Saturday, August 20, 2016

Sunprinting with Fiber Junkies

We had a second meeting of Fiber Junkies this month as we had to miss July completely...we were shy 2 members but had Gen's daughter Carol with us. Carol loves to do what we do - making messes with fabric (has her mom's genes) and fits in with our group so perfectly. We decided to keep the meeting light and hope for sun as we decided to revisit sunprinting.
 We used Set a Color paints - transparent but I do know that any transparent paint will work. I've used Createx transparent with good results. The paint needs to be watered down...it's suggested 2 parts water to 1 part paint. If they are not thinned enough, the printing can not take place as the paint is too dense to start with.


Most of us used cotton, but really anything that works with Set a Color should work fine. Paint was applied to the surface - on the left Mary is using wool as she works with wool so much.
 Clever Carol and Gen used several colors which made for a more interesting finished effect.


Gen also used an interesting piece of netting to lay on top. I didn't think it would do much as it was so thin, but it really worked well.
 Some really good things to use - a plastic holder for paper plates and a plastic rack for holding yards of lace.
 Things that were heavier and able to make a tight contact with the fabric gave the best results....above a mat for the sink - also great for deconstructive screen printing.



I had some gummy stick on window decals purchased after Valentines day and on right, fabric leaves.
The glittery fern worked well as it sat closely to the fabric surface.

 I didn't see the results of the above as we left before all things were uncovered....

The sequin waste worked great...one of my favorites...along with the stencils.
 In my never-ending quest to do something with leaves, I did find some flat ones that seemed to hug the fabric....at last, maybe I'll get some good leaf images.
 Here was some construction fencing....





AND NOW THE RESULTS....The paper plate holder and lace rack - great!...the sequin waste...really great. We all loved the way some parts not touching the fabric allowed for some spaces. My leaves (on right)...total failure and my cupid's hearts...semi okay








The fake glittery fern was kind of nice....as for the rest...will have to wait until next time to see the results. After these dry, they should be heat set with an iron (or whatever your paint recommends) then rinsed in a bucket of water.
Til next time....

Sunday, August 14, 2016

Fellowship

 The Fellowship exhibit opened yesterday at the main gallery of the Folk Art Center. The exhibit featured work of the members of the Southern Highland Craft Guild. Members chose others from the guild to work with to create an art piece, combining their skills and often very different from each other.
     There was a beautiful reception in the afternoon from 3 - 5. Artists, members of the guild and everyone present in the Folk Art Center at the time were invited to attend. Many of us brought "nibbles" and the table was glorious. We were able to get a picture of the piece that Barbara Swinea and I did together.


 Looks like we're twins...hmmmmm....did we plan that ??  ( - :
There were lots in attendance which made for great fun....The exhibit is quite amazing and if you're in the neighborhood of Asheville, NC - hope you'll drop by. It runs through Nov - more details under "exhibits" on my blog.
    What was so interesting (and wish I could have taken some pics) was the pair up of artists like a weaver and jewelry/welder artist. This piece could have been on the red carpet - seriously. The collar which was long and hung over a black woven floor length dress was over 10,000 rivets, so expertly done, it was completely drape- able. Another pairing was a batik artist and jewelry maker which featured a beautifully done piece of batik studded with beaded jewelry.
   Nikki Josheff who is the curator for all these exhibits does the most amazing job of highlighting each piece. She was looking forward to being at the opening but as Mother Nature would have her way, Nikki delivered her baby girl 6 weeks early. We missed her but know she was having her own spectacular celebration in the hospital. Thank you Nikki and a huge congratulations!
    So check out the dates and please stop by...know you'll enjoy every moment.

Friday, August 5, 2016

"Snap, Crackle, Poppy"

Over the years, I have worked with silk and even taught silk painting 101. One of my favorite techniques is using "crackle" as a background. Crackle is a thick paste like material applied to the surface, allowed to dry; the dried fabric is then scrunched by hand creating cracks and valleys in the surface. Silk paint which is watery thin, is then washed over the surface settling into the nooks and crannies. After the paint is dry and heat set from the wrong side, the crackle is removed. 
 
 If you're having a hard time finding crackle, the same effect can be achieved through the various flour pastes and potato dextrose paste - a little messier to use, but achieving the same effect.
 I decided to use the same color for the background as the images.


 Since the paint is so thin, it needs to be "contained" by using a resist in order to create a specific shape. I used a clear, water soluble resist to outline the shape, let it dry and fill in the area with silk paint. After the paint dries and is heat set, the resist can be easily removed by soaking in water for a short time.
 The paints are transparent allowing the background fabric to show through the flower petals. I like this look as it gives more dimension to the piece.
 I free motion quilted the background using a monofilament thread giving texture without additional color to the piece. The flowers were outlined with silver metallic thread (Sliver which is flat and shiny).  Since this is the only stitching on the piece, I thought stitching around each image twice would give a better effect.


 I had some extra painted fabric and decided to use it as a backing.
 The piece was wrapped around a pre stretched canvas; the hanger used was eye hooks with picture frame wire.
 I really like this way of hanging when using canvas.
And the name - Snap, Crackle, Poppy which came to me as my favorite cereal as a child was Rice Krispies and the 3 little guys on the box cover that say - "it will snap, crackle and pop" in your mouth - Am I aging myself...again!