Fiber Junkies - Printing and Deconstructive

Fiber Junkies met last week at Vals house where we love to utilize the space in her garage. She goes to a lot of trouble getting everything set up for us. We have our own big table and for today, our own print paste, squeegee etc. for deconstructive screen printing. We are such creatures of habit...we all go to the same table each time as if our names were etched on them - must have something to do with our comfort zone.

Denny brought this wonderful tree, leftover Halloween decoration and nice and flat so perfect for this technique.

As I know I've mentioned before, we work with blank silk screens, laying fairly flat objects (no more than 1/4 inch thick) underneath the screen. We then squeegee thickened dye over the top which finds its way into all the nooks and crannies taking on the shape of the objects underneath.

After it dries, we then lay the screen on top of white fabric treated with soda ash and using a clear print paste mixture, squeegee over it to release the dyes onto the fabric. You can see the tree above, dried and ready to go.

There are so many fun things to use underneath, you take on a new perspective while walking through life. I was throwing out the plastic container for some cookies I bought and the bottom...WELL...it was wonderful. I quickly washed it and stored it away for our next session. You can see some of the fun things that kate used like rick rack and in the upper corner, the black grating is the bottom of a flat of plants.

Kate had some good success with her printing....

as did Denny.

Val was using the color Nutmeg and I really like her print.

Mary was doing some direct printing on fabric using the thickened dye.

During lunch, we had our Show and Tell - above is a piece Val made called "Green with Envy". Well, I should say everything Val touches turns to "wonderful".  Here she has combined the deconstructive along with one of her burned silk screens.

Kate is finishing up some small pieces to have as backups for our ongoing show at the NC Arboretum in Asheville. The show will be going on thru the middle of July. As pieces sell, we are happy to have the opportunity to go and replace them.

Mary showed us the cutest growth chart she made for her newest grandchild - adorable.

And Kate, a more traditional piece for the Arboretum show.

And Mary's piece - also for the arboretum. She made this from fabric she created through several surface design techniques. I wish I had a better picture, it is so much prettier in person but you can see it at the arboretum!
Til Next Time.....

The Results

Last week, we met at Vals for our Fiber Junkies and worked on deconstructive screen printing. This time we added the use of discharge paste. Ordinarily, you would place objects under a screen, and screen over them with a thickened dye, let it dry and release the dye onto fabric using a print paste mix. With this variation, you place objects under a screen and screen over them with a clear print paste mix. When dry, you release the print paste mix onto the fabric (adding no color) but using the discharge paste. When dry, iron the fabric in good ventilation to see the areas that have been discharged.

 It's an interesting variation but the discharge paste does get watered down due to the print paste mix; the effects are not as dramatic as when you just discharge with paste.

 It is something I've wanted to try and I'm glad I did, although I'm not sure I would do this variation again.

 Here are some of my other pieces. I was glad I stuck to my guns and only worked with a few colors as now I have a small little stash of fabric that will work together.

 Think I used some blue gray, blue greens, sea foam and something called Stormy Sky.

 Stormy Sky is the dark one which I really like and will provide a nice contrast to the other fabrics.

 My least favorite is the seafoam green which is also a discontinued color and I've used the last of it. Maybe I should name a future piece made with this "Goodbye to Seafoam"...

I definitely prefer the grayed tones.
Til next time...

Finishing Up

In the fiber group I'm in -  Fiber Junkies, we love doing deconstructive screen printing, especially in the warm weather when we can work outside. This summer we met at Vals - our "official" gathering place for this technique as she has such a great space. I always bring a number of blank screens and often don't get around to printing them. 

 Like this one....it was left in the garage when I unpacked the car and I just came across it the other day.

 The wonderful thing about this technique is that you can leave a screen with dried dye on it indefinitely.

 and it prints when you are ready to. I had forgotten the colors I used so it was a nice surprise when I started pulling the squeegee.

 I printed around 6 pieces.

Now the challenge of figuring what to do with them.
I've been in a funk since I've been home from Ireland, not able to get back in my studio with so much catch up to do in other areas. I also want to do a series of quilts using some of the pictures I took but I need to edit them first. Anyway, doing some no-brainers, simple things is good for me right now and easing me back into my art.

