Fun with Freezer Paper!

I had a strong desire to create leaf prints across the surface of my fabric but wanted to try a different technique. As fellow artists I know you can relate to the need for a new twist when approaching a design idea! My goal was to create leaves with a strong center vein and I first thought about making a new stamp. When visualizing the end result my mind wandered over to the idea of using freezer paper to create the design. Granted this technique is much more time consuming than making a single stamp because each leaf is created individually but it seemed like the right direction to go... so off I wandered! 

I drew leaves onto the non-shiny side of the freezer paper. I cut out the body of the leaves keeping the center vein intact. To adhere the freezer paper to the fabric I pressed the leaves with the shiny side down using a cotton setting. Now for the fun... I sponged the fabric paint onto the fabric being careful to cover completely.

Once the paint dried I peeled off the freezer paper.

It's magical to see the design appear as the paper is peeled! It makes the time consuming task of creating the individual leaves worth it... I mean it... it's worth the time!
I think you should go for it! 

Here is the finished piece. It's just a fat quarter size to get me warmed up for a larger project. I plan to use the same technique for the current Printed Fabric Bee custom fabric challenge... stay tuned for more freezer paper experiments! 

I'm a proud Sponsor of the Fiber 5K to Fight Cancer opening Wednesday, January 15 at 10 a.m. Central!

Interview with Virginia A. SpiegelCarol Eaton: Art Cloth Entrepreneur

Carol Eaton

Carol Eaton is an exhibiting artist who has also been featured in Quilting Arts magazine.  Her colorful fabric is often inspired by nature and is always amazingly complex.  Carol is offering a sampler of her beautiful hand-crafted fabric for one prize for the Fiber 5K to Fight Cancer as well as beautiful custom-printed fabric as part of a collection by The Printed Fabric Bee.

1.  What made you decide to Sponsor the Fiber 5K to Fight Cancer?

Fighting cancer is a priority combined with an art related fund raiser made it a perfect fit and I was happy to contribute fabric to this event!

Carol R. Eaton Designs
One donor during the Fiber 5K will one five one-yard cuts of hand-crafted fabrics.
Techniques include ice dyeing, snow dyeing, hand painting, stamping, and sun printing.  Signed by the artist.

 2.  What are you working on in your studio or what’s new in your biz?
My web site will launch within the next few months allowing me to reach more fabric artists and collectors. My one-of-a-kind fabrics are made using only the highest quality materials incorporating unique techniques such as ice dyeing, decolorant and manipulating fiber reactive dyes. Each individual art cloth in the collection is signed by the artist.

One donor will win this fabric by Carol and nine more custom-printed quarter yards from The Printed Fabric Bee
once the 3K mark ($3000 raised) has been passed during the Fiber 5K.

3.  What is one of your goals for 2014?
I’m focusing on the word “launch” in 2014! It’s an energetic word that willhelp keep me on track for creating new art and keeping my creative arts business on track!

4.  What big trend do you see in the fiber/textile world in 2014?I’ve noticed a trend towards incorporating natural elements when dyeing or printing. I’ve seen a shift towards a more subdued color palette but it may be just the “lens” in which I view the world!

 Ten professional textile artists, including Carol, make up The Printed Fabric Bee.

5.  What advice do you have for new artists/new business owners?
My advice is to keep your “eye on the prize”! It’s easy to be pulled in many directions especially in the creative arts business so remaining connected to your overall goal is a must for success! Review your goals often to track progress and remember it’s ok to adjust the goal along the way but continue to move forwards… not sideways or backwards!

Opens Wednesday, January 15
10 a.m. Central
Goal: $5000 for the American Cancer Society
Fiberart For A Cause has donated more than $230,000 to the American Cancer Society since 2005.

Studio - Reworking Space!

One morning I looked up and stared into my studio space... I mean really looked at it with fresh eyes. My first thought was, "why is that counter perpendicular to the sink?" and my second question was, "why do I have my work tables squished under the stairway?" I realized the space no longer worked well and it was time to rethink the flow.

Has that happened to you? One day you look into your living or working space and realize you set up an area and 10 years have gone by?!

I enlisted the help of my hubby to move some of the really big stuff like counters and fabric storage units. The rest of the weekend was spent organizing! At one point I thought it was hopeless with piles of things everywhere... but I kept going! 

Eventually the space started to jive and began to make sense. When it was 100% done I was smiling ear to ear. I now have a "wet" area with plenty of elbow room for mass creating. I also have a designated "dry" area for designing and sewing. There is even room for my hubbies bike and workout area... hey - I can share! 

The wet-side - time to get messy!

They dry-side - all set for planning the next project! 

The machines - crying for attention! 

January 15th Deadline ~ Fiber 5K to Fight Cancer!

