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The above photos is from of one of pieces that I painted on Saturday that ended up getting rained on.  The other two images underneath is the second of the two pieces I did.  Both were drenched.  Rich saw them, ran out in the rain with me.  I rolled it in the plastic, and he and I got it into the garage where the fabric remained rolled up for two days (rain on Sun and Mon, and no enough room to roll them flat).  Today the weather was lovely.  Once I could take a break from working, I unrolled them on the grass.  Both were still wet and paint was running all over them.  I sloshed the paint around and added more where it was needed.  I did it about 2 in the afternoon, and it didn’t dry until after 7 p.m.  The piece is about 4.5 yards by 60 inches, and it took nearly an hour to iron it!

Here are the photos of the other piece.  This one is 3 yards by 60 inches.  I’m very grateful that both pieces came out fine and that I’ll be able to use them for quilt backs.

This is the last of the discharging I did Tuesday night.

The above are black cotton sateen.

These three photos are from the same piece.  It’s about a yard in size.  While I’m not usually a brown person, I like this and I like the other brown pieces that I did.  They have a rich soil quality I like.

I have a couple of these orange pieces, and they are my least favorite, although it could make a good accent color.  It’s from a Walmart black cotton.

I’m taking a break from discharging as on Tuesday night my gloves wore through the finger tips.  The top back pad area of my fingers are still quite tender.  Yes, I ordered much thicker gloves and a respirator (the one I was using wasn’t cutting it).

Before the finale of Lost, I discharged a few more pieces of fabric.  The first three are blacks that I bought from Joann’s – an Egyptian cotton.

I like how these came out.  They feel tight, almost like a batik.

These were some more blacks from my workroom.  No idea what make.  I do like the the browns.

The above is another black from Joann’s.  It was the most expensive black I found there – $7.95 a yard – and it seems to soak in the bleach almost immediately and no black remained.  I’m surprised at how bright it came out.  I have a couple others from this black.  It also reads orangy, but paler with subtle patterning.

After a long spell of what felt like way too much of the stressful flavor of work and not nearly enough me time, I finally felt like I could take some time off to focus on some of my own art.  While I desperately want to make a new wall hanging, I decided to do some fabric painting to get the juices flowing.  I like painting large pieces in a primarily black pattern to use on the backs of quilts.  I finally felt some happy brewing as painting became my goal for the afternoon. Rich came outside and took this picture.  He pointed out that my hands and arms are covered, but I got the “why the heck are you painting barefoot” speech along with the “are you painting in your pajama bottoms?”  That would be I like being barefoot and yes, pj bottoms.

It didn’t take long for him to come outside telling me it might rain.  Happy me is no longer a happy me because I thought it was suppose to be a clear afternoon (and it was — mostly).  So the above is a version of the “oh damn” face as I quickly painted the piece and a second, hoping for the best.  It started to lightly drizzle, but I thought it would stop.  Being that the deck is wooden, and paint was dripping all over the plastic, I figured there was a good chance I’d mess up the deck (ask me how I know fabric paint and a wooden deck don’t get along) if I tried to drag it into the garage.  I decided to leave the fabric alone.  It did drizzle, nothing too hard, but I suspect I now have a four yard x 60″ piece of crap looking fabric — well, two pieces of crap fabric. We’ll see.  It’s still outside as I figure it can’t get much worse (well, it could blow off the plastic and into mud).

I decided to gather up some black fabrics and discharge them.  First I wrapped the fabrics into various bundles.  Then I set up two buckets in a tub.  One had bleach in it, the other anti-chlor to stop the bleaching action.

The process was a fast one.  It didn’t even take a minute to get a reaction from the bleach.  I then dunked the fabric into anti-chlor while taking off the various elastics and what not.  Then everything went into a hot wash with more anti-chlor.  The different blacks produced different results.  I don’t know what fabric is what or where two came  from, but the fabric that came out with more of a muslin look was an inexpensive cotton from a nearby Walmart.  Since the fabric department is being phased in our nearby store, I’ve been periodically checking in to see when things might go on sale.  I’m envisioning buying up things like needles, pins, and other basic supplies.

These are the results of the black from Walmart.  Much more black came out, although it did wash nicely.

I used plastic lids to get this effect.

I like this piece and am glad it’s about a yard in size.

Here’s another black.  It discharged to a pale gray.  I also like this piece, and it’s about a yard.  To my eye it looks more like a batik than a discharged black.