The Results

I finally got to washing and ironing my deconstructive fabric from last week. That's always the most fun part. With this process, you never know what you'll get. I used silk, mercerized cotton and hand dyes that needed a facelift.

This was my mercerized cotton using nutmeg and a pearl gray, a nice combination. It does show off the patterning in it.

I thought I was onto something, being able to use up my unsuccessful hand dyes. On left is a green fabric and it doesn't show off the printing as well, so it was worth a try but I think working with white is best. On right is a piece of silk, a little pale but will make a nice backdrop for something.

This was another piece of silk

Silk (left) and cotton (right)...think I like the cotton.

This was an odd piece of silk I had and was experimenting with a leaf image transfer, just threw it in the mix. Now I'm hoping I can incorporate that leaf into it somehow - a nice pop of color.

The one on the left was cotton, my other favorite is the silk organza on the right. I tried to work with the same colors so I would have enough pieces to do something with.
Today my little Audrey comes for a week.  My granddaughter is 23 months old. I look at the pictures of her as a newborn and hard to believe we've had her for 2 years. We're all set with a kiddy pool, a gallon of bubble stuff, wands, shovels, books, Pirates Booty (a cheese snack, never heard of that one). It does bring back memories.
Til next time...Judy

Fiber Junkies Day

It's that time again - when the warm weather comes and we can move our play days outside. Our deconstructive screenprinting is always part of our summer agenda. We met at Vals who has a wonderful working space. She has everything ready to go for us - tables covered, print paste mixed and an order of sunshine!

We bring lots of "stuff' to lay under the screens, usually spread all over the driveway. Each time we do this, the amount of "stuff" increases in leaps and bounds. It's amazing how your eye becomes tuned into the weirdest things to use and often the best.

So let the fun begin...

Our screens are made and drying very quickly in the sun. We'll be printing very shortly.

Gen started with a combination of screenprinting and stenciling.

Denny loves to experiment and always coming up with new things to do. Note the orange squiggle going through the screen (left). On right is some silk organza I screened on. 

I love this one but can't remember who did it. Jump in girlfriends and let me know if it's yours.

Left is Denny's who has painted a permanent resist on her screen to create the white areas on the fabric where the dye didn't go through...clever...and on the right is Vals - gorgeous, vibrant color.

This is another Denny's with paint added to the white fabric first and screened over it, another good idea!

This was Kates. I love the orange snaking it's way through the prints.
More to come...stay tuned.

Working with friends

More results from our screen printing day at Vals. As a rule, I usually work in so many colors (to try them all) and wind up with bits and pieces. This time around I was going to try and work with only a few.  One of my favorite colors is Havana brown which is a grayish- green brown, also smokey grey - a blue grey and Marine blue. I had swatches to refer to and thought it would be a nice combination.

 Well yikes it looks black and awful. The screen while drying was very dark so I didn't know what to expect and right now I'm not happy with the results.

 This was the other screen done in Marine blue; I will have to wait and see until after it's washed.

 Kate had some good results using a kitchen mat with a flower motif.

 She didn't like all the white areas; she went back over it with more color, moving the screen just the slightest bit so the design was not lined up. It was very effective.

 Denny did a lot of layering when she screened. I love the feel that she got with this piece. I will have to try this, it has so much dimension.

 Fast forward 24 hours and here are the results and to my surprise, I'm pretty happy with them. They washed out well and I like the color. They probably could have used another color but I can re-soak them in ash and go over them with color which I might do.

 I do like the little bit of green on the right one.

 This was a totally hopeless piece. I went over it in yellow; it dried and then used some green.

 These were the 3 I gave up for lost. Very little of the brown came through, Instead the blue and grey which I like and just a tad of brown in the upper left side.

 This one I'm really pleased with; I added a lighter blue and that really made the difference.

 

Kate loves green and suggested a green over this one which I now love. I think I will do some discharging on it to create some light areas, but overall, I think it's a good piece.
There is so much to be said for working with friends, besides the wonderful social aspect of it, the brainstorming and feedback. I easily miss so much while working so close to something but someone  will walk by and suggest green or blue or......and it's the missing ingredient that just seems to make it work. A good day.