Mark your calendar for January 15, 2014 and join me as I run the Fiber 5K to Fight Cancer. OK, I won't actually be jogging around a race course. But I will be joining the fun as Fiberart For A Cause's virtual race kicks off with a goal of donating $5000 directly to the American Cancer Society.

Generous Prize Sponsors (The Printed Fabric Bee!) for drawings means there will be many winners at the 1K ($1000) mark, 2K ($2000) mark, up to a Grand Prize drawing when we cross the Finish Line.

According to Race Director, Virginia Spiegel, "Fiberart For A Cause likes to have fun while raising money to fight cancer, so, of course, there are going to be more "race" details revealed as January 15 draws closer. 100% of donations are given directly to the American Cancer Society through Fiberart For A Cause. Fiberart For A Cause has already donated more than $230,000 to the American Cancer Society thanks to the generosity of fiber artists and patrons."
 

More information on how to donate and to take a peek at the fabulous donations: http://www.virginiaspiegel.com/Fiber5K2014.html

First Snow Dyeing of 2014!

When I saw the soft fluffy snow falling one morning I couldn't wait to get out there for my first snow dyeing of 2014... but life got in the way and I wasn't able to get out in the snow for a few days. By the time I was free mother nature had given us some light freezing rain and the snow went from soft and fluffy to moist and compact - not to be deterred I went for it despite the change in the snow consistency. 

First I soaked 100% cotton in a batch of soda ash and water (soak for at least 30 minutes). The fabric needs to absorb the soda ash to assist the dye in adhering to all the nooks and grannies of the cotton! 

Next I either scrunched the fabric into a bucket or laid the fabric across some recycled  containers in a large tub (the containers keep the fabric from being immersed in the dye bath as the snow melts). I scooped up some snow and shook it across the surface of the fabric doing my best to apply an even coating.

Now for the real fun; I donned my respirator (always use  a respirator when working with powdered dye) and sprinkled dye powder across the snow. 

I waited overnight for the snow to melt and in the morning I rinsed the fabrics and tossed them into the washer with an industrial detergent (to remove excess dye). I dried the fabrics and pressed... voila ~ all done! 

The finished fabrics!

The challenge I gave myself was to see what the differences would be between the fabric in the bucket vs. the fabric in the larger tub laying flat (sort of flat!). For each pair I used the same color combinations. 

The fabrics are paired below. The photo of the fabric on the left was scrunched into the bucket and the fabric on the right was laid out in the larger tub:

 

I think this piece looks like hot lava! 

I'd love to hear about your adventures with snow dyeing! Give it a try...

WIN FABULOUS FABRIC!

Don't forget to go to Julie B. Booth's blog or The Printed Fabric Bee's Facebook page and leave a comment! Julie will draw the winning name on January 12th and that lucky person will receive a 9 piece 6" X 6" custom fabric pack... yummy! 

Blue Spirals = Party Fabric!

Thanks for stopping back and taking a peek at how I created the Blue Spiral/Party Fabric for the second custom fabric collection of The Printed Fabric Bee artists! Julie B. Booth asked for "blue spirals" with little direction leaving it wide open to interpretation for each artist. Her request for spirals was challenging for me but that's why I love this group!

I started with cotton fabric and confetti dyed using orange and yellow. Julie asked for blue spirals so I wanted to get contrasting colors in the background.

Next I printed large blue spirals using a custom created thermofax screen by Terri Stegmiller.

I wanted to add more contrast so using the ice dyeing technique I added green to the background. The large spirals were a little overwhelming so I carved a stamp with a smaller spiral to add more movement and interest.

As I mentioned I love a challenge and it was fun to push myself to work with an element that I don't usually connect with. Below are the tools used to create this design that just wants to party... coffee was a must!

Go to The Printed Fabric Bee or over to Julie's blog no later than January 11th as the winner will be drawn on the 12th. Remember each collection reveal means YOU have a chance to win a fabric pack of the "Queen Bee's" fabrics!

FREE FABRIC ~ Here is your chance to WIN!

The Printed Fabric Bee has another exciting collection of fabric to give away to one lucky winner! To recap The Printed Fabric Bee is a collaboration of 10 professional surface design artists. Each month there is a Queen who specifies what she longs for in a fabric collection and The Hive gets busy interpreting the theme. This month Julie Booth’s theme was blue spirals. The challenge was completed at the end of December but with the hectic holiday season we decided to wait to do the giveaway until now so that you wouldn’t miss the drawing!

Go to Julie's blog OR The Printed Fabric Bee Facebook page and leave a comment... that's it - winning a gorgeous fabric pack has never been easier! Julie will draw a name from a hat on January 12th so get your comment posted quickly (one comment only please!).

To keep your curiosity going the next Queen is Gerrie Congdon who choose "wonky organic lines"! This group of artists is keeping me on my toes!

Check back with me after you leave a comment. I'll be posting about my approach to creating the spirals or as I like to think of it as Party Fabric!