Monday, November 30, 2009

WEEKLY TEXTILE CONSTRUCTION #30

Weekly Textile Construction #30

Hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving including family, friends and good food. Holidays are an opportunity to take a little break from our routines but after a couple of days I am always ready to get back to my studio and get to work.

This week I'm sharing a small piece made from fabric I monoprinted several weeks ago. I have gotten interested in 'black and white', painting, monoprinting and texture...lots of texture.


Using my fabric of choice, Kaufman Prima, I monoprinted an 18" x 18" inch square with activated silk black dye from Pro Chem. I painted the thicken dye on a sheet of acrylic and laid it face down on the fabric to make the print. Kaufman no longer manufactures Prima which is a lovely muslin with a silky hand...too bad. I have a small supply and dread the day it runs out.


After processing the fabric I cut it in half, flipped one half over and sewed the two pieces together so that one half is right side out and the other side shows the back of the fabric. The lighter side is the fabric back.


Using a very soft polyester thread called Invisifil, I quilted the piece using a zigzag stitch and inserted pieces of yarn as I went along. This added additional texture both visually and physically.



Detail TC #30

I like the richness of the surface made by the paintbrush when I prepared the monoprint plate. There are lots of shades of 'black'. Actually, this dye has lots of blue in the mix and there is a nice blue cast to the markings. I mix a very concentrated mix of dye and often in the wash out process the white of the fabric will take on a gray tone. In this piece the white areas have an almost beige tone. I have no explanation for this....it's chemistry and I bow to the laws of that science.

I'm still planning to publish the next stage of Compositional Conversation this week. Hang with us just a bit longer. Thank you for dropping by and I would love to hear from you!