Saturday, February 07, 2009

Art and Tee Shirts

Last weekend I dyed and overdyed a blank tee I got from Dharma. So far, I'm liking the colors I got- I was going for more pastel shades, which is a change for me. Last night I put on the first set of screenprinting on the front, then this morning I did the second. I'm using Tsukineko inks, thickened with Aloe Vera gel. It seems to work very well- a good thing, since I just wasn't feeling like mixing up dyes and sodium alginate.

The screen is one I did on a friend's Thermofax machine, of windows in an old industrial building here in Spanish. The first screen was done with a darker lilac shade, the second overlaps it and was done with a cool gray color. I rather like the effect I got.



Once I get this dried and heat set, then I'm adding another screen- handwriting from my great-grandmother's graduation essay. I love using that one! Then I have to decide if I want to do the same thing on the back.

I can't believe I forgot to blog about a trip I made to the art museum in Springville a couple of weeks ago. In January they had an exhibit of two women, Susan Madden and Joyce Marder. Susan is an art quilter, and Joyce a basket maker. I enjoyed that- the baskets were huge, and all done out of willow. Susan's fabrics pieces really evoke an sense of place here in Utah. But the best part for me was an exhibit of a Utah painter, Rob Colvin. He does landscapes that just knocked my socks off. Not realistic, more abstracted- but still identifiable. The exhibit was called 'Geometry of the Land', and that describes his paintings perfectly. And, it was so applicable to fiber! Take a look, you can find his work here.

I'm now off to the more mundane weekend tasks. If I'm lucky, I'll get the second sunflower sandwiched and ready to quilt.

1 comment:

Judy said...

Can't wait to see your tee! I've started screening more on my tees and I love how they are looking! Please post some photos!

xo