Art: Acrylic Pour Paintings, second round

Any skill worth having takes time to perfect, and that's true of art as much as anything else. We tried pour painting for the first time not that long ago and we were thrilled with the results, especially since we opted to go low-budget with it and use Elmer's glue (less than $11 a gallon) instead of pouring medium (much more money). The first time through we didn't have any lubricant or oils to separate the paints, either, so we had a much smoother blend of colors. This time though we had a small can of WD-40 to use, so use it we did! I used a moderate spritz of it between adding each additional color, and the end result were the differentiated blobs of color drifting among the other shades you see above. I dig it. We still have plenty of paint, glue and WD-40, though canvases are already running out. We got what I thought was quite a generous amount, too, but I can't complain about how much art we've been making. It's been a real breath of fresh air, especially since so much of my 2017 was engulfed by a sales job that stressed me out and ran completely contrary to my character... 

I've never been especially fond of working in sales but considered it a necessary evil in this day and age, but the company I worked for through 2017 went about things in a particularly malicious and predatory way that I found hard to swallow. It obviously works for them as they're making over $100,000 each month off of tourists, but I can't tell you how many times I sold someone a deck of cards only to have them come back a short time later fuming and screaming in my face because they found the exact same item inside the same casino for one-third of the price...of course, the company I worked for doesn't offer refunds, so no amount of abuse from the customer could ameliorate the fact they were out whatever exorbitant amount they'd paid for the item. As someone who spent the better part of the last decade in a field that created product that resulted in consumers laughing at themselves, it was difficult to stand there and see people so upset and know that I was working as an agent of a company that directly preyed upon their naivety to pad their own pockets. That same lack of empathy extends to the employees, too, so don't worry- we weren't getting much better treatment than the customers were. Suffice to say, be wary when you're out and about and be especially cautious of any fast-talking sales people on the Vegas strip who seem over eager to sell you on an item or cut you a deal. Chances are you'll find the same item for a fraction of the cost somewhere else if you keep walking...and if you really want that thing right then and there, then go for it and help that sales person hit their commission for the day, but know that you're paying as much for the experience as you are for the item.

Right here, right now, though? We're here for the pretties. The good stuff, the soul healing happy making dance-inducing pretty things.

Let's art!

Art: Early March tie-dye rinsing

Every rinse reveals something new, as excess dyes wash away in vibrant shades of pink or blue, green or red, gradually revealing the design laying within. Every shirt is different and even though we use the same dyes time and again while they last we often find new tones or dimensions unveiled in different processing times or techniques. Sometimes juxtaposing a shade against another will unveil a whole new aspect and applications to consider.... typically this occurs when we run out of that particular colour, too! Even folding the shirts in the exact same ways isn't necessarily a guarantee that the end result will match the one that inspired it, as the temperature fluctuations of the seasons cause the ice to melt at different speeds and can cause the dye intensity to change a bit as well. Some dyes take better at higher temperatures, or perhaps the higher temperatures will cause more liquid to pool at the bottom of the vessel containing the ice (and shirt) leading to a darker or muddied area. I haven't had any particularly negative results with build up of excess dyes occurring, but it will really depend on the colours being used- if you use certain colour combinations you might end up with an unpleasantly murky shade reminiscent of pond scum. I try to use colours I think will play together well even if over-saturated and so far I've been pretty happy with the results! These ones are a bit more bright and fun, as the warmer weather these days has been making me feel a bit more upbeat and colourful I suppose. Even Antho has been getting a bit more summery with his style as the CD-wrapped shibori shirt he made definitely has some watermelon vibes going on. Of course, for every new shirt we make there's also the requisite time spent rinsing away to get rid of all the excess dyes so that the buyers needn't worry about any bleed out when they go to wear or wash their new tops. We do a preliminary rinse at home to remove any excess dye powder and stop the dye process, then use an industrial detergent to remove any lingering dye before finally rinsing with regular consumer laundry detergent and fabric softener. It might seem like a lot of hassle for a small operation but I'm passionate about ensuring the quality of our shirts and making the process of buying and enjoying as simple and streamlined for the consumers as possible. The photos below are going to focus on the rinsing stage, though, so enjoy!

Until next time!

