The Family Themed Series Continues!

I enjoy designing pieces that allow me to think about my family as I create! This piece is titled, Seattle. We all met in Seattle, WA over Mother's Day and each of the red triangles represents a family member who was there. The fabrics are from my hand dyed stash. The colors remind of the luscious greenery in Washington and all the water, water everywhere! 

Seattle 
39" X 24"

Detail - artists hand dyed cotton, cheese cloth as well as deconstructed screened fabric

Nancy's Blues

I created the below pieces for a specific person. She chose #1 so if anyone is interested I have #2 and #3 up for grabs! The fabric is 100% cotton and hand dyed.  

Each length is 69" X 44" and $40 per piece.

#1 SOLD

#2

#3 

caroleatondesigns@gmail.com 

Studio Play Date with Barb Olson!

What a treat to go to Barb Olson's studio in Boulder! The inspiration started with the drive over... can you believe the view from the highway! 

The goal was to experiment with deconstructed screens and I had a whole pile of them ready to go... but alas I forgot them at home = DUH! No worries we had fun with other techniques. 

Here we sprinkled dye powder on the fabric and pulled print paste across. 

We have some interesting results! Barb placed the foam circles and other objects from her sprinkled piece onto plain fabric soaked in soda ash and water. I don't have a photo but it turned out really cool!  My piece is over to the right. You can just make out a leave I placed as a mask... not exactly a dramatic look! Oh well - I learned somethings which was the point! 

Here Barb is showing me how to use a foam roller and wooden blocks for a cool print! 

The roller needs to be really saturated to get a strong print. 

Barb said she got the roller at Home Depot! 

Barb is pulling the print paste across the screen. Deconstructing screens means with each print the screen slowly releases the design until it's all gone! 

It's a time consuming technique due to creating the screens first and allowing the thickened dye to dry... but the results are so fun! 

When  got home I got busy with the print paste and screens - here are my results!

This piece had too much empty white space for my taste. I decided to paint a light wash across the surface which made the overall design feel more substantial. 

Any time spent sharing ideas and experimenting with a friend is priceless - but don't forget your supplies! 

Fabric for Sale - Join Me on June 10th!

I'm excited to be heading back to Connecticut to visit friends and family! I also have the privilege of participating in a Windham Textile Museum textile exhibition - Locally Inspired. Please stop by my booth on Saturday, June 10th between 10 - 4 to say hi and fondle some fabric!

Invitational Fiber Art/Quilt Show– “Locally Inspired” 

Solo Show – Sheila Rae Lutz

 Windham Textile & History Museum

411 Main Street and 159 Union Street; Willimantic, CT 06226

June 10^th - Quilting & Fiber Arts Day – speaker and vendors schedule:

Speakers

10:00 a.m. - Hope Barton – SAQACT and SAQA Traveling Quilt Show talk and display

11:00 a.m. - Martha Sielman, Author – Art Quilts International “Abstract & Geometric”

12:00 p.m. - Music & Lunch available at the museum - Allison Wilbur – Sashimi Stitching

1:00 p.m. -  Patricia Ferguson - How to Hang Quilts/Fiber Art

2:00 p.m. -  Lois Palmer – Quilt Appraisals

3:00 p.m. -  Jamie Eves, Executive Director WTHM – The Singer Sewing Machine

4:00 p.m. -  Day ends

Vendors and on-going Demonstrations

- Allison Wilbur

- Barbara Coleman Adams

- Carol Eaton Designs

- Catherine Whall Smith

- Dawn Allen

-  Joan Blade Johnson

- Michele Palmer

- Patricia Ferguson

- Schiller’s Sewing Circle

- Stitch Chicks Fabric Store

Last Call for Snow Dyeing!

I was delighted for the late spring snow fall in the Denver area! It gave me a chance to get some snow dyeing done for the first time since moving to CO. 

I love using clamps to keep the fabric folded tightly which creates lovely designs!

In addition to clamps I use plastic balls & rubber bands for another type of look! 

Snow is piled up and dye scattered about - now the waiting begins!

 Time for unfolding and the big revile! 

Tons-O-Fun! 

It's All About Fabric Painting!

I took some books on watercolor out of the local library. There is a huge difference between painting on fabric vs paper but I was inspired to rethink my approach. I decided to think about the fabric in terms of layers so after the paint dried more color was added creating a more complex design.

I initially sponge painted leaving large areas of unpainted fabric showing. Eventually I started to drip paint from the top edge allowing it to run down. I rotated the board so the drips covered the entire surface. 

After heat setting the fabric it was ready for more play time!

Every studio should have a stash of bubble wrap! Using a thicker fabric paint I pressed gold and purple wrap across the surface until it felt right. 

This piece was an experiment in monotone. I lightly dragged the paintbrush across the surface. With a wet brush I went back and painted over with just water to get the black to meander a bit over the fabric.

Although there are only 2 layers in this piece I felt "less was more". 

It was fun seeing the contrast between the black and red! 

Screen Collage with Thickened Paint!

After reading Breakdown Printing by Claire Benn & Leslie Morgan I've started to soak the fabric in soda ash and water before screening. In the past I've added soda ash and baking soda to the thickened dye mixture but it greatly reduces the shelf life of the dye. With this system I can keep the thickened dye around for days allowing me time to complete more projects without remixing. I'm not sure how long the shelf life is but I plan to experiment and find out! 

Here are a couple of pieces I did this past week... lots of fun to free motion screen! 

I started by creating yellow vertical lines with the thickened dye. Next I laid the screen on top and pulled red and blue across the surface. I repositioned the screen moving it around until the surface was covered. 

Detail: 100% Cotton, 36.5" X 44", $25

For this piece I used yellow and blue thickened dyes. A lovely green meanders through the design as the colors mixed. Overall it a soft bright look. 

Detail: 100% Cotton, 36.5" X 44", $25

If any piece needs to be in your stash please contact me by email and let me know!

caroleatondesigns@gmal.com 

Textured Surface + Layering Fabric + Fabric Paint!

I thought I'd try layering fabric over bamboo fencing before painting! It was a quick and easy way to get texture going while experimenting with a new light weight cotton I recently purchased. 

I used Seta Color transparent fabric paint.

The heavier cotton is below and the lightweight cotton on top!

The paint dried very light. I think the bamboo fencing may have
absorbed more than I anticipated! 

 

Here is a detail of the bottom layer

This is the top layer. It's 36" X 58" and with the lightness
it makes a delicate panel!

I'll go bolder next time now that I understand the mat better
... on to learning new things! 

Screening with a Twist!

I recently purchased "Breakdown Printing" by Claire Benn & Leslie Morgan. I have yet to watch the DVD that came with it but the book is great! When I'm excited to try something new I tend to jump in with both feet. Only after I've gotten my hands dirty and have a feel for the technique do I slow down enough to read the directions or guidelines! 

After mixing up batches of thickened dyes I squirted the dye onto the back of a prepared screen. The bubble wrap and other materials were placed on top of the dye and left to dry. 

The screens are almost dried. I pulled off the bubble wrap and other items. The marks left behind will add an interesting element to the design (I hope!). 

Using a squeegee I pulled clear print paste across the screen. This step is repeated multiple times until the dried dye breaks down and we are left with a fun design. For the piece on the left I added a fern design using a Thermofax screen created by PGFiber2 Art.  

The process was time consuming due to the drying times. I love instant gratification but I'm going to keep at it experimenting and seeing how far I can push this technique!

Have you ever tried deconstructing screens?