain roads, to joining up with my swim buddies and planning our swim route and finally jumping in and experiencing the different waters, temperature, colors, light, winds and currents. While color is a big part of this project I also love the shapes and patterns that my body is making while I record my swim routes with my Garmin watch. In many of the pieces I’m bringing together those shapes and colors with the data I collect: date, water and air temperature, longitude and latitude.

The exhibit runs from May 3rd - June 9th, 2024 at Minnow Arts in Santa Cruz (204 Locust Street). There will be an opening reception from 5:00-8:30 on First Friday, May 3rd, as well as a closing reception on First Friday, June 7th. I will also give an informal talk from 3-4:00 on Sunday, June 9th.

Since First Friday is often crowded and it’s sometimes hard to talk and see the work, I will be in the gallery from 2-4:00 on the Saturdays and Sundays following the opening and closing receptions: May 4th and 5th, and June 8th and 9th.

DH Lawrence wrote:
Water is H2O, hydrogen two parts, oxygen one,
but there is also a third thing, that makes it water
and nobody knows what that is…

Aqua Lab is an attempt to define that “third thing” through open water swimming and the collection of data including: swim dates, water and air temperature, latitude, longitude and elevation of swims, the collection of earth pigment from the shoreline of lakes, recording swim routes, and photographing the color of the water. All of these elements will come together in the gallery with a watery and swimmerly installation. I hope you’ll float by…

About a year ago I got a very small underwater camera that I could take with me on my open water swims to document the color of the water that I was seeing. This piece documents the colors from eleven lakes I swam in last year. Underwater photos transferred onto old European linen and hand-stitched together. It will be part of my Aqua Lab exhibit Minnow Arts in May.

The exhibit runs from May 3rd - June 9th, 2024. There will be an opening reception from 5:00-8:30 on First Friday, May 3rd, as well as a closing reception on First Friday, June 7th. I will also give an informal talk from 3-4:00 on Sunday, June 9th.

Since First Friday is often crowded and it’s sometimes hard to talk and see the work, I will be in the gallery from 2-4:00 on the Saturdays and Sundays following the opening and closing receptions: May 4th and 5th, and June 8th and 9th.

DH Lawrence wrote:
Water is H2O, hydrogen two parts, oxygen one,
but there is also a third thing, that makes it water
and nobody knows what that is…

Aqua Lab is an attempt to define that “third thing” through open water swimming and the collection of data including: swim dates, water and air temperature, latitude, longitude and elevation of swims, the collection of earth pigment from the shoreline of lakes, recording swim routes, and photographing the color of the water. All of these elements will come together in the gallery with a watery and swimmerly installation. I hope you’ll float by…

Save the date!

Please join me a Minnow Arts in Santa Cruz, CA for my solo exhibit: Aqua Lab: in Search of the Third Thing.

The exhibit runs from May 3rd - June 9th, 2024. There will be an opening reception from 5:00-8:30 on First Friday, May 3rd, as well as a closing reception on First Friday, June 7th. I will also give an informal talk from 3-4:00 on Sunday, June 9th.

Since First Friday is often crowded and it’s sometimes hard to talk and see the work, I will be in the gallery from 2-4:00 on the Saturdays and Sundays following the opening and closing receptions: May 4th and 5th, and June 8th and 9th.

DH Lawrence wrote:
Water is H2O, hydrogen two parts, oxygen one,
but there is also a third thing, that makes it water
and nobody knows what that is…

Aqua Lab is an attempt to define that “third thing” through open water swimming and the collection of data including: swim dates, water and air temperature, latitude, longitude and elevation of swims, the collection of earth pigment from the shoreline of lakes, recording swim routes, and photographing the color of the water. All of these elements will come together in the gallery with a watery and swimmerly installation. I hope you’ll float by…

Still a few spaces left in my upcoming Stencil Printing for Textiles at Hello Stitch Studio, April 7th, in-person:

IN PERSON: Stencil Printing for Textiles with Jody Alexander | hello-stitch Learn how to incorporate your own imagery into your fiber arts projects. Create your own stencils and print on fabric to make a nine square piece, or you can keep each square individual and make them into coasters or table-top squares. This class will be held at Bay Quilts

The artist talk at mkcontemporary.art has been moved to a later date. I had mentioned that it was going to be tomorrow and just want to correct that here. Apparently there is some kind of super-something tomorrow. 🤷‍♀️

Detail of •what it was, no. 29•

This piece is made up of cyanotypes I created from photos, textiles and other items gathered during my adventures in Japan. The exhibit includes other Rydell fellows from 2006-2021, so needless to say I’m in amazing company. The current Rydell fellows are in an exhibit at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History, right down the street.

• what it is, no. 6 (Black Swan) •

This piece will be part of the Wild & Scenic Film Festival art exhibit that takes place in a number of venues around the towns of Grass Valley and Nevada City, CA. I just installed it at Lucchesi Vineyards & Winery Tasting Room on Mill Street in Grass Valley. The film festival will take place from February 15 - 19, 2024. The art opening is on February 15th at The Center for the Arts in Grass Valley.

Toned cyanotypes on antique linen. Hand stitched. 2022.

Imagery from the Black Swan Preserve that is an old hydraulic mining site. Such a beautiful place but I always sense sadness while I’m there. The mountain has been partially washed away from the hydraulic canons leaving what looks like a cross section of the hill. You can climb up top but there is a warning sign to not get close to the edge - it is not stable - that’s the falling man in the upper left corner - hoisted on his own petard! Dead trees emerge from the water, an old rusted and beautifully riveted pipe lays partially buried, an “x” almost always appears in the sky when I’m there (from a near by air force base). And, the wildflowers that seem to always reappear unscathed reminding us of nature’s delicate persistence and strength. A landscape of contradictions…

Interview with me over on Botanical Colors blog:

For this week's Sunday Visit, we catch up with California-based mixed media artist Jody Alexander.
Jody is a mixed media artist who lives and works in Santa Cruz and Penn Valley, California. She combines textiles, paper, found items and imagery to create books, objects, wall pieces, garments, and installations. Her current work is inspired by the art of repair, reuse, imagery and stories encountered in her travels and everyday.
Visit with her here: https://botanicalcolors.com/sunday-visit-california-dreaming-with-jody-alexander/

We're ALSO so excited that Jody will also be our LAST Botanical Colors class of this year BUT the first in our new studio space. Yes, we'll be teaching in real life alongside Jody on November 4th and 5th in Seattle so save the date for a Stitch, Patch, Dye: Bag Making Workshop With Jody Alexander & Kathy Hattori.

Next up for me is traveling to and teaching in Australia! I will be teaching at Fibre Arts Australia mid-September. That week long workshop is full but I will be teaching a 1/2 day workshop “Made by Me Workshop” in Sydney on September 10th and fabric designer Cath Derksema will be on hand to provide beautiful fabrics for the workshop. There is space in that workshop and there is a direct link below. Hoping to meet some of you there!…

https://madebymeworkshop.com/products/make-a-mending-sampler-needle-book-workshop