japan

still on my mind  and working on it.  heat shaped laminated plastics, stitching and painting.  digitally printed piece of poly organza with some stitching.
want to see if i can portray angst.


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ai painting tutorial

 what to do with the precious remains of a vat?the frugal dyer  tried grinding the pigment and using it and came up with a simple method.

here we go:

• discard the liquid taking care not to upset the sediment
• dry the sediment in the sun until cakey
• grind it  to a fine powder using a mortar and pestle or a dedicated food processor
•  make soy milk using about 50 beans
• sieve the milk, you don't want any particles
• add the milk to the powdered pigment

• paint it to fabric pre treated with soy milk
• you can use stencils, leaves or any other object
• you can also use to create color washes and shadings

if the pigment is too liquid for stenciling or stamping:

• mix unflavored gelatin  or agar-agar in hot water and let it gel
• add it to the liquid color

 soy milk is the traditional binder for color pigments. i would suggest curing the fabrics for at least a month and then rinsing. expect some color loss, but nothing dramatic. if using the fabric for an art piece there's no need to rinse. 

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summer means horchata

horchata, which is original from valencia, is the traditional summer beverage in spain. looking like milk it is indeed the milk from chufas or tigernuts. a very refreshing nutritious beverage so in  indulging you're killing two birds with one shot , no junk soda or empty calories here. the recipe slightly varies with every place so no two drinks  taste the same.

there is also a social component to it because people meet in the places which sell it, called horchaterias, for a glass and a chat. and usually a cake or pastry goes with it too. it is the social institution called la merienda, a late afternoon snack that serves as an excuse for  meeting friends and chatting about the day.

horchaterias are usually decorated with tiles and have marble tables which give them a clean and homey atmosphere. some of them like the santa catalina  in valencia have been going for two hundred years and  are proud keepers of  their old fashioned flair.

with globalization filling the corners of the world with starbucks,horchaterias are charming bastions full of personality enticing people with their popular drink.

 if you come across some tigernuts here's a recipe and some interesting trivia.




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