This is a small piece, but I love the look of it.

Here’s the flip side.

This is also about a yard in size.  I’m planning a trip to the Monument Valley area of Utah and the surrounding canyons in early June.  I like how the color scheme of these pieces are putting me in mind of that area.

I tried to replicate the small piece that I like so much, but wasn’t able to do it.  This is a portion of one end (the piece is narrow but long).

And this is a piece from the other end.

While I may have messed up the fabric that’s still in the backyard, I’m pleased with the discharged fabrics.  I’m going to get more fabrics folded and ready do some additional discharging — maybe tomorrow.  I *may* try some other solid colors and commercial prints to see what happens to them.  This time I’m going to remember to put a mask on.  I can still feel the bleach in my lungs despite having a ventilation fan on.

My hope is that creating some new fabric will get myself in gear to make some new work.  We’ll see!

Each year the Festival of Quilts show held in Birmingham, UK features a “virtual studio” – a large wet studio where various types of complex cloth are created.  This year Claire Benn, Leslie Morgan, Linda Maynard, Claudia Helmer, and Elaine Griffiths worked using four main processes.  The only thing better would have been the addition of Jane Dunnewold.  Her presence was there, in spirit,  as co-author of some of the books being sold.

Demonstrations included breakdown printing, which is a way of using a silkscreen (or silkscreens)  and Procion MX dyes to create patterned cloth.  Paper lamination, which uses photographic imagery and/or newsprint with matte medium to create design on sheer polyester fabric.  Screen printing and tray & bucket dyeing.

The above images show a long piece of sheer polyester over several photocopied black/white images — a “paper lamination” in process.  We were told that the cheaper the paper used to copy onto, the better.  The screens have a design on it – this can be a temporary design or a permanent screen, whatever your preference.  Matte medium (she was using Liquitex) is then squeegeed through the screen.  After the entire cloth is thoroughly dried, the paper is washed out.  More information about this process is in the book, “Paper & Metal Leaf Lamination,” which you can get in the US through Jane Dunnewold or in the UK through Committed to Cloth.

Various improvisational screens for printing.

I love looking at art journals, especially when they are crammed with clippings, samples, notes, ideas, and the like. The above journal  filled to the brim with various discharging samples and notes.

The point of the Virtual Studio is to expose people to different methods of creating patterened cloth.  It’s part of the Festival of Quilts show, meaning once you pay admission to the show, you can hang out at the wet studio for as long as you want.  It’s fun watching the artists work, listening to the questions and to the answers.  And photos are allowed.  And of course there are also books and a DVD or two available to purchase.  I bought the latest book from Committed to Cloth, “Screen Printing: Layering Textiles with Colour, Texture & Imagery.” It’s pricey, but good.  If creating art cloth is up your alley, be sure to check out what Jane Dunnewold offers.

I wasn’t sure if I’d make it here today, considering it IS a work day.  But, I decided to go for it.  I’m very glad that I did.  Everyone in the class did some amazing work …

Benedicte …

Sherryl …

Rayna …

Judy …

Colleen …

Randy …

Janet …

Christine …

Jan had one jaw-dropping piece after the next …

This was one of Jan’s little experimental pieces.

Jan explained a few more techniques, this one being direct painting onto a wrapped piece.

It was dye bath mixing time — when everyone put their gloved hands into the bucket to swish around the dye water making sure the dye wasn’t settling on the bottom of the pail and instead was getting onto the fabric.

Then all of the fabric dunked in the dye would sit quietly until the buzzer went off and the next round of mixing started.

An assortment of some of the clamps, clips, and other mark-making devices.

Here are some of my fabrics.  I like the darker purples areas of this more so than the lighter areas, but I like how the light area looks like a set-in block.

While I have no idea what I’d do with this one, I do like it and consider it one of the better ones that I dyed.

This was a pole-wrapped piece using a lot of string.   I meant to be more careful with my wrapping, but I was running out of time to make the last dye bath so I did a fast roll.  Even so, I like how it turned out.

Here are some of the other fabrics I dyed today that I’m happy with.

All in all, it was an excellent class.  Jan was very organized yet relaxed in her approach.  She gave each student a folder with class notes that included an overview of the techniques covered in class.  She also provided us with a fabric swatch set made from the various dye baths made during the class along with its recipe.

Bottom line:  If you have an opportunity to take a class with Jan, go for it!

