“They Call me Mellow Yellow”

You can tell i was a child of the 1960s… when the term “Mellow Yellow” comes up I hear that 60s tune “They call me mellow yellow” playing in my head.

OK, enough of the old memories… I am writing this post to announce something exciting to our business, and as an artist, to my art career.  I submitted one piece of hand dyed silk for the Chagrin Valley Arts Center Gallery Show known as “Mellow Yellow”.  The criteria is that the work of art must be yellow.  They have been doing an annual show with a primary color choice.  Last year was Moody Blues, the year before was Reds.

The opening night of the gallery show will be Friday, January 24th from 6-8pm at the CVAC located at 155 Bell Street in Chagrin Falls, Ohio.

So what did i enter? Great question.  I submitted my sunflower scarf, which was created using a technique known as Kumo Shibori.  Kumo Shibori is defined as  a pleated and bound resist. This technique involves pleating sections of the cloth very finely and evenly. Then the cloth is bound in very close sections. The result is a very specific spider-like design.  Shibori is a term used for a family of techniques to dye material… ranging from the hippy tie dye, to intricate designs created by compressing the fabric in a vice before dying.  In each case, the process is the same… controlling how the dye flows onto the silk to create specific patterning.

The Sunflower is a Kumo Shibori on a large scale… involving the folding to create a cone of fabric that will be bound. Here is the layout of how the scarf is bound, and dyed:

And here is the outcome:

And of course this is my accepted entry into the Mellow Yellow Exhibit at Valley ARts Center (155 Bell Street, Chagrin Falls, Ohio) with the grand opening event held on Friday, January 24th from 6-8pm.  Join me if you can and share in the creative experience that is Mellow Yellow – numerous artists in various medium… i have seen a few of the items previewed, and i can hardly wait.