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?

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?

Getting Inventory Ready for Fiberlandia Sales - April 30th!

Slow and steady wins the race... it's my April mantra! I WILL have enough inventory for sale... I WILL have enough inventory by the April 30th SAQA conference! It's time to crush distractions and focus on creating piles and piles of one-of-a-kind fabrics for sale! When every piece is unique it can be pretty slow going but with my new mantra I will be fine (I think!).

Over the weekend I created a small but decent pile of "design starters". Each piece was screened onto my fabric and can be used to spark the beginnings of a new fiber art piece. 

This design was created by Hannah my talented daughter-in-law. I printed about a dozen in a variety of colors. They would be beautiful incorporated into a wall hanging or perhaps on a handbag!

This sweet teacup was designed by Lynn Krawczyk of Smudged Textiles Studio!
Drop by her website to see her latest projects... QA's TV... DVD's and more! 

I can't remember the next 2 artists who created these lovely designs but I will defiantly dig into my files to figure it out! My wish is for artists to sign the screens before they ship them out. I feel sad when I forget who the original screen designer was! 

Chocolate and Caffeine!

Chocolate and caffeine are my not so secret pleasures! Even my self portrait highlights chocolate and caffeine... look closely at the fabrics to the left and you can see their influence! Since I am the proud owner of a new thermofax screen highlighting these elements I have an unexplained need to create more and more fabric showcasing this indulgence - it's ok not to make sense! 

The screen was created by fiber artist Terri Stegmiller. She is a fabulous fiber artist and I encourage you to hop over to her website to view her lovely artwork and shop in her Etsy store!

My buddy Roz Spann created this lovely rusted fabric piece that I've been holding onto for a special occasion. It's the perfect "hue" to go with the chocolate and caffeine feel so here you have it! 

The screen is used like any typical silk screen in a frame. The bonus with a thermofax screen is that it's reusable! 

It's always a thrill to lift the screen to find the treasure! 

Here is the completed piece... love... love Roz's rusted piece! 

Detail of my happy elements - I have the sudden urge to have a piece of chocolate with my coffee! 

Ice Dyeing + Thermofax Screens = Sweet Gifts!

I created these two pieces for my darling sister-in-law! She's been looking at a blank wall above her computer for a while and now she gets to look at her favorite colors! 

This 22" X 28" piece was stretched over canvas which is a really a quick and easy way to hang art cloth. The fabric was first painted and then ice dyed. I added the dandelion design using a thermofax screen printed across the surface. I apologize but I can't remember the name of the artist who created the screen. If you recognize it please let me know so I can give credit! 

To keep the color palette consistent in the room I made a matching runner for her side cabinet. 

The fabric was ice dyed using the same colors as the above piece. It's been a while since I sewed and I was reminded of how fun it is to use custom fabric for creating a unique piece!  

Thermofax Screen + Ice Dyeing!

I finished the covered bridge piece. I'm going to create a series of prints using the bridge titled the "Wedding Series" . I know it's not the most dramatic title but it describes it accurately. 

I showed a few photos in yesterdays post on how I started the design. Below is a recap for you:

Terri Stegmiller made the thermofax screen from Hannah's wedding invitation design.

I applied fabric paint from Speedball.

I continued the design across the surface of the fabric. I let the paint cure for about 12 hours and then heat set using a dry iron. 

The final step was to ice dye the fabric. The goal was to use summer colors to represent the area where Hannah and Connor will be married. 

New Thermofax Screen - Yippee!

My very talented and soon to be daughter-in-law created hand stamped wedding invitations! There is a covered bridge on the property where she and Connor will be married and Hannah carved it on a stamp... I told you she was talented! 

I thought it would be fun to ask artist Terri Stegmiller to turn Hannah's design into a thermofax screen, (please check Terri's Etsy shop). The screens arrived this week and I couldn't wait for Hannah to try it out... just a little demo with a big project the next time they visit! 

I plan to ice dye the fabric with garden colors... to be continued! 

I tried the screen on some burlap - It was unusual but fun! 

Thermofax Screen + Decolorant = More Spirals!

I always do this... I get excited about a technique or product and it takes over my thoughts! This is happening with a challenge from The Printed Fabric Bee and my recently designed Thermofax screen. Terri Stegmiller produced the screen and I strongly encourage you to visit her site and explore the other totally awesome products and designs she creates!

I used a decolorant by Jacquard to remove the color with help from the Thermofax screen. The discharge paste is a little thinner than typical fabric screen paint and very easy to use. You place a dollop on the screen and using an old credit card I pulled the paste across the screen. You need to be careful not to drip the paste onto the fabric or the color will come off in unexpected places!

 

The discharge paste needs to be dried completely before you can heat set. It's a little like magic because once the paste dries it becomes invisible. Using a steam iron begin slowly pressing the fabric until the areas with the decolorant start to reappear. The longer you heat set the fabric the stronger the design will be. It was really fun seeing how crisp the colorless spirals looked but after placing it on the design wall for a longer look the fabric needed more action.



Taking Seta Color fabric paints I swirled the paint through the spirals. The fabric was damp to encourage the paint to meander and blend together. Once the fabric was dry I heat set with a dry iron to ensure the paint won't wash. I'm not sure what this fabric will become in it's next life... any ideas?!

Blue Spirals: The Printed Fabric Bee!

It's getting close to the big reveal 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 and I do LOVE a challenge!

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 this was truly a challenge but 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!

The artists participating in The Printed Fabric Bee will be mailing their custom pieces to Julie no later than next week and she'll announce the big reveal on our Facebook page in early December.  Remember each collection reveal means YOU have a chance to win a fabric pack of the "Queen Bee's" fabrics!

 

Thermofax Screens: Shore Birds!

I recently purchased a bunch of thermofax screens designed and created by Terri Stegmiller. She is an awesome artist with a wonderful whimsical style! I encourage you all to take a peek at her work and stop by her Etsy shop.

I've been trying to carve out time to experiment and had my first go with a bird design over the weekend. I love watching shore birds running along the oceans edge trying to grab a bite to eat before the next wave comes in. I had some fabric on hand that I call my "Under the Sea" series which seemed made for the addition of the birds.

Of course I ran out of time to fully create a design but I'm playing with companion fabrics and think I will end up mounting the piece on foam board vs. the more traditional hanging sleeve... to be continued!

Auditioning Fabrics

5 sweet little birds
I think I can create definition with stitching so the birds pop off the fabric!

Maybe this will work?!

I'm sure I'll spend the week looking at the design wall and trying other fabrics and who knows... maybe the end result will be completely different. That's the fun of creating art!

Thermofax Screens + Fabric Dyeing = Cool Results!

I recently purchased a couple of thermofax screens from Margaret Applin's Etsy shop and I love... love... love them! This is my first experience using a thermofax screen and thanks to a tutorial posted on Lynn Krawczyk's Etsy shop (her screens will arrive this week!) I felt confident on how to use my new tools.
 

Once I had a feel for the results I was able to think through how to incorporate them into my surface designs. The door is wide open now and I can't wait to keep experimenting! I encourage you to check out the Etsy shops or create your own screens... then the options will be truly limitless!

Solid Feather - Confetti Dyed

Feather Outline - Confetti Dyed

Dandelion - Drippings Dyed

Dandelion - Confetti Dyed

Solid & Feather Outline with Stamping - Discharge Fabric

Dandelion - Confetti Dyed