Sunday, August 18, 2013

Days 2, 3, and 4 of taking fabric in a new direction

To catch you up to speed, if you haven't seen Day 1, it can be seen here.  I have a plan and a vague idea where I'm going with this fabric now that I've had a night to think about it.  Unfortunately, it's raining and I have NO room in my craft room for drying more than two pieces at a time.

Supplies are simple: fabric from Day 1 that was misted and some cheap (the cheaper the better) black craft paint.

Originally I planned to squirt this paint out of the bottle, but I couldn't get the plastic seal off, so decided to remove the cap and use a paint brush to spread the paint.


Here it is finished and drying on my craft table.

 After it was dry, I scanned it.  The colors are much truer in the scan.

I also colored the pastel piece I demoed on Day 1, allowed it to dry, and scanned it, too.  And yes, that's all I finished on this day.  More tomorrow, if it isn't raining.

"Tomorrow" turned into two days before I could get outside to play due to the rain.  On my outdoor desk are various craft paints.  The two on the right are metallic.  I also have an old faux credit card to spread the paint around, since I am brayer challenged.

I began with bright yellow, but when I started to squirt out a dollop of paint on the piece I demoed on Day 1, apparently I had already thinned it down with water.  That meant I couldn't move it until it had dried.  And because it was so muggy and humid, it didn't dry for hours and hours and hours and hours and (OK, you get the idea).  That translated to even more hours of waiting.

For the monochromatic pink fabric, I added a touch of red and bronze metallic paint, and spread them with my plastic card.

The yellow paint was still not dry when I placed it, along with the other fabric, on my porch rail.  I ran out of yellow paint before I got to the end of the fabric, that's why it is missing some as shown.  I'm still liking the direction this fabric is taking.


Here I've scanned a small portion of the originally monochromatic fabric.

You can see that the wet paint bled into the color mists, giving the edges a perceived shadow. The paint made the hand* of the fabric stiff, but since I'm turning these into art pieces, not fabric for clothing, that doesn't worry me.

*Hand is the way the fabric feels, usually against your skin or to your touch.  It's especially important if the fabric is to be turned into clothing.  And of course, if I was going to turn this fabric into a pillow, it would have a very rough hand in spots where the paint is heavy.

Although this fabric is intended for either an art quilt or a scrappy book cover, not clothing or pillows, I'm really liking where this fabric is heading.  And it all started with an old white bed sheet I got at the thrift store for less than $2.00.  If you want to see other pieces I've made with this same bed sheet, go here, here, here, here, here, and possibly my favorite here.  And it's obvious, I still have more of that same bed sheet.

The next day I decided to try an experiment I saw on my friend Patty's blog.  Patty had pounded some leaves into fabric.  Now I confess, I have pounded flowers before, but never leaves, and never on fabric.  So I was looking forward to this.

However, I was making a mess of these leaves because of the hammer.  I switched to the handle, which made the leaves veins a bit more noticeable,

but not much.  I was not at all pleased with the direction this was taking, so I stopped.  I felt I either needed different leaves, a different hammer, or maybe flowers to pound into this fabric.


This is the scan showing the leaves I managed to pound into the fabric.  Not sure what my next move will be, but as soon as the weather improves, I'll be back to play with more fabric, probably this very piece.  Any suggestions are always welcome.


18 thoughtful remarks:

Nan G said...

Wow! Looking good I must say. You sure look like you're having fun too...being all messy and everything. :) Hugs

Julia Dunnit said...

of course, I have nomideas, but i too like the direction you're headed. i think the leaves are a great idea on anothe rpiece..they're a bit finely detailed for these pieces I think. i really like the colours. we're all rainy here too, although of course the humidity is a bummer, drying times are a skill..I think i'm too impatient!

dawn said...

Hello, I loved seeing your fabric and fun misting your doing, so pretty they are. Sorry to hear about the rain again. The table your working on is beautiful just as it is indeed but I could see wanting to give it a new look too. Pounding leaves does sound fun, I saw Patty's and want to do that also. Good luck with these and hope the weather is clear and sunny for you this week.

voodoo vixen said...

I love the way these are turning out... very gelli plate-ish but in material! I like the leaf idea... but maybe you need leaves that will bleed out a bit more?

Dawn said...

Ha ha ha you've seen me with big sis, that is soooo sweet, lol we had a fab time and it was so very good to get to meet a few of the people I chat away to through my blog. The added bonus was some quality time with Karen - priceless!!
I love your fabrics sweetie, particularly the blu/green/pink/yellow combo. What an interesting experiment with the leaves and I think it looks wonderful.
Tee hee, I am a lifetime Depp fan, he has brought some of my favourite characters to life over the years bless him. Hmmm I feel another altered book coming!!!!!!!!
Huge hugs x x x x

Anonymous said...

Lovin that bright yellow, yum. I do like your leaves and the impressions they left, like ghostly images. I will keep watching for your process to call itself done. xox

Craftymoose Crafts said...

I really like how these pieces are progressing! I saw Patty's blog, too, and I admit I wanted to run right out and try pounding some leaves, too!

I've heard you say you don't stamp much, but coating leaves or other items with paint and pressing them down might be a nice effect, although perhaps not as subtle as you are going for.

Monica said...

Interesting, the way the leaf cameout.

Divers and Sundry said...

i think these would be pretty framed and hung on a wall. i like how they are turning out.

Joyfulploys said...

I love this! Lots of possibilities for using this! Have you seen this video for using acrylic paints on fabric (using a Gelli plate?
http://kimmerbe.wordpress.com/2013/08/14/gelli-printing-on-fabric/

Mary

Halle said...

Super cool. The leaf pounding turned out cool. Subtle but cool.
the squiggles and drips are right up my alley lately. :)

Krisha said...

You are such an inspiration! Just love the way these fabrics are turning out and how each step is giving it more depth. Now you have me thinking journal cover fabric and I might just have to go to the second hand store and buy a cheap sheet!!

Unknown said...

Great results! The leaf print turned out especially well ... Cool!

Rita said...

Oh, I can definitely see any of these (or all of these) as book covers! Of course, I am partial to book binding, though. ;)

~*~Patty S said...

Wow your fabrics are really transforming beautifully E!
They look great and I think the subtle veining you got by hammering the leaves adds a nice bit of texture and mystery. I was surprised at how much work it was to pound.
Wish I could tell you the name of the leaves I used, but for the life of me I cannot find the name of the plant (it gets small white button flowers and the leaves are very juicy which is why I got the results I did I think!)
I read somewhere that heat setting the fabric will help keep the colors, altho I never plan to wash the fabric I made, but like you will use it in art.
Something tells me you'll make something wonderful out of your fabrics long before I get to mine ;)
oxo

elle said...

Your fabric is looking great! I luv the abstractness of it.

Dianne said...

oh my dear, these are gorgeous! they will make outstanding art pieces...what fun, and if you are like me, hard to wait for them to dry!

Unknown said...

I have a hard time with those silly plastic seals on the cheap-o
paint,too!
Day 1 on your blog cannot be found. I was trying to play catch up!