Running Errands: Surface Design Ideas

My errand list

I was running some errands today, picking up some supplies for upcoming surface design workshops. I'm always looking down the aisles of stores and gathering ideas for using products in new ways. Today, I brought my camera along...

At Staples, after making photocopies for my Changing the Face of Fabric Challenge workshop, I wandered down the aisle with the packing supplies.

I needed some bubble wrap...for packing but also for printing.

I spied these green packing products as well. I bet they'd make for some interesting printing effects especially the Greenwrap.

Cardboard boxes are great for portable printing surfaces and for making print blocks.

Tape and glue are always on my surface design list. I'll be using the packing tape, doubled over for stencils.

Later on at Michael's Arts and Crafts, I immediately went to one of my favorite aisles, the one with all the Creatology Fun Foam. I needed to pick up a number of the 1/4"  x 9 x 12 sheets for the weekend workshop. I love this aisle...look at all the choices of adhesive Fun Foam shapes!

As I presently have a student, Keith, who designs and teaches the creation of spectacular cakes (each an amazing art piece); I decided to wander over to the cake decorating aisle.

I was surprised to find foam print blocks for printing designs on cakes!

There were also texture plates and mats for rolling textures onto fondant.

Outside Michael's and I couldn't resist taking a picture of the flip-flops. Heat these up with a heat gun or embossing tool and you can impress textures on them for printing.

A few things I picked up today: Restickable mounting shapes and dots (from Staples) and adhesive felt shapes and FunFusion perle beads (from Michael's).  I plan to stick the mounting shapes onto fabric as masks and pick them up and reposition them. The felt shapes can be applied to cardboard to make print blocks. The FunFusion might be fun to stick under fabric for a brayer rubbing or to press into a heated moldable foam block (or a heated flip-flop) for a texture block.

Oh the possibilities!

Roy Reminder

Rainbow Lucite beads from Star's Beads, Ltd.

 Just a quick reminder that Jennifer and I plan to continue playing the Searching for Roy G Biv Challenge. This month's challenge color is Orange and the posting date for photos is the third Thursday, June 21st. That gives you just over two weeks to get out and about with your camera.

As an added incentive, I will be producing a piece of fabric each month in that month's theme color as a give away. But...you have to play to qualify to win!

As this is something new, I am also offering up the piece of fabric from last month's theme (Red) color as well.

Now...even though I'm sure she wouldn't mind...I don't want to be sending all this fabric to Jennifer! So come on and play with us!

Go here for more information on how to play.

What If-ing Weeds Part 2

Yesterday, played with printing some weeds from my garden... doing a lot of what if-ing. In yesterday's post, I showed some of the results using Opaque Pebeo Setacolor Fabric Paint.

I also experimented with diluted Transparent Pebeo Setacolor Fabric Paint. I worked with a dilution of about 1 part paint to 1.5 parts water.

First, I just painted directly on the back (veiny) side of the weed with the large leaf; placed it on a piece of Prepared for Dyeing cotton and pressed to release the paint.

I also tried printing a leaf on some white felt.

Next, I decided to paint both sides of the leaf.

I made a sandwich...bottom layer of Habotai silk, second layer of PFD cotton, then the painted leaf with the veiny side down and finally another piece of PFD cotton on top. I used my hands to press down on all the layers. Here are the results.

Top piece of PFD cotton that picked up the paint from the top of the leaf.

Layer of PFD cotton directly under leaf picked up the paint from the bottom of the leaf.

Silk under the cotton picked up residual paint.

I noticed that the small veins of the leaf had absorbed some transparent paint so I placed the leaf down on another piece of PFD cotton and rolled over the leaf with my foam brayer.

I also tried working with the Velcro weed. I painted both sides, placed it on a piece of PFD cotton and folded some of the cotton over to get two prints at the same time. I did this a few times.

I can see that there are a lot of possibilities. I'm planning to take a large piece of fabric, a plastic drop cloth and my paints out to the garden to do some plein air printing. Who knows where this is leading exactly...just gotta keep what if-ing...

What If-ing Weeds

Experimenting with printing weeds

 Having been inspired by my Skype session with Pam and Jennifer, I decided to do a bit of what if-ing with the weeds in my garden.

My exhibiting group, F.I.N.E., has an exhibition planned for next year called, All Over the Map. I decided to focus on ways of mapping the weeds in my garden. So far, I have two finished hangings based on my drawings of Wood Sorrel. I've been trying to figure out some other ways of working with weeds.

The what if-ing began with gathering some weeds. My garden is overrun with a weed that is as sticky as Velcro! Another weed had large broad leaves.

I first decided to put the weeds under cotton fabric and roll over them (a brayer rubbing) with Opaque Pebeo Setacolor Fabric Paint.

I noticed that the weeds left a design on the paint on the foam brayer and if I rolled it out on another piece of fabric, I could get soft impressions of the designs.

I then tried some direct printing. I rolled opaque paint out on the glass palette and placed the weeds on the paint. I then applied more paint to the other side of the weed/leaf. I sandwiched the weeds between two pieces of cotton fabric and pressed down so the fabric paint would release onto both pieces of fabric.

This worked especially well with the large leaves.

In addition to working with the opaque fabric paint, I also did some techniques using diluted Transparent Pebeo Setacolor Fabric Paint. I'll show you the results of those experiments tomorrow.

Contemplation Time

This morning, I had a Skype session with Pam and Jennifer. They are nearing the end of their annual retreat. After we worked out some technological bugs (but not all), I got an amazing tour of their week of work, along with a tour of Pam's studio and the Annex where a lot of magic happened.

What was interesting to see was how sympatico the work is between these two artists. Earth and water. It would make for a beautiful, engaging show. You could see the satisfaction on both Pam's and Jennifer's faces, as decisions for new directions were made and even some pieces completed.

Although, I was thrilled for them, it did bring into fuller focus that I am in the midst of a direction change myself. This has been happening for at least a year...which is the last time I created a doll. As I struggle to think about completing another doll for Chautauqua, I am beginning to wonder if that phase of my artistic life is finished, or at least finished for the time being.

A new phase has yet to take complete form and that is always unsettling. I have been working on fabric resists for over a year and making the fabric is always exciting. Pam and Jennifer keep urging me to work larger, as I did for the Caos fabrics.

I have many ideas and many obligations. I am not the best at paring down. I love many aspects of what I am doing...teaching, designing new classes, experimenting with new techniques. My issue right now is the format for my work...what ultimate shape it will take, what it will be and try to say.

A long walk after our talk and I am realizing that some monoprints I did off of the wet paint on some resisted fabrics spoke more to me than the final fabrics.

I also had some thoughts about working with the weeds in the garden for the future F.I.N.E. exhibit. I may try exploring some of them tomorrow.

Gelatin Printing: Joining In

Wednesday night, I had to join in the gelatin experience. I started out by showing my students some basic techniques and before I knew it, I was caught up in playing and what iffing with the rest of the class!

After working the late shift at Potomac Fiber Arts Gallery yesterday, I came home to a surprise package from Pam.

Thanks Pam for including me in the retreat!

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