Hamsa for My Friend

Yesterday morning I received a difficult phone call. A dear friend who has been battling cancer for about a year called. She had been on the mend after many months of treatment that had left her so very frail. She was getting her strength back and had even started to get back to some of her artwork.

All looked like it was going according to plan. She was back at work. She was making future plans.

A devastating trip to the doctor over the Easter break showed that although the original cancer was gone, it had unknowingly spread to another spot in her body. This time, the prognosis is not so hopeful. I am trying so hard to have hope. It is hard feeling so helpless when I wish to help.

Today, my friend starts another round of chemo.While waiting for an appointment, I thought about her and began to sketch. My sketching became something of a meditation. I wanted to create something to symbolize what I wanted to give her: protection, love, strength.

I started to combine three symbols: the hamsa (protection), the heart (love) and the Adinkra symbol ram's horns (strength).

These are all symbols that I love. I put them together to form a special hamsa for her. I'm not sure how to present this to her...to print, to stitch or to just give her a sketch.

I hope that my meditation, my focus on sending her these three wishes somehow made it through to her today.

Playing in the Kitchen: Matzoh Resist Part 3

The painted, matzoh resist-covered fabrics are dry. Time to set them. The fabric paint must be set/cured so that it doesn't wash out when the matzoh resist is removed.

Setting the paint can be done a couple of ways. You can let the fabrics sit for a week and the paint will set on its own. The other way is to heat set them with an iron.

I sandwich the resist-covered fabric between two pieces of muslin to protect the iron. I iron this sandwich using the cotton fabric setting for three minutes on one side.  Then, I flip the sandwich over and iron for three minutes on the other side. The fabric paint is now set.

After I've set all the fabric samples, it's time to remove the matzoh resist. I have a plastic storage container that fits perfectly in my sink. I put the fabrics in the container and add a little bit of dishwashing liquid.

Next, I fill the container with warm water and let the fabric soak for 10 minutes.

I swoosh them around a bit to loosen up the resist.

I then pour out the dirty water. I usually have to do this a couple of times as well as rubbing the fabric to remove the very last bit of the matzoh.

Here's what the fabrics look like once the resist is removed.

To make sure they are totally clean, I put them in my washing machine at on a warm delicate setting with just a trace of soap. I dry them in a delicate cycle.

Here are the finished pieces.

Matzoh resist scratch technique over monoprint

Matzoh resist crackle technique over monoprint

Sampler of application techniques over wipe up cloth

Matzoh resist using scratch technique over white fabric

I'm starting my Arresting Resists class this week as well as my Exploring Surface Design class...a crazy back-to-back teaching arrangement. I'm sure over the course of the next several weeks I'll be sharing photos of student work, and especially resist work, with you.

Playing in the Kitchen: Matzoh Resist Part 2

After the matzoh resist-covered fabric dries completely, remove the pieces from the boards. In the case of the crackle piece, you will need to scrunch the fabric to create cracks in the resist. The paint will seep into the cracks to reach the fabric thus creating the design.

Before painting, insert a piece of muslin between the plastic film that is taped to the board and the resist-covered fabric. The muslin will absorb excess paint and help prevent it from breaching the resist.

Mix up some Pebeo Setacolor Transparent Fabric Paint. You will need the paint to be thicker than the usual dilution (which is 1 part paint to 2 parts water), I usually mix about a 1 part paint to 1.5 parts water. The paint should be about the consistency of heavy cream. This also prevents the paint from flowing under the resist (breaching).

Use a foam brush to apply the paint.

If the paint starts to pool, you can use scrap fabric or a paper towel to soak it up.

After the fabrics are painted, they will need to dry completely before setting. More about that in the next post.

Playing in the Kitchen: Matzoh Resist Part 1

As mentioned in the last post, leftover matzoh or matzoh farfel can be used as an excellent fabric resist.

