Works in progress

My last blog post talked about my project board... it's where I keep track of what I want to do or try in the near future, usually within the calendar year. Some of these I have tried before, but I want to continue improving my technique. Others are new to me, but I have been wanting to try them for some time.

So... one of the things I have been wanting to do more of is carving stamps to use on my fabrics. I had some already done, but decided to add to my collection. So off to the hardware store I went to get some more plumbers' gasket, which works well for carving. I also went to the 'culled' lumber cart and picked up a small piece of plywood to use for stamp bases, and I also picked up some small pieces of clear lucite, again to use as stamp bases. Yesterday, I decided to test the stamps on a piece of scrap fabric I found in my stash... probably a little busy if I planned to use it, but it's one of those 'ugly' pieces I decided would work fine for a test piece. Here it is:

Top left and bottom left are two new stamps I carved and mounted on chunks of wood I had in the garage. Middle is a set of stamps I carved out of a softer element. I used double sided carpet tape to adhere them to clear lucite, and added a strip of wood as a handle. Top right is a stamp I carved awhile back with plumbers' gasket again, mounted on a chunk of wood, and the leaf at bottom right is carved from plumbers' gasket, but mounted on lucite. I used black gesso applied with a foam brush for my test medium. However, I plan to use thickened dyes when I apply them to fabric for use, as I don't like the stiffness that paints leave.

On to the next project, which actually didn't make it to my project board... hmmmm!!!

Last fall, I went to New Mexico for 4 days with a friend, and one of our stops was Taos, which is a beautiful place. I had never been, but really wanted to see the countryside there and take photos. I believe I posted some when we got back, and one in particular was earmarked to be used as inspiration for a fiber art piece. Here is the picture:

I really love this scene, and started work on the fiber art piece last fall.

First I did a simple line drawing

Next, I transferred it to my muslin foundation

I had several fabrics already dyed that I could use, but decided to do gradation dyeing for the sky and mountains.

Then, once I got to this point, I laid the project aside over the last couple months of the year to work on other things. Today, I decided I was ready to continue:

I had actually fused the mountains and the foreground green piece in place before I stopped, but didn't take a photo. So when I resumed, I fused the middle ground, the horse, and the top of the first tree. Next I will be doing some free-motion stitching to create the tree trunk and branches, then I plan to layer some lightweight handkerchief fabric that has been dyed with the foliage colors. So stay tuned... this project has finally made it back to the front burner for now!

Stamps

Well, I finally got back to working on some stamps, which has been on my mental 'to do' list for awhile now. It's hard to believe that a year has passed since I took the wonderful surface design class that got me started on so many wonderful techniques! Then, I became a blogger-junkie, and have amassed a list of blogsites I visit regularly, like old friends. There, I find inspiration, ideas, a wealth of creativity, and I delight in the fact that so many of us are enjoying similar pursuits around our tiny world!

Okay, enough said. Here are the stamps I have finished so far this weekend:

I made this pair from sticky-back craft foam, attached to plexiglass, and used an old piece of plant stake for the handles.

These are carved from a semi-soft substance that is very easy to work with... almost like cutting cheese! This is my first attempt at using a combination of shapes and designs on one stamp. I can't wait to try them out!

Oh, and I splurged and ordered Rayna Gillman's book " Create Your Own Hand Printed Cloth " for my ever-growing Surface Design library! I can't wait for it to get here!

Meanwhile, I have dyed several pieces of fabric for journal covers, and some shirts and tanks for my website, so all in all, it's been a productive day so far!

More later...

It's never too late...

August 23, 2007 - Awhile back, I took a week-long art course at our local community college. Among other things, the teacher introduced us to basic screen-printing, mono-printing, creating and using stamps, discharge dyeing and using soy wax as a resist. I posted some pictures at the end of the class to show a little about what I learned. Meanwhile, I got busy at home and started experimenting with what I had learned... mostly in the areas of screen-printing and soy wax. Here are some samples of what I have accomplished so far:

In this example, I created a screen of the owl, printed a blank shirt, colored the owl with thickened dyes, then waxed over the image. I then used Low Water Immersion to dye the background.















Below is a design where I used a stamp to apply dishwasher gel with bleach to a pre-dyed shirt.









In this example, I traced a design on an undyed shirt, waxed over the design, dyed the background using LWI, washed the shirt, re-soaked in soda ash, then painted the sunburst with thickened dyes.


















Here is another example where I traced a design on an undyed shirt, waxed over, used LWI to dye the background, washed, then painted the image with thickened dyes.






















I feel like I have reached a turning point in my creative life... not the first time this has happened, but it's been awhile! I will post more pictures as I continue my new adventure...