Soy Wax Workshop

I have an electric wok that wasn't hot enough for stir frying, but it's perfect for soy wax. I also have a little melt pot and Anne has a crock pot filled with soy wax too. I have tons of stamps, spatulas and found objects that are perfect for stamping.

What is all this for? A soy wax workshop with my Fibervision friends. I gave them the basic information about soy wax and off they went. They grabbed some fabric and tools and got busy.

There are little things you learn along the way about the different tools, but there is very little that can really go wrong. This group doesn't want or need many directions. Even if I told them exactly what to do, they would do whatever they wanted anyways! That's why I LOVE this group!

I really don't like starting with white fabric, so I dunked it into very diluted setacolor (before the meeting) and set it outside to dry. Here's one of the pieces drying in the sun.

This is what it looked like after it was dry. Much better than white.

This is my collection of kitchen tools that I use for stamping. It's amazing how many different mashers you will find once you become aware of them.

Xandra had some pieces that she painted in a different workshop. She brought them along to add a layer of wax and more paint. It looks like she really likes the swirly whisk.

Here's the fabric after a setacolor dunk. Kind of cool!

Here's the same piece after I took a mono print of the surface of my board. Don't you love it?

I'll have more before/after photos to share once my paint has cured.

One Thing Leads to Another

Sometimes, inspiration comes from unexpected things. The piece below is proof.

A simple piece of fabric with cut out circles. It didn't really look too exciting, but the possibilities were endless. You've probably noticed that one of my favorite symbols is the circle. I shouldn't have been surprised at my reaction to all these circles!The first step was to get it off the cutting board and onto piece of painted silk. Hmmm . . . Nice!
The negative circles are exciting, however, the positive rectangle is just too plain and boring. The first step was to paint the surface with some diluted Setacolor. By the time the paint dried, I had an a pretty good idea that I was going "Cellular".
The rectangular piece was cut into an organic shape and placed onto yet another painted background. Nice, but still not enough. Cells are incredibly colorful and the mellow yellow fabric was NOT going to make it.
Let the layering begin!

Here's a closeup of the new and improved cellular structure of "Hormones". It now has many colorful layers and interesting texture and is a worthy focal point. The next step is to audition more backgrounds; then onto the quilting stage.

Just a little glimpse inside my head and my thought process. Did you enjoy the journey?

Comments and suggestions are always welcome!

Revision Quilts

For this second year in a row, Fibervision had a Revision Challenge. Each participant put a quilt or quilt top that they made, but no longer want, in a brown paper bag and trade their bag with another participant. The challenge is to take whatever piece your receive and Revision it into a new, wonderful, useful object or quilt.

Some people remove pieces and reuse them in some way. Some make additions and turn them into useful items like bags or boxes. Some change the look by dyeing, discharging or painting the fabric.

I received a finished quilt, complete with binding, a label and a poem. It's a pretty traditional pattern, but it had bits of yarn and tulle running through it a lot of beads. I had a very difficult time with this piece, because I know it took many hours to make. I didn't want to destroy it. I stared at it for months and often used it to cover up when I was chilly in my studio. I knew I had to do something dramatic to change it but what? Cutting it wasn't going to be enough and I couldn't take it apart because the quilting was quite dense. I decided to paint it.

Here's the quilt after it was painted with Setacolor, stamped with Neopaque and rubbed with Shiva sticks. It's very different, but it still isn't quite finished. Now I'm needle felting wool roving on top in a swirling circle pattern.

I told everyone that I was going to turn it into a bag, but they all thought it was great as a quilt and didn't want me to cut it.

What do you think? Keep it whole or turn it into a large tote bag? Hmmmm

The big reveal was today at our holiday party. Everyone made fantastic Revision pieces and fabulous food. We spent the afternoon at Cathi's beautiful house enjoying each other's company. It was a great day . . . a very welcome break from the ever present landscaping project.

More Painted Fabric

Here are the results of another painting session with Setacolor and salt. The first photo shows the newly painted surface, the second photo shows the dry fabric 4 hours later. I am still experimenting but really like what is happening so far. It's pretty amazing how much variety you can get from four colors of paint!This super bright combination uses Vermillon, Light Green and Buttercup. This piece is approximately 20 x 20".This combination is Light Green, Buttercup and Parma Violet. This measures 22 x 36".This combination is Cobalt Blue, Parma Violet and Vermillon. This piece also measures 22 x 36". My husband and I have designed a super quick and easy technique to stretch the fabric on frames (no more thumb tacks for me). So now I have 2 large frames and 2 small frames. That should keep me out of trouble for a while!

More Painted Fabric

Can you believe that I have more painted fabric to share with you? Once I got started, it was so much fun, I couldn't stop. Warning: Before you do this, cover your area with paper or plastic.This first piece is completely covered in Lumiere. It is quite shiny and stiff like paper. You need to work fairly quick for this technique. This piece was painted with a 50/50 mix of Setacolor and water. I used two blues and one red. After the fabric was painted, I added some creases for texture. I sprayed another piece of fabric with water and placed it directly on top of the wet paint. I pressed the fabric down and rubbed gently in places. The top fabric absorbed some of the color and resulted in a softer version. This next piece was a new technique for me and I'm sure I'll do it regularly. You will need Elmer's Gel Glue, a foam stamp, fabric and paint. I used a 50/50 mix of Setacolor and water, two blues and one yellow. This photo is showing you what the fabric looks like after it has been completely stamped with the glue. I used a foam brush to spread the glue and added more glue between impressions. Be careful not to add too much glue though, you will loose the details. This shot is showing how it looked as I started to add color. The flowers magically appear as soon as the color is applied. Make sure to choose colors that will blend well.Here's the piece completely covered in wet paint. It was much darker than I had hoped and I thought that I had ruined it. But the paint actually continued to mix together and it lightened considerably as it dried. The stamp became more pronounced as the fabric dried. It ended up looking like a beautiful batik!
I also ran six sheets of treated cotton through my inkjet printer with wonderful results. I'm not going to show those though, I have to leave something as a surprise! Now I have so many beautiful fabrics, I'm not sure which ones I want to trade with my Fibervision group.

Painted Fabric

As promised, here are a few of my favorite pieces of fabric that I painted yesterday. It was so much fun to make and I love the way it turned out.

I used 5 colors of transparent Setacolor, 2 yellows, green, blue-green and red, each diluted to a 50/50 mix of paint to water. I sprayed the fabric with water until it was damp, but not dripping wet. I used a clean foam brush for each color. I Laid the colors on from light to dark. The amount of paint you lay down in an area will determine the darkness. If you space the colors farther apart, they will blend together like a watercolor painting. Choose your colors carefully, or you could end up making yucky brown!

This piece has 2 yellows, green and blue-green. I placed washers on top as a resist.

Circular shapes were painted using all five colors.

This piece was painted in bands with 2 yellows and the red.