Start with two 6" squares of matzoh...the really plain kind (you know, the kind that tastes like cardboard!). Break it/crush it into small pieces (approximately 1/2") in a bowl and then measure it. It should be about 1 cup. You can also opt to use 1 cup of the farfel, which is already broken up into small pieces.

After measuring the crushed matzoh, put it back in the bowl and add 1 cup of cold water.

Let the matzoh/water mixture sit for 30 minutes.

The matzoh will absorb the water.

Pour the mixture into a blender and blend for about 30 seconds or until the mixture is a thick paste without obvious pieces of matzoh.

Now it's time to apply the matzoh paste.

You can use your painted background fabrics for these samples or start with white Prepared for Dyeing Cotton or pre-washed cotton. Tape the fabric to plastic. I use Graphix Clear-Lay Plastic Film (acetate) taped to a foam core board so I can easily move it to a drying area.

Start by misting the fabric. This is important, as it helps the resist paste penetrate the fabric's fibers.

You can now apply the paste in different ways.
It can be applied with a plastic spreader, bristle brush, or even a piece of plastic wrap.

Applying the paste with a plastic spreader

Applying the paste with plastic wrap

You can place a texture block or plate under the fabric and use the spreader to pull the resist paste across.

You can also remove the paste in certain areas. Here, I'm using a wooden skewer to remove some of the paste.

It's time to let the paste dry on the fabrics before applying fabric paint. This can take up to 24 hours depending on the humidity. I like to use a fan to speed up the process.

Next post: "Crackle" technique and applying the fabric paint.

Playing in the Kitchen: Get Ready for Matzoh

Passover is ending and I don't know about you (if you celebrate) but I'm tired of eating matzoh. Of course, there is always some left. Rather than throw it out...how about turning it into a fabric resist?

About this time last year, I was thinking this very thing. I had all this leftover matzoh and farfel (love that word...basically broken up matzoh) and I was in the middle of my grant project on kitchen resists...how perfect. In fact, I experimented by creating six different recipe variations!

Tomorrow, I will provide a step-by-step of one of those recipes. So...gather up your leftover matzoh and a blender and meet me here tomorrow...

P. S.: The wonderful crackle design on the left side of my header was made with a matzoh resist recipe.

Backgrounds: Wipe Up Cloths and Monoprints

Yesterday, I demonstrated how to make a textured background fabric using a knotted resist. Today, I want to show you how to make two other types of backgrounds: wipe up cloths and monoprints.

I always like to have an extra piece of fabric handy to wipe up excess fabric paint. These cloths can often be surprisingly beautiful. Below is a technique I developed to purposefully create a wipe up cloth.

You will need a piece of acetate (I use Graphix Clear-Lay Plastic Film) taped to your work surface. In this case, I'm using a piece of foam core board as my work surface.

Mix up some fabric paints. I use Pebeo Setacolor Transparent Fabric Paints that have been diluted (1 part paint to 2 parts water).

Use a foam brush to sprinkle colors onto the acetate.

Wipe up the colors with your piece of fabric.

Repeat until you have a pleasing cloth.

To create a monoprint, you will need a similar work set up.
Paint designs on the acetate.

Carefully lay your piece of fabric over the painted surface to absorb the paint. You can press the back of the fabric with your hands or roll a clean brayer over the fabric to help with this step. The brayer will sometimes move the paint, distorting the design. I used my hands for this piece.

If you wish, you can continue to paint additional designs on the acetate and lay the fabric down to absorb more layers.

Once dry, you can add layers of resist or printing over the backgrounds. The first image on this post is a wipe up cloth on which I spread a resist layer of uncooked wheat flour paste. I scratched designs in the wet paste. Once it dried, I painted over the designs.

Below are are two monoprints where I spread a resist layer of uncooked wheat flour paste and scratched designs while the paste was wet. Once the paste dried, I cracked it and painted a layer of transparent paint over the fabric.

You can see how having a textured background added another dimension to these fabrics.