Wonder Con 2016

Vuduberi Plush dolls
We have a dealer's table at Wonder Con this year. I hand painted the backdrop this time. It's so hard to paint large scale! I'm not used to it, so I felt that it was slightly crooked in the end, but overall I was happy with it. I thought it'd be nice to be able to get some neon colors into the banner which I couldn't get with normal printing. Plus, hand painted background feels more personal than printed ones to me.
Tada! Wonder Con 2016 Set up. Neon Pink is really bright!
Aww~ Little Kids with Baby Yeti and Baby Sasquatch plushes

I got to meet so many old friends and I also made some new friends too! It's different at Comic Con because it's extremely busy and our corner booth has two giant walls that separates us from our neighbors. It's so much more fun to be able to get to know your neighbors, and they are super talented Visual Development artists by the way. These are my neighbors at Wonder Con ^^. Kristina introduced me to a pastry called Gata and now I'm super addicted to it. :
Kristina Vardazaryan http://www.kristinavart.com/
Jonathan Hoekstra http://jonathanhoekstra.blogspot.com
Casey Robin http://caseyrobin.com/
Jeannine Schafer http://jeannineschafer.blogspot.com/


James is on vacation in Turkey *cough cough*, so I was watching the booth all alone. My friend, Gary, came by to help out on Saturday and Sunday and he was able to go around and take some pictures. I only made it to the small press area. I'm so sad that I didn't get a chance to walk around the Artist Alley. Thank you, Gary, for the pictures!

Of course there were tons of Cosplayers, and they are all amazing. We spotted many cute bags and backpacks too.
Waking Dead Cosplayers.

That's the end of Wonder Con 2016. I will be signing up for next year, and at the moment, I'm trying to see if FSc would like to join me as well *fingers crossed*.
Coraline and Kiki checking out artworks
~ Patara

Shibori Workshop

Look what I made!
I took a Shibori workshop hosted by French Generals Fabric shop. I'm not really all that great when it comes to fabric related things, but I've always wanted to learn more. I've always been quite fond of Indigo color and Shibori just looks so nice. Shibori is a Japanese tie-dye technique using natural dye extracted from plants.  I think it's usually dark blue extracted from Indigo plants, but I've seen variety of other natural colors as well. I also love that it's non-toxic. Despite it being one of those rare rainy days in LA, it was such a wonderful day.

I'm going to put down the process as a reminder to myself in the future.

Material:
Fabrics (natural fiber for dying)
Latex gloves (to keep your hand from getting wet/dye)
Binding materials (Rubberbands, cotton strings, wooden pieces, pingpong balls, corks, etc)
Clamps or clothes pins
1 bucket of water (for presoak)
1 bucket of water (for dye)
Indigo Dye kit (Pre reduced Indigo Dye & Reducing agent )
A wooden stir stick.
Drying Rack (that will be okay if it is stained)
Vinegar
Water

Preperation for the Dye Vat:
a) Add dye and reducing agent.
b) Use the stirring stick and stir clockwise vigorously forming a vortex in the center of the bucket until a mass of bubbles forms there. (maybe 5 min)
c) When you see a mass of bubbles, slowly drag the stick the opposite way along the edge of the bucket making sure not to disturb the bubbles (bloom) at the center
e) Leave the mixture for an hour or overnight.
f) Once the vat is set, remove the bloom in the center with a strainer and it is ready.

Process:
1 - Choose a technique (Kumo, Itajime, Nui), and do it to the fabric you intend to dye.
2 - Soak the materials in the bucket of water for a few minutes. Wring out excess water.
3 - Dip fabric into indigo dye vat and leave it for 3 - 5 minutes (depending on fabric thickness)
4 - Slowly take material out and squeeze the dye back into the bucket.
5 - Put on drying rack and it will look green but will gradually turn blue as it is exposed to oxygen.
6 - Once the fabric is blue, repeat the process (3 -5 times. The more times, the deeper the blue)
7 - When happy with color, Rinse the fabric in water (use the presoak vat again and rinse until the water is clear.
8 - Let the material dry completely.
9 - Set colors by soaking in a mixture of 80% vinegar and 20 % water (overnight)
10 - Wash with blue jeans / dark clothes in a washing machine for final wash. Done!

Dye Kits:
http://www.frenchgeneral.com/products/indigo-dye-kit
http://www.amazon.com/Indigo-Kit-Natural-Clothing-Method/dp/B002E32N4W
http://www.noonbyjanepalmer.com/collections/noonindigo/products/natural-indigo-dye-kit?variant=1265320056
https://botanicalcolors.com/shop/kits/indigo-shibori-kit/

This is interesting info on indigo dyes :)
http://www.maiwa.com/pdf/organic_vat_data.pdf


We also got to learn Sashiko Stitching which was really fun too!
The teacher made this amazing quilt with Sashiko stitching