It was day two with Jan Myers-Newbury teaching shibori techniques at The Newark Museum. I’ve been fortunate to be hitching a ride with Jan, Judy Langille, and Colleen.

Jan is demonstrating wrapping a wide rope with fabric.

I know I should be paying attention, but the reflection on the window behind Jan kept grabbing my attention.  I had to photograph it.  Reflections of shibori … now there’s a patterned design!

The unwrapping of some of the stitched pieces we did as homework.

I didn’t make this lovely …

But I did this one.  The center area was stitched during the evening (well, night, since it was a late one).  The stitching was done in three circles and then drawn tightly before dunking into the dye bath.

More fabric wrapped on poles and dunked into dye baths.

I wish I could say both of these are mine.  But, nope.  The top is Randi’s and the bottom is part of Colleen’s.

One of the studios we work in was filled with looms …

and lots of colorful yarns.

These are direct dyed fabrics without soda ash.  Tomorrow they will be wrapped and dunk into dye baths.  The results should be interesting.

Now, my dilemma.  Tomorrow is day three, but tomorrow is also a work day.  Hmmm … what to do, what to do.

Today was day one of a three day workshop on Shibori techniques taught by Jan Myers-Newbury at The Newark Museum, in NJ.  Of the nine people in the class, one came from Arizona and another from outside of Boston.

The lighting in the studios at the Museum was great.  But, enough with taking photos in the pretty lighting.  It was time to learn what Jan was there to teach – shibori or methods of making a variety of patterned marks on dyed fabric.  First we did a variety of folding and clamping techniques.

These are some of the first fabrics to come out of the dye bath made with folds and clamps.

More examples.

Jan then explained pole wrapping techniques.

After everyone did their wrappings, the poles were put into the dye buckets.

And here are some of the first examples of pole-wrapped fabrics coming out of the dye bath.

Jan continued explaining various string and pole wrappings …

showing finished examples …

while explaining stitch techniques for more patterns.

The class continues tomorrow.!

Here are the four dried and ironed pieces of fabric that I painted yesterday.

These two are particularly close, which is great if I need to use them together for a quilt back.

When I finish ironing, I like to roll it the fabrics onto a tube or cardboard bolt. In this case, I painted about 11 yards. Much of it looks similar so they will stay together on the roll.

Painting over Commercial Fabric …

I have a lot of commercial fabric that I’ve bought over the years, and I hardly use any of it anymore (except on the back of experimental quilting pieces — the stuff I use when working out a design). Periodically I give piles to my sister-in-law.  Otherwise, I like to paint over it.  It works for nearly everything –  sunprinting, monoprinting, airbrushing, and so on.  Generally whatever I’m doing to white fabric (in this case painting), I’ll consider trying on commercial fabric.  Here’s what I do:

I look for pieces that are about two yards (or more), and I look for light prints (great for overpainting). It takes just a quick eyeballing of the shelves to spy a couple contenders. Because I didn’t prewash them, chances are there is some sizing (probably dust too) on the fabric. To help remove it, I immerse the fabric in a sink filled with boiling water (yes, I boil it in a teapot) and stir it with a wooden spoon.  It’s also very helpful to add some soda ash and some Synthrapol.  Some fabrics have a brownish gunk that comes out. These fabrics didn’t seem to have noticeable gunk. After 5-10 minutes, I pour cold water into the sink so that I can ring out the water. I then toss it into the dryer.

Next I make my way to the garage via stepping over Buddy who was sunning himself on the deck.

I still have plastic down from yesterday, and it has a lot of dried paint on it. When I start painting on new fabric, I am aware that the paint from the plastic will get onto the new stuff. If I don’t want that to happen, I rinse down the plastic. Since I’m primarily working with the same colors I did yesterday, I leave it. The less I have to wash of anything, the better. Also, be sure you have lots of water around so that you can rinse your brushes as needed.

Get in the habit of saving any type of decent jar, especially if it has a lid. The jar above on the right is from a Philosophy body scrub. As an aside, you haven’t tried their bath scrubs, lotions, and potions, give them a try. They have interesting, practicably edible scents — pumpkin pie, sugar cookie, coconut frosting. My favorite is Gingerbread Man, which is what the jar is from above. I haven’t seen it lately, and I think it’s a holiday scent only around at that time of year. Okay … the point is to save those jars!  Otherwise, I’m basically doing what I did yesterday.

