Water Color Silk Scarves from Christine Seigneuret

Christine Seigneuret is from British Columbia, Canada and paints one-of-a-kind silk scarves. After graduating from art school, Christine wondered if she could combine her love of painting with her enjoyment of craft and thus Seigneuret Artware Inc. was born. Since then, Christine and a handful of dedicated staff have specialized in designing and producing casual clothing, scarves and bags she calls artware. Her products are embellished with hand-painted silk art motifs.

To paint her artware, the silk is stretched on a wooden frame and the design is drawn on with a special pen. A resist is applied over the pen outline. This resist is squeezed on out of a bottle which has been fitted with a special metal nib which regulates the width of the line. The resist is comprised of a waxy but water-soluble substance which, when dry, becomes solid and acts as a barrier and stops the dye from spreading. The painting palette is an ice cube tray which holds all the various colors of dye. Using a watercolor type brush, the dye is painted on the silk. The color is absorbed quickly by the silk. It runs up to the resist outline and stops. Water and other dye colors can by added simultaneously to produce lovely color blending effects

Super Mom Winner

Is your mother a super hero? Does she leap tall buildings in a single bound? Jess McGlothlin thinks her mom is a super mom and her short essay won the Super Mom Stories Contest.

The Pollo Grill and The Purple Pomegranate showed their gratitude for mothers everywhere by sponsoring a Mother’s Day Story Contest. The winning story writer, Jess and her mom each received a brunch from the Pollo Grill and a $50.00 gift certificate from The Purple Pomegranate.

Here is Jess’s winning story:

I truly believe my mom is a super mom. Three years ago, my family opened a public equestrian center. I have watched my mom, who at the beginning knew nothing about horses or running a business, become a competent horsewoman and a very effective and fun, barn manager. She has been run over by horses, bitten, kicked, and just about everything else you can think of, yet she has persevered, and now manages a 25+ horse facility, dealing with all kinds of horses (and people!) every day. Every summer she shows her support as she patiently travels all over the northwest with me to horse shows. While juggling the entire equine business, my mom also started another company. She has written and published a foreign language curriculum. From recording educational CD’s to writing text at two o’clock in the morning, she has remained dedicated to her project all through the arduous process of launching a new company. Throughout it all, my mom has done an incredible job of home schooling two high school children! I don’t have to imagine what it would be like to have a super mom – I have one!

Way to go, Jess!

Raku Fired Ceramic Fish Arrived Today

We now have a school of fish swimming across our wall. The fish are mostly fresh water game fish such as bass, snapper, crappie and blue gill. They are the work of Megan Wright who makes the fish as a tribute to the beauty of Mother Nature. The clay fish starts with a press mold that Megan creates from an actual fish specimen. She then adds parts and manipulates the form, giving them a very life like appearance. Each wall hanging is completely hand crafted by Ms. Wright. Megan says "I have perfected the firing technique over many years and am now able to achieve a wide range of colors that go from very natural looking to very fanciful."

The image shown is a striped bass. These fish make wonderful gifts for nature lovers, cooks and fishermen. The capricious Raku firing technique means that the color of the fish varies and each is one of a kind.