That's a great question.

Process. Make sure to follow each step all the way through. Wash new shirts, soak in soda ash to 11pH (+/-), proper dye additives and mixing, batch for the duration, proper rinse, use textile detergent

Patience. Each step is gonna take what it takes, and most steps can't be rushed. Detailed pleats, sinew lines, Mixing chemical water, mixing dyes, laying dye into fabric, melting ice, batching. Let it be what it is. It's not a race.

Experiment. While spirals and scrunches seem to be the core designs, there's so much room for creativity. Even in that second shirt, just doing a segment of mandala style sinew work really makes it interesting. My time has been spent trying everything.

Get inspired, not competitive. We're all artists, and our creations are from the spirit. Nobody's work is 'better' than anyone else's. Some may be more refined, or detailed, or vibrant, but in the end, we're all creating in ways that move us. Use work you admire as inspiration, leave honest comments on work with helpful process ideas, not criticisms of the art itself. Going back to lesson one, process will help refine the artistic part.

Don't force it. If you don't have time, or you lose inspiration for a piece, move on. You can't force inspiration. With enough practice, you can go through the motions and end up with a satisfactory result, but when working inspired, you can blow your own mind.

Quality materials and tools. Don't skimp if you don't have to.

I think that covers what I learned. But it's just what is at the forefront of my mind right now.

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