💜

XOXO,

NAU

Art: Acrylic pour paintings, first try

  

This was a first try for the both of us, so we were a bit nervous initially going into it but we ended up being quite thrilled with the results! We had been watching Youtube videos of various acrylic pour paintings over the months off and on, but after some research we learned of the dirty pour method which involves mixing several colours into a cup before releasing the paints onto the canvas and went with that. There are tons of different techniques and mediums available for achieving this sort of effect so it's really up to you and your imagination what you would do with it! We opted for a basic roygbiv color palette to start and mixed our acrylic paints with regular white glue to thin along with some water. Some painters will use a grease or lubricant (giggity) between layers of paint, or spritz them over the final painting, and this creates more bubbles and layering. It makes sense, if you think about it; acrylic mixes with water and oils and water do not mix, so using an oil-based substance to suspend the paints will create more texture and more bubbles of isolated colour that refuses to melt into the background. 

We, however, did not have any lubes (giggity) this time through, and instead went with just the modified paint. Mixing the paints with the glue and water was probably the most time consuming part, then finding places where we could safely pour the paint without spillage the next. It does take some time for the paintings to dry, though the actual time frame will vary depending on how thick the paints are on the canvas. We quickly learned that if you tilt the canvas too far, and the paints are too thin, much of your colour will go pouring over the side in no time at all! At the right viscosity, there's some more time to angle and adjust to ensure your canvas is covered and your colours have spread and created something you approve of. We only had Youtube videos to go from as far as the desired viscosity, but we were quite pleased with the results we had. Even though we used the same colours, each painting was completely different from the last! We're definitely excited to keep experimenting with this technique, and you can expect some more posts on the matter to come!

Art: Ice dye from early March

Perpetually working through a backlog of shirts, we still can't help but keep creating when the impulse strikes. We've actually worked our way through an entire box of shirts, over 70 (!) blank tees have now been dyed and rinsed, ready to be sorted and added to our shop in a weird sort of shirt purgatory for the time being. I'm still aiming to triple our inventory but it's proving more challenging than originally anticipated- not only is there the backend making process for the shirts themselves, but then we need to wash, photograph, wash again, process the photos then list...and in that time we're still selling away, dropping the base inventory number again and again. This, of course, isn't the worst thing- I want the shirts to sell! I'm happy to see them go to good homes! But a small part of me is a little stitious about our inventory...not superstitious, you know, just a little-stitious...  I strive to keep our shop above 200 items; it's a good round number and seems to keep our visibility up, but we quickly sell below that number at our current state...again, this is not a bad thing, just means I have to fight that much harder to try to get ahead of the curve and list more items! With the recent shop update I got us back over 200 items, but it took over 10 new shirts going live to get there again. We have at least 30 if not 40 more shirts to photograph yet before we can get them live on the shop, and by the time I've processed all those we might be back under again. It's a bit of an uphill climb, I suppose, but this is one I'm extremely passionate and enthusiastic about so the struggle isn't that bad. The more shirts we make and post, the more we're able to sell, and the better for everyone! The more we sell, the more we can invest into our business and the more shirts we can make and share with everyone. We're still working on expanding our options further through the various sizes, because we want ALL of our fans to be able to wear the colourful gear they deserve regardless of their size. This has been a time consuming process but we're happy to keep sharing it with you if you're interested! We enjoy the process along with the results~

More photos below!

Vegas: China Lights Las Vegas 2018 part three

 This post marks the third in the China Lights Las Vegas festival series from 2018 that I'll be sharing. The previous two day's posts had the rest of the photos, but I split it into thirds to make it less overwhelming. There were so many beautiful lanterns and designs to take in and explore throughout the park grounds that I ended up with over 300 photos from the evening's stroll. Not all of them will be posted, but I do hope that you enjoy these photos that made the cut. Overall we really enjoyed our time at the event, despite the live performances being cancelled due to inclement weather, there was still plenty for us to see. It was rather cold and the longer we walked around the more we could feel the chill seeping into us, so towards the end we found ourselves perhaps lingering a little less on the displays, which also meant that the photos I captured would be all the more important towards preserving the memories. We would definitely recommend checking it out next year we the event returns for the 2019 Chinese New Year!

The seasonal event is put on by the Tianyu Arts & Culture Inc and carries on a tradition that has been established in Chinese culture for roughly 2,000 years. That's right, two THOUSAND years! For as long as we've been counting forwards on the common calendar (as opposed to BCE) the new year has been celebrated with the illuminations of many brightly coloured lanterns brightening the dark sky.  Absolutely stunning designs proliferated throughout the park and we had a great evening. We made it to one of their last nights open, but if you go on opening night it's the official New Year's celebration and they pull out all the stops! Totally worth going if you happen to be in the area at the right time of year... though, to be fair, any area with a large enough Chinese population is likely going to have it's own celebrations, so keep an eye out in your area for something similar! We definitely recommend checking it out. 

More photos below!