Comparing Fabric Results!

As I enjoy the summer foliage it occurred to me that it isn't going to last forever! I guess I'd better take advantage of the easy access for sun printing before the change of season begins... not that fall is knocking on the door but I shouldn't waste my good fortune.

I wanted to sun print ferns and grabbed a length of cotton and artist canvas. I used the same method, same paints and the same batch of ferns for each piece but look how different they are! The artists canvas has a very tight weave and given the original use the paints sit on the surface with little seeping through. The cotton is much more porous and easily absorbs more paint. 

When you compare the end results the canvas is a much brighter piece. They each have their charm and maybe I'll continue to add to the cotton... maybe some stamps or other embellishment to give it some more pizazz!

Artist Canvas - the small spots are sun printed stones

 

Cotton - the same colors were used as the canvas piece above!

Artist Canvas - Detail

Cotton - Detail

Have you noticed differences between the various surfaces you've painted on?

Hands-On Demonstrations by Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective Members!

 
This past Sunday the Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective presented hands-on demonstrations at the Norfolk Artisans Guild, Station Place, Norfolk. The weather was perfect and the visitors friendly.

Please stop by the guild and pick up an early holiday gift. Be sure to say "hi" to the guild mascot!

Our members will have artwork for sale through September!







Diane Cadrain showed us how she creates felted jewelry

Diane says making felted balls is soothing and relaxing!

Diane strings the finished felted balls into beautiful necklaces

Carol Vinick demonstrated how to use recycled silk ties
to create new designs on silk scarves

Carol laid recycled silk scarves on top of a plain silk scarf.
Next she folded the scarf in half and rolled all layers up with plain cotton.

Carol took the rolled up fabric and boiled with 2 TB. white vinegar
and water for 45 minutes

Once the fabric was cooled Carol unrolled to discover the design from the ties
has transferred to the plain silk scarf... magic!

Rosalind Spann shared her techniques for wrapping fibers around
cording to create unique and beautiful jewelry



Rosalind talks about the best qualities when it comes to
choosing the many fiber options available.

Rosalind discussed how she combines varies colors and fibers
to achieve specific results

Rosalind shows off her beautiful jewelry!

The day was a lot of fun and we hope to see you at the guild soon!

Look What Antonia Torres Created!

Antonia Torres is a founding member of the Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective! She is an inspirational artist who is able to translate what she visualizes into a fabric design.

As Toni was looking through my stash of fabrics she was drawn to this particular piece. Toni said she immediately knew she would create a design that felt as if you were peering through the branches and into the forest.

I'd say she did an awesome job!

 



Autumn Birch
Antonia Torres

 

Look what Diane Cadrain Created!

Diane Cadrain is a fellow Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective member. She is one of the most prolific artists that I know producing new creations weekly. According to Diane, "the voices in her head" keep giving her ideas! As you can see she is also a lot of fun.

I've asked Diane to share some of her work that incorporates my hand crafted fabric. This piece is titled, "Cape Cod Pitch Pine". Diane first printed a photo onto fabric. Next she stuffed the images of the cones and used trapunto to get dimensionality for the needles. Then she surrounded the photo transfer with a border of my ice dyed fabric. Isn't it a great piece?!

Cape Cod Pitch Pine
by
Diane Cadrain

Cape Cod Pitch Pine - detail
Diane free-motion quilted the border for that lovely meandering look. 

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!

Hand Painted Fabric: Fine Tuning a Technique!

I'm intrigued with propping fabric up and painting it to see where the colors will meander and blend! I had a chance to play around yesterday morning and I feel that I'm fine tuning the image in my head to what happens on the fabric.

I'm narrowing down my "likes" to propping the fabric up with 2.5 quart plastic containers (like the kind you use to line a paint bucket) or 32 ounce yogurt containers. I'm using Seta Color paints from Dharma Trading Co.

... more play time scheduled for this afternoon!

 

Garden Variety
Hand Painted Cotton

Garden Variety - Detail
Hand Painted Cotton