Nutmeg Forest

Well, what to do with all my deconstructive screen printed fabric...so interesting but so busy. It's hard to use pieces together.

I've had this nutmeg colored fabric, created with "nutmeg" mx dye and bronze which work well together.  I often struggle with this part but after fiddling around for a while, I did put this combination together.

The bronze fabric was done using mushrooms, gathered on a morning walk and placed underneath a blank screen and squeegeed with thickened dye. Once dry, the dye was released with print paste mix and printed on fabric. It's a favorite technique of mine because of the element of surprise, but also it's often so busy.

The bottom half of the piece uses a lot of nutmeg and bronze colored dyes. Some of the imagery was created by using discharge paste through a screen with writing (left) -  actually a page from my mother's autograph book from the 1930s and a metal coiled ring used for cleaning brushes.

It really did need more of a focal point so a quick and easy screen I often use is one of a tree. I use my own photography to make the screen. This tree you'll probably recognize as it's been used so often but I love the shape of it and the versatility - you can having it coming in from the right or left side depending on how you flip it. Making a screen with a thermofax, the screen itself is bound with duct tape and flat. I store them in manilla folders. They are easy to flip and use either side to give you a mirror image effect. I also go back and highlight trees with paint to give the branches more "roundness" and dimension.

And the finished piece - "Nutmeg Forest". Still have a pile more of this fabric but I'm making a dent!