Hamsa Project: More Layers Part Two: Opaque Fabric Paint

Finally...time to move on to the opaque fabric paint.

First, I had to cut some freezer paper masks so that I could work on the oval background and the hand separately. I also cut a mask to cover the area surrounding the oval and hand. I will be working on that part of the piece later, after I finish with the center area.

Cutting out the freezer paper masks

I decided to work on the oval areas around the Hamsa hands first. After cutting the freezer paper masks, I ironed them on to the fabric.

Ironing the freezer paper masks to the fabric

Next, I mixed up some colors of opaque fabric paint. I rolled each paint color out on a glass palette with a foam roller  (also called a brayer) to get an even coat on the roller. On the piece with the blue oval (and orange Hamsa), I rolled colors out on print blocks and printed the uncovered area with them.

Printing with opaque fabric paint

On the piece with the fuchsia oval (and turquoise Hamsa), I slipped a hot glue block design under the fabric and rolled the paint over the fabric to pick up the design (a "brayer" rubbing). I then moved the block to offset the design and used one of the Pentel pastel dye sticks to do a rubbing.

Rubbings with opaque fabric paint and pastels

Now it's time to cover up the background and print the Hamsa hands. Won't be long before I remove all the glue!

On to printing the Hamsa hands!