Angel

 

As you can read, "Failed to Publish" is still here.  I have a slew of comments in queue ready to be published.  I try three times every day in hopes my comments will be published.  Thank you for understanding. 

 I began this project in my craft room where I cut a heart out of corrugated cardboard, stripped the top layer, and painted it white.

Then I began pounding irises.  I was having one of those days when my art was as scattered as my thoughts!

I decided I had "sacrificed" enough old iris blooms

and was ready to move on.
 
I used a tiny piece of one of my "overdyed" flower pounded fabrics in this assemblage.  The heart was most assuredly floral in nature.

The crocheted floral piece was made by my grandmother and it was one of three crocheted squares I had removed from an old pillowcase years ago.  It looks like I got some of the iris "juice" on the square, too.

My grandmother was a genuine angel, so I will dedicate this heart to her.

I included some cheese cloth

that I dyed using green tea.

I used green coated copper wire to match the green in the crocheted leaves.  My mind is still racing with all kinds of ways to make and decorate these hearts, because I see this as a series that I want to pursue sometime in May.

This is Day 20 of 22 leading up to bEARTHday and I recycled corrugated cardboard and pounded some dead iris blooms to create a heart assemblage dedicated to my Grandmother who, along with my Grandfather, raised me from birth.

Thanks for visiting because your support of my projects means the world to me.  

 

Today I shared a post from April, 20, 2016.  This is actually Day 19 of 22 leading up to bEARTHday.  And I'm STILL grateful for your visit. 

  

Recycled cardboard and flowers

While grabbing some supplies on my front porch,

I noticed two

colorful visitors.

This one even stared at me awhile.

I just loved the feathers and markings.  And I don't have to remind you how much I love this camera, either!  EDIT: My friend Valerie asked the name of these birds and they are red-breasted American robins.  Since these robins are indigenous to North America, it's no wonder Valerie, who lives in Europe, has never seen one.

But it was time to get back on task.  I was on my front porch to retrieve a piece or two of corrugated cardboard that I had used all winter to help insulate and shelter my garden hose, as well as a large box of magazines I was given several months ago that was too heavy to move inside because of my still sore wrist.

After I cut the cardboard,

I got completely distracted and decided to pound some irises, since I realized this was the most efficient way to transfer the color to the fabric.

I picked several fabric pieces I had already dyed, including those I had dyed using black beans and grape juice.

I had already pounded irises on one of the black bean dyed fabrics.  I thought it "overdyed" quite nicely.  Then the wind picked up and blew my fabric onto the ground.

Since it was too windy outside to continue pounding irises, I adjourned to my craft room where I cut a heart out of the cardboard, stripped the top layer, and painted it white.

Then I continued pounding inside.  I was having one of those days when my art was as scattered as my thoughts!

I decided I had "sacrificed" enough old iris blooms

and was ready to move on.
 
I used a tiny piece of one of the "overdyed" flower pounded fabrics in this assemblage.  As I was uploading this, I saw the Moo-Mania and More challenge about floral, and decided this entire post could be considered floral.  But the heart was most assuredly floral in nature.

The crocheted floral piece was made by my grandmother and it was one of three crocheted squares I had removed from an old pillowcase years ago.  It looks like I got some of the iris "juice" on the square, too.

My grandmother was a genuine angel, so I will dedicate this heart to her.

I included some cheese cloth

that I dyed using green tea.

I used green coated copper wire to match the green in the crocheted leaves.  My mind is still racing with all kinds of ways to make and decorate these hearts, because I see this as a series that I want to pursue sometime in May.

This is Day 20 and I recycled corrugated cardboard and pounded some dead iris blooms to create a heart assemblage dedicated to my Grandmother who, along with my Grandfather, raised me from birth.

And because the crocheted flower is floral, and the flower pounded fabric is floral, I decided to add this to Moo-Mania and More's FLORAL challenge.  Thanks for visiting because your support of my projects means the world to me.  And don't forget to drop by Moo-Mania and More possibly with your own floral entry.

