Gelatin Beauties

Another Exploring Surface Design session of gelatin plate printing and another series of beautiful prints. No wonder this is one of my favorite class sessions!

Acoatzin Torres

Acoatzin Torres

Acoatzin Torres

Acoatzin Torres

Kathy Perrin

Kathy Perrin

Sheryle Yount

Sheryle Yount

Sheryle Yount

Sheryle Yount

Sheryle Yount

Washing Out Fabrics and Thinking Ahead

After setting the fabric paint and washing out yesterday's fabrics, this is how they looked.

It got me thinking about what I'd like to do for the Strohl Gallery Shop at Chautauqua. I've been thinking about going back to some signature pieces but using my Controlled Breach technique. So I'm going to try a version of Joie de Vivre and Surely You Jest! (see printed, stitched and beaded versions below). I hope to "keep it simple", as Jennifer says. Maybe just a bit of stitching and a bit of beading (I will try to control myself!).

Joie de Vivre

Surely You Jest!

Tonight, in Exploring Surface Design we will be working with gelatin printing plates. Students in the fall and winter sessions made remarkable prints during this class. I can't wait to see what this semester's students create.

Gelatin print with dandelions and yarn by Julie B Booth

Catching Kansas Fabric Fever

Two Controlled Breach fabrics like two old friends

 Last night, I got the chance to talk to Pam and Jennifer. They just started their annual retreat together at Pam's house. We were arranging Skype time...more like a negotiation... as they are extremely early risers/early to bedders and are in an hour earlier time zone than I am.

We set the time for 10 AM this Saturday and Pam said, "Be sure to have your seatbelt on" as it will be a whirlwind tour of their time in the studio. Pam has already painted 16 yards of fabric and Jennifer has been working with her yards and yards of beautiful rusted fabrics. As I look at my cluttered work table, it is hard for me to conceive of 16 yards of fabric! Time to get my 8 foot table cleared off.

In the meantime, after my talk with them, I went down into the studio to whip up a couple of Controlled Breach fabrics (okay...okay...more like sample size). I wanted to share in a bit of all that excitement out in Kansas.

This morning, I got up (but NOT at 5:30 Central time...or even Eastern time!) and painted the second layer of fabric paint.

I'll be setting these later today and then removing the wheat flour resist.

They'll be shipped off to Kansas tomorrow along with a few other goodies...

Mom's Birthday Hamsa Continued

 I finished stitching my mom's 80th birthday hamsa at the airport yesterday.

When I got home, I looked through some of my other printed fabrics. I decided to stitch another Star of David on one of the printed doily fabrics. My original thought was to put it on the back of the hanging (and I probably still will) with the red strip of XOXOX fabric.

But I also liked how the star related to the hamsa...like mother and daughter.

I will need to put this aside temporarily as other projects are calling me this week.

Robbin's Woven Bag

Robbin's finished bag

For the past two summers, my extended family has spent a week together in Cape Cod, MA. Both summers, I designed a fiber art project for the family (and in particular, for my talented niece, Ivy) to work on.

Last summer, I designed a special weaving loom (an ingenious one, I have to admit!) to create two possible bag designs.

The loom I designed for last summer's project

Robbin working on her woven bag last summer

This weekend, when we all got together for Mom's 80th, Robbin brought her bag. She put the finishing stitches into her lining. I was so pleased to see the finished piece.

A peek at the beautiful lining

Robbin seemed pleased as well.

Celebration Time!

Spending time with family today celebrating Mom's 80th!

Exploring Surface Design: More Screen Printing

Acoatzin Torres: Blue glue gel screen over painted fabric

Here are some more samples from the Wednesday evening class. These prints were created with screens made with torn or cut freezer paper designs.

Kathy Perrin: Torn freezer paper screen

Kathy Perrin: Cut freezer paper screen

Kathy Perrin: Cut freezer paper screen

Acoatzin Torres and Keith Ryder: Cut freezer paper screen, overprinted

Acoatzin Torres and Keith Ryder: Torn freezer paper screen

Acoatzin Torres and Keith Ryder: Torn freezer paper screen

Acoatzin Torres and Keith Ryder: Torn freezer paper screen, multiple printings

I also brought in a screen I made using blue glue gel, an idea I got from Rayna Gillman's book, Create Your Own Hand-Printed Cloth. I highly recommend that you add this book to your surface design library.

Acoatzin Torres and Keith Ryder printing with blue glue gel screen

Acoatzin Torres: Blue glue screen over painted background fabric

On a personal note: I got a chance to visit Tybee Island again. What a glorious day! My brother, Jeff, his girlfriend, Robbin and I spent an hour floating and body surfing in the clear, 76 degree water...it was heaven!

A reminder that the first issue of my newsletter, Julie B Booth Surface Design News will be coming out tomorrow, May 26th at 8:00 AM (Eastern Standard Time). The newsletter will be focusing on all the items (edible and inedible) and tools you can use from your kitchen to create surface design effects on fabric. It's easy to sign up...all you have to do is fill in your email address at the top of the right hand column of this blog and press the subscribe button. After you sign up, I will also send you a freebie list of Ten Kitchen Surface Design Ideas.

What's Happenin' In Exploring Surface Design

Keith Ryder and Acoatzin Torres: Lutradur screen

Last night, was class number six for my Exploring Surface Design class. The evening was spent silk screening a la Jane Dunnewold's improvisational silk screening. The focus was on cut and torn freezer paper designs and my take on Jane's interfacing technique...using Lutradur.

Here are some of the fabrics created in class using the Lutradur screens:

Lutradur screen after printing

Kathy Perrin: Lutradur screen

The colored pencil drawing of Mom's hamsa is complete. I've brought along the stitched one to work on here in Savannah.