Happy Bastille Day

I remember the first time I was in the Place de la Bastille: June, 1963. I looked down and realized I was standing within the outlines of where the walls of the Bastille had been. I was 21, just married and just out of college, where I had majored in French. To say I was in awe to be standing in the footprint of la Bastille, was an understatement. There was, in those days, a patisserie that stood at the Place de la Bastille that served the best Café Liégeois I have ever had. That elegant patisserie was no longer there last time I was in Paris and la Place is marred by the Paris Opera House - but it is still one of my favorite neighborhoods - walkable from the Marais and the Beaubourg, where I am always happy. That I did not spend the rest of my life there, tops my list of regrets. I try not to think about it.Instead, I spent today in the studio again. Yesterday I had gotten out the wax pot and played with my two new tjaps and one other I might sell, just to make sure that I won't miss it. Because I was playing, I took a few pieces of nondescript fabric, one of which had been gelatin printed with paint and overdyed. Now, everybody knows that you can't dye on top of paint: paint is a resist.The beige dye had not covered up the paint but I decided I'd go back in with a layer of wax and more dye just to see what would happen. This is what happened. The leaves and ferns had been printed on the gelatin plate with the maroon paint.Then I stamped with wax and painted into the cloth with dye on the obverse side. I like the way it seems to have more dimension. I will continue tomorrow. Past my bedtime.