More Work on My Leaves....

I spent some time over the holiday stitching my leaves... it's a slow go and I have to remind myself it's OK to slow down and enjoy the process!

The leaves were picked, pressed onto cotton with thickened dyed, colored with more dye and Inktense pencils and now ready to be stitched! 

I decided to back the leaves with organza. I thought this would allow the leaves to have little stability when I adhere them to the organza background. 

I pinned the leaves to both the front and backside of the organza

Stitch... Stitch... Stitch! 

Experimenting With Over Dyeing!

In my previous post I mentioned dyeing with just browns and blacks to see how far I could push the color range. I decided to over dye a few of those pieces - just because! The photos on the left are the "control" pieces to show you what was over dyed. The piece on the right is the over dyed piece.  

I used evergreen on this one. You can still see the browns underneath and when fully opened the fabric has a forest-like organic feel.

Just like the first dyed piece this one is just as mellow. Although slightly deeper the color is less dramatic than the other expedients. With that being said there is no reason to "dis" mellow! I can envision many designs this will work with!  

This piece of over dyed using Cobalt Blue. It's harder to see the browns from the first dye but the brighter blue keeps the fabric interesting and added a
"depth" not seen with just one dye. 

It's always a treat to experiment and "learn things"!

Experimenting with Browns & Blacks!

I have a hankering to see how far I can push the limits of browns and blacks! Yesterday I ice dyed some pieces placing a variety of browns in one bucket and a black/gray combo in the other. Here are 2 pieces I will leave untouched...

I don't usually fold the fabric when I ice dye but in this experiment I thought it was the best way to separate the color particles with the most drama! As you can see the variety of brown I used ranged in the recipe from reds to tans = fun! The black/gray was very mellow as I suspected it would be. This one reminds me of winter so I won't touch it BUT I have some other lengths of fabric from the experiment that will go back into the dye bath. Using the same color combos I will scrunch the fabric back into the dye buckets to see what will happen.... to be continued!

Ice Dyed Cotton!

I rinsed out some ice dyes over the weekend... here are detail shots! 

I love the happy-dance-affect when I see a color combination that looks exciting! 

I hope you had a wonderful creative weekend! 

Pounded Leaves = Show Me The Color!

Just before the autumn leaves went from bright to brown I collected a handful for some "pounding"! I'm sure there is a technical term for this technique but I don't know what it is... to me it's transferring the color of a natural fiber onto another surface = pounding! 

I laid the leaves between 2 pieces of ice dyed fabric. At first I used a larger and heavier hammer but it quickly tired out my wrist. I switched to a smaller
lightweight hammer and was able to keep the pounding up! 

Here is the first peek of color - it's a little mellow. I had the leaves stored in the refrigerator for a few days before I had time for the project. I think storing the leaves may have dried them out a bit producing less color.  

I have a garden outside my studio that hadn't been cleaned up yet so I grabbed more plant material. Pounding the fresh leaves was a huge improvement. The colors leeched out quickly saving my wrist! 

Here is the final piece - yes - it's a "quiet" design but that's one of the things I enjoy about the natural world. When I look at the design it strikes me as peaceful. Remember this technique produces 2 pieces of fabric because the natural fibers are placed sandwich style between layers. That's double the fun with a twin fabric created!   

Have you tried this technique? What plant material have you used? 

Have fun creating your own piece! 

Painted & Dyed Canvas + Thermofax Screen = FUN!

Sometimes it takes a while to decide what you want to do with a piece of fabric! Last summer I was playing around with artist canvas and laid a gigantic piece on the driveway. I painted it in a collage style but meh... it was too bright and stiff so I set it aside. I decided to wash it to see if it would help with the softness - which it did but it still didn't excite me. Next, I over dyed the canvas with ice. This tipped the scales for my art brain to like the color palette however, I still wasn't sure what to do with it and it just didn't feel finished. 

In steps artist Terri Stegmiller with her fabulous thermofax screen designs! This design is titled "Layered Circles". If you aren't familiar with her work be sure to click here. Using her screen I stared creating a design across the surface and finally I felt like it was working. The design is only on a potion of the canvas and I'll save the rest for another time, (I wasn't kidding when I said the piece was gigantic!). 

Using Speedball screen paint I pulled the paint across the screen. I found using old hotel "keys" works perfectly for this process! 

I love the instant gratification you get when the screen is lifted!

Here is the finished piece. I do like the heavier texture and weight of canvas and will continue to experiment with it! 

What is your favorite fabric for surface design?

New Inventory!

I'm channeling autumn colors this month and trying to capture the green, red, yellow and oranges I see in my neighborhood. The ice dyed fabrics all represent the colors of our New England foliage but there is soooo much more to be done! Today on a run I saw jewel tones of brown, red, black colored tree... yummy! 

This is the aftermath of my dyeing session! 
The new inventory is up; please click the Ice dyed Fabric tab at the top of the page.