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.

Pound that flower

I've been asked to explain about flower pounding. I have done flower pounding in the past, but never created a tutorial for it, or explained what it is. Basically you dye fabric or paper by hammering or pounding the flower onto the fabric or paper. When the pulverized flower is removed, the color or colors remain on the paper or in the fabric. All flowers need to have their calyxes, pistils and/or stamens removed. White flowers like the peonies in my vase don’t work as they have no pigment to transfer onto the paper.


Materials:
You will need a rubber or rawhide mallet. Either will work, but the rubber mallet has more surface, so you won't have to pound as long. You can also use a metal hammer, but you have to be careful and tap gently.

You will need at least two sheets of card stock (preferred) or copier paper (some say this type of paper doesn't absorb the dye well).

Alternately, you can use 100% cotton or linen fabric that has been prepared for dyeing (PFD) or is vintage and has been washed many times.

And of course, you will need some flowers. Younger flowers will have less color, older ones' colors will be more intense. Pick flowers early in the day after the dew has left the flowers.


Although I've pounded other flowers, I wanted to see if an iris was really as juicy as I thought it would be. I've had irises drop dead onto tablecloths or doilies before, leaving a horrible stain, so I felt they would be great candidates for this project.


I began by gently tapping the flower. I really wanted to test the flower to see how much pounding would be required and how much "juice" I could expect. I suggest you test any and every flower type you plan to pound. It never hurts to be thorough.


It looked like this iris would be a good candidate for flower pounding. Now it was time to take it apart and demonstrate the technique of flower pounding.


I began by placing individual petals on one sheet of the card stock. This is not like pressing flowers, where you can leave the flower whole (intact). The secret to good flower pounding is separating each petal and gently laying it in a pleasing arrangement.

As with flower painting or stamping, most of us know the back side of leaves will produce a better image. Position your flowers or leaves so the back side is the important side of your image and decide which sheet of paper will get the important side. You can see in the above photo, I placed some of the petals facing one direction and some facing the other, giving each sheet of card stock the opportunity to take advantage of the back side of certain petals.


When you have the arrangement you want, place the second sheet of card stock in place. Begin by gently tapping the flower into place. Some authorities believe you should tape the pages or fabric in place, but I've never done it that way.

After the flower is "seated" on the paper, begin pounding until you see the image through the back. That way, the flower won't "walk" on you and create shadows. Of course, this might be the look you are going for.


You will know when you have your desired impression, because it will show through on the back side of your card stock. I prefer to pound my flower, then add my leaves and stem. If you have a particularly "juicy" flower, you may need to occasionally wipe your hammer to remove some of the juice and keep it from spreading.


Gently lift or remove the top piece. Remove the now pulverized flower and/or leaves. If any pieces flake off,


or stick to the paper, DO NOT REMOVE THEM until they are dry. Wait until the pulp has dried, then gently remove it with a soft brush or your fingernail. And DO as I say, not as I did!! I got a bit too eager, so that's why there are "empty" spots on the left page.



Hopefully, the other two irises will be easier, now that I remember how to do this technique.

Ruminations and tips:

I found pounding the iris on card stock worked best. The card stock absorbed less moisture, while the copy/printer paper absorbed a lot of moisture from the iris and left both papers wet a long time after the pounding.

If you have trouble getting the flowers pounded, place your papers-and-flower sandwich on a hard board, such as a cutting board. Be sure to pound all of the flower or the area you miss will be obvious and show on the paper.

Pound one flower at a time, allowing it to dry completely before adding another flower to your design. That holds true for flowers that are the same variety and color, as well as different flower varieties.

Don't try to pound two different variety flowers at once. The "juice" from one flower will stain and contaminate the other flower.

Although similar, flower pounding on fabric is a bit different and has various characteristics and drawbacks. I hope to put together a tutorial on pounding flowers on fabric soon.

Don't forget to admire your art, and please let me know if you try this.

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