Screenprinting and More

I got all the fabric I printed washed out this morning.  For the most part, I'm happy with the results.  On one piece the background seemed to wash out for reasons I can't fathom. Other than that, the fabric came out as I was hoping.

I love this deconstructed screenprint I made with a dish drainer Sandra Hoefner had.  I already have a use in mind for this fabric!

It was so hot and dry in Grand Junction that our screens dried very quickly after we put them outside.  This one had to sit with the clear print paste on it for ten minutes or so before I started getting any dye on the fabric.

Here's two more pulls from the same screen, and another image that I got from Jan Warren.  She made a flour paste resist on her screen, then drew into it.  I absolutely love the image!

I also just used some of my thermofax screens with thickened dye.  This one came out nice.  I'd tried to deconstruct an image of leaves, but it barely shows up- looks more like part of the original dye job.

This is another one I did with one of my thermofaxes.

I plan to add more layers with this one, so I'm actually glad the print lightened quite a bit- like a shadow.

This is the one the background washed out of.  Originally this really was a medium light shade of blue!  I did a deconstructed screenprint of a large stamp I made, then went over it with bubble wrap and red thickened dye.  Definitely not my best piece.

I did a couple of other things while I was there.  I took this rusty piece, wrinkled it up on a pan, and shredded steel wool over it and in some folds. 

 I left that for a couple of days, and took it to Junction with me.  Then Thursday night I dumped a cup of tannin water over it, and left that overnight.  I took it with me to Jane's studio Friday and left it outside to dry.  Then I washed it at Susan't Friday night- I couldn't wait to see it, it looked fascinating after I dumped the tannin on it.  This is what I ended up with!

I think it is drop dead gorgeous!  Can't wait to do more rusting while the weather is hot!

I now have two projects I have to get quilted and done by the end of August.  One is ready for the needle, the other is still in the design stage.  So I will be busy, no more trips planned.  And somewhere in there I also have to find time to work on a tee shirt quilt for a son- I want it done before Christmas!

I haven't disappeared. . .

I've just been in Grand Junction for a couple of days, playing with other AQuA members.  I dyed a 66 piece set of color samples, and printed fabric- some deconstructed screenprinting, some just screenprinting.  And I finished that large rust dyed piece of fabric- it turned out awesome!

I never seem to remember to take pictures when all the action is going on.  We had about ten women, most of whom had dyed before.  But Beth (in this picture), never had- and she left with some wonderful fabric.

This table has the color samples it took me all day to complete- 4 inch squares.  Once I get them mounted on muslin or posterboard or something, I will have an invaluable color reference.  Ironing these will be part of the work today.

That shelving unit behind hold the most wonderful rusty objects- Jane has lots of them.

So now I am cleaning up in the studio and washing out the printed fabric after steaming it last night.  Pictures will follow later, but now there is work to be done!

I've Been Baaaad!!

No, I haven't done anything evil or illegal. I have just been very, very late in finishing my daughter-in-law's birthday present. But, here it is, noon on Friday, and I can finally say it is DONE!! (And I've even cleaned the bathroom, started the laundry, and vacuumed already this morning too!)

Marly loves butterflies, so I made her another piece to frame to go with the one I did last year. Along with a bird of paradise, she will now have a tryptich of tropical flora and fauna. I hope they help her remember home in Colombia.



This is my rendering of a glasswing butterfly. I thought about stitching on the butterfly, but decided that would ruin the delicate wings I was trying to achieve. And the legs aren't as good as I'd like, but they were hard. I printed the wings on Extravorganza, and enhanced the colors with Tsukineko inks. The background is a piece I painted and used bleeding tissue paper on, done last summer. It's mounted on foamcore, ready to frame. I hope she likes it.

I'm also going to try deconstructed screen printing again. I soda soaked that same fabric I used last time, and let it dry. I found out that two rubbing plate fit perfectly under the screen, so I chose two leaf motifs. This time I put the rubbing plates directly under the screen, not under the newspaper- and found out that leaves a lot more dye on the screen. Here's what it looks like, drying--



It's so dry here, I expect to be able to print by tonight.

We're going to a kite festival tonight here in Spanish, up by the reservoir and with a good view of the wind farm. I hope to get some good pictures, maybe some inspiration. We're supposed to have weather in the 80's all week- hope that lasts awhile. I am NOT ready for winter, not by a long shot!!

A Mixed Bag

I finished all my pieces yesterday. The batik was a smashing success, I got crackle and better control of my lines. After waxing the entire surface of the sunflower pieces, I scrunched them (trying to avoid the leaves) and applied some chocolate brown dye. After ironing out the excess wax (quite the process), I steamed them for close to an hour. After drying, here's what I got:





I think with some quilting and beading, these are rather respectable practice pieces. Next, I want to try a more abstract look without thickening the dyes. That will take planning, not my strong suit.

The red kitchen utensil batik also looked great after I knocked down the in-your-face red a bit.



I think I like the movement those straight lines add to the piece.

The deconstructed screenprints are another story. I obviously did something wrong, because the dye washed out almost completely. Here's the turquoise piece after steaming. Up close, I can see bits of the green- but that's about it. Compare this photo to the one in the previous post and you'll see what I mean.



On the white pfd, the green became a very pale, ghostly gray; on the multi-colored hand-dye, it pretty much disappeared. I'm not sure if I didn't get enough soda ash in the print paste, or what. Next time I will use dried, soda soaked fabric. Despite this disappointment, the process is too much fun to give up.

An additional note- Ive been thinking about what I did with the deconstructed screen prints, and think I have figured out why they washed out. I re-read the instructions for making soda print paste, and realized I just stirred the dry soda ash into the paste- I neglected to dissolve it in water. Dumb, dumb, dumb. There is a fine line between working quickly and intuitively, and being just plain impatient, and I crossed it yesterday. Hopefully the soda ash will have dissolved by now, but if I still see granules I'll add some urea water. AND use soda soaked fabric until I use up that print paste!!

We have gone from 90's on Friday and Saturday, to 60's today, with rain. Funny how a temperature that feels balmy in the spring can feel downright cold at the end of summer. We have tickets to see Three Dog Night tonight- in an outdoor venue. Here's hoping the rain goes away so the concert can happen. I love taking my kids to see the bands from my youth in the 60's!!!

Deconstructed Screenprinting

In the middle of batiking yesterday, I realized I would have a pot of thickened green dye left over. Not wanting to waste it, I grabbed the screen I so carefully taped last winter. Thickened dye, a rubbing plate, and time to allow the dye to dry, and here's what I ended up with:



I got up early this morning, and decided the green dye would work great with the turquoise fabric I discharged yesterday. So here are the first two pulls of the screen--



My daughter thinks this piece looks weird, funny, and unmatched. What do you think?

Then I grabbed a piece of white pfd, and did two more pulls. There was still lots of dye left on the screen, so I went through the stash, and decided this hand dye could use some more interest. I got four more pulls off the screen, and these were the results:



I wish I had more time today, because this is FUN!! I'll let those sit today, along with the sunflowers that got completely waxed, scrunched, and dark brown dye applied in the hopes I can get crackle. I'll steam all these pieces tonight, so more pics laer!!