Our old starter house had a fantastic, full basement that was perfect for painting ad dyeing fabric. It had high ceilings, tiled floors, paneled walls, and several rooms including a laundry room with a big double sink. I use to put wooden boards on Rich’s pool table and paint. I had lightweight insulation boards with fabric drying all over the room, and sometimes I hung pieces to dry over his various weight lifting bars (which didn’t particularly thrill him, but a little paint on his weights isn’t going to hurt!). As a result, I painted, dyed, and airbrushed (airbrushing I did in the back yard) a lot of yardage over those years in that basement.

When we moved into our new home (which certainly isn’t new anymore), we were very happy with the main living area but we both made faces at the basement. It’s not a full basement, it doesn’t have utility sinks, and it’s too nicely finished rather than practically finished. In other words, it had polite-looking rooms with sofas and TVs. We wanted rugged, practical rooms for fish tanks and weights and paints and dyes. Initially we both felt reluctant to use it the way we did our old one because neither of us wanted to mess it up. Eventually we ripped out the rugs and installed tile. Out went pretty and in came a creative mess. Even so, it’s still not a good space for painting a lot of yardage. I generally only work on smaller pieces, paint on digital prints, or sometimes will paint a 1 or 2 yard piece if I move stuff around to make room for it to dry. I learned that the best way for me to paint yardage, is to go into the garage.

Some miscellaneous painted pieces.

I have a new piece that I want to quilt, but I realized I don’t have enough fabric for the backing.  It’s not that I don’t have enough fabric, mind you.  I’ve an embarrassing amount that I’ve collected over the years.  Yet, low and behold, for years I’ve been using fabric that I’ve painted for my quilt backs.

I generally paint about 10-12 yards of something neutral — generally gray with tinges of other colors.  It’s time for a new batch.  I find this coloration works for me, as it goes with nearly everything and it keeps things simple. I use it for about 75% of my quilt backs.  My mission this weekend was to paint.

First I go through some supplies. I am generally looking to see what accent colors I want to use, as I know I’ll primarily be using black.

It doesn’t take long for my dog, Buddy, to come downstairs and check out what I’m doing.

Notice the paint spots on the floor? You can just image what happened to the lovely wall to wall rug that was once in that room!

I select a Deka black (yes, I know Deka fabric paint isn’t available anymore, but I still have some), a Jacquard turquoise, and two Stewart Gill colors. I have a box full of Stewart Gills paints and highly recommend them.
I use house paint brushes to paint large pieces. I do so because I’m not painting detailed images. Instead, I’m painting sweeping strokes to cover large areas. I like house paint brushes better than foam brushes as they tend to fall apart too quickly. However, I never know when I may need them for something so I generally buy a bag full when Michael’s has them on sale 20 per dollar. I use a heavy plastic to paint on. I get it from Walmart’s fabric department. It’s sold on a roll and used for covering furniture. It’s very inexpensive, under a dollar a yard, and because it’s rolled, it’s flat (unlike the folded plastic I use to buy from Home Depo). While many do not like painting on plastic, I do. I like the different unexpected results from the paint pooling in areas.

First rule of painting in the garage is the same as the second and third rules:
Keep paint far away from the motorcycles!

My method for painting fabric for backing is very straight forward.  I mix a large batch paint and water.  I know many people have reasons for not using water.  However, I get great results with it and haven’t had any problems with it over the years.

I start by pouring paint into a jar (in this case I’m using an old Versatex paint jar). I then add water to dilute it, often using more water than paint. Many prefer using Golden’s paint extender for fabric. While I use it for some applications, I like diluting with water for this method because I tend to paint in layers which I think of as washes of color. Often it’s very time consuming, and some pieces can take me days to finish because I’ll paint, let it dry, paint again, let it dry, and so on. Because this is for quilt backs, I generally only paint once.

I start by misting white fabric (I’m using two kinds — the last of some Test Fabric 400M, which is in the picture, and some Robert Kauffman PFD fabric that I bought from Debra Lunn some years ago).  Then it’s simply a matter of painting the diluted black onto the fabric. I tend to scrunch it up the fabric and paint it in a blob (hence the house brush). After I finished with one color, I’ll then add accents of another or even a third color. In this case, I added turquoise accents. (The gloves are off … I couldn’t leave them on while taking a picture!)

Before it is dry, I open it up and hang it on a line to dry.

Once it’s dried, I iron it, and then I rinse the fabric with water.

I then put it in the washer and run the spin cycle. It then goes into the dryer.

Tomorrow I’ll post the ironed pieces (no ironing tonight!).