Hello and welcome to my page. 2009 has come and almost gone, hard to believe. I had fun creating many new designs this year with all of the custom orders that came my way from the Salem Saturday Market, MySpace, friends, family and all of the others who found me through this site. Thank-you all for allowing me to have so much fun creating your wishes with liquid color.

I look forward to a great New Year in 2010, as always my mind is full of new ideas that I somehow must put on fabric for all to see. As always I welcome input for any design you would like for me to create for you or a friend.

Below are some of my favorites dyes from this year.

Thank-you for viewing my page, subscribe to keep updated to my latest work. See you in 2010.

Peace ~ Carl

I have a page listing the Holiday Shows I will be attending this year, check it out and come do some shopping.

Each event I will be attending will have many other artists from all over the area with their hand made goods.

Saturday, Nov 7th 9:00am - 4:00pm Cascade High School 8th Annual Craft Show 10226 Marion Rd S.E., Turner, OR

Helping to Support Doernbecher Children's Hospital and Cascade High School DECA Chapter

I will also be at the Churchmouse Bazaar both sets of dates, Straub Sustainable Holiday Market, Town & Country Bazaar and the Salem Saturday Market Holiday Show.

Please check link to the left for show dates and locations.

Comment with any questions you have. Place a custom order and let me know which show you would like to pick it up at. Thanks.

Peace ~ Carl

I started doing tie-dye nine years ago and thought eventually I would move onto other things like batik. As I continue to experiment with different methods of tie-dye and there seems to be never ending patterns and techniques to create with.

One process I played with years ago seems to keep coming back around because so many people love the results I get using this method. I have described the unique shirts in many ways over the years, today I call them Random Dyes.

How do I create a Random Dye? Hhmmm.... well I see my creations as children and the results I get will depend on how much guidance I provide them with. Some dyes I give lots of attention to and others not so much.

A rainbow spiral, for example, will receive a moderate amount of my focus.

I make sure she does her homework everyday, we talk about colleges she may attend, and what she wants to be when she grows up, and then I turn her loose to make choices. I have pretty good control over how this shirt is going to turn out, but there are some pleasant surprises when I open it for washing.

A Jerry Bear on the other hand receives all of my attention from day one.

I am standing next to the Doctor when he is born, name has been picked out before conception, I am holding his hand in school, doing his homework for him. I lay out a plan for colleges he will attend to get the job I have picked out. I have almost total control on how this will turn out except for the one time he got drunk in college(dang it... kids what can you do).

Now a Random Dye....LOL.... This one I have very little to do with, she is the flower child of the 60's.

I let her make all of her own choices and supporting her with love and hugs..... Looking to the heavens we see clouds by day and stars by night as we dream about the future and laugh. I have very little control on this one, but I love the unique colors of these shirts and will continue to make them. If you like earth tones or muted colors, you will love the mature look of my Random Dyes.

If you wish to have a Random Dye of your own, my first recommendation is to check out the ones I have created in your size to see if 'it' is there. If you do not see 'your' shirt let me know of your interest in owning a Random Dye, give me some colors you like and then wait for that magical time when it appears.

When you spot 'your' shirt, I highly recommend buying it as it may be perfect for more than one person at a time. I have seen many sad faces of people who found 'the shirt' and figured they would come back later only to have it be gone.

One woman in particular stands out, she loved a shirt and did not buy it. Within ten minutes of leaving my booth at the Salem Saturday Market, another woman loved the same shirt and bought it. The first woman, who was coming back to buy her shirt, passed by the second woman fifty feet from my booth as she walked away with her purchase.

I happen to be very lucky....... I am first to see all of the beautiful shirts and I have picked a number of Random Dyes for myself, over the years, before anyone else was able to view them...LOL.... It is good to be the artist.

Thank-you for reading my blog and good luck in your search for just the right shirt, even if you do not know you are looking for it.

Peace ~ Carl

I love to create with tie-dye and feel that some how everyone of my creations will find a home. This morning I remembered something that made this point very clear.

I first started doing tie-dye nine years ago, as an artist I wanted to express myself by creating new patterns and designs. One day I was experimenting with new folds and colors and made a few shirts. The next day during washout I opened a shirt that went astray, I am not sure what I did but I hoped not to do it again. I set it aside thinking I could fix it somehow. LOL .... what a dreamer I was.

Upon opening it after the second tie and dye session I realized I should have stopped while I was ahead. I could not even imagine how I created what was later to become known as 'The Dog'.

Not wanting to waste a shirt back in the early days I put a price tag on him and put him out on the rack. Over the next couple of years many people looked at the dog, briefly, and put him back. All of the other shirts I had created before him and many after him had come and gone from the rack yet he remained, my constant companion.

A few years later I found myself wholesaling shirts to 'Gotta Go Embroidery' in Walla Walla, WA. They would pick through my stock looking for shirts they could put their designs on, and then order other designs for special orders. Even at wholesale prices the dog stayed with me, going on four years(that's 28 in dog years).

One normal seeming day, I set up my booth at a market and opened for business. Many people came and went, some taking a shirt with them. Then it happened, I had a person come into my booth and pull out 'the dog' and to my surprise did not immediately put him back on the rack.

I had seen this move before, pull out several shirts and then pick a favorite to buy. 'The Dog' had never participated in this ritual, I tried to hide my surprise. This person held up the dog in one hand and a beautiful shirt in the other, I felt I could not breath for a moment. Then it happened, with a smile and wave 'the dog' had a new home.

Why you ask did I keep the dog around for so long? I am not sure really, maybe it was to prove to myself that everything we create in this world has a purpose.

The lesson I learned from 'the dog' is to be less judgmental of what I create and of what I see around me. So, I now know that even if I do not like a shirt, someone will love it, although if I get an intuitive nudge I will 'fix' a shirt now and then.

Peace ~ Carl

As an Artist, I continue to challenge myself to create new and interesting designs. Also I invite others to throw down the gaunlet with a custom order.

One of my MySpace friends did just that a short time back. She wanted a Daisy, a couple soccer balls and then my specialty... a few peace sign t-shirts.

I had to think about the ties for a few days before I started. When I was ready I tied and dyed them. Peace Signs came out wonderful, but the other shirts ... not so much.

I think I am a bit spoiled having had so many shirts come out just how I wanted them the first time, or at least pretty good.

Anyways, after I let my brain wander for a few more days, I was ready to complete these shirts....I tied and dyed bits of them again and had fantastic results. Here is the whole batch I sent out to the very happy customer this morning ~

"Find your passion, follow it and abundance will find you"

"Never give up, no one is perfect, we all just need to try again at times"

Peace ~ Carl