More monoprinting with Jacquard Fabric Paints

I've been continuing to experiment with printing using the Jacquard Fabric paints and the gelatin plate I made during the class with Linda Germain.  And I am feeling a bit more satisfied with my results as I discover ways to get the look I am after.  But I do need to use some of the many prints I have developed along the way.  So I thought I would try stitching into one of them, just using an echo stitch around the main shapes.  Then I am going to try painting/rollering over the stitching using one of the techniques that Laura Kemshall uses....more on that later.

This is as far as I got yesterday and I'm hoping to get a bit more done today before I prepare the piece for painting over.  I'll show you some more of those steps as soon as I get them done!

I have some yard work to do and I am going to go for a walk later with my guy who is home now from his winter in India and who is adjusting to our time and our weather....definitely not as warm here he tells me.  Good thing, I say!!!

I'll be back.....

Printing with Jacquard Fabric Paint

I have finished the class with Linda Germain (Printmaking, such a great class) and I am starting to play around with the idea of printing onto fabric using some of the techniques taught in Linda's class.  This first picture is of two of my paper prints that I did using my own stencils (except for the one on the far left, the string of circles, which is a purchased stencil from Joggles).

These next ones are my translation of the above paper pieces except that I have used Jacquard Fabric paints.

I get so frustrated that things don't last forever.  I have had some of these paints for quite a few years (four or five maybe?) and some of them have become too liquid to use on fabric. Sigh.  Nonetheless, I made do. (How silly of me to think that things will sit quietly in the cupboards, in pristine and ready condition, waiting until the moment I choose to use them. But honestly, why not!!!)  I used soft rubber brayers to spread the fabric paint onto the gelatin plate that I made in Linda's class and it seemed to work just fine.  Now I have to decide about what sort of stitch I want to put onto the fabric.  And I haven't heat-set it yet either.  But all in all, I am pleased with how the fabric paints worked onto the fabric. I found it somewhat difficult to get the same level of transparency that one can achieve with the Speedball waterbased inks onto paper, as in the top pieces, but this is just my first attempt, so I'm not calling it quits just yet!!   I also want to try the same idea with thickened dyes onto soda-soaked fabric.

Thickened dyes onto fabric will have to wait a bit however.  My guy has been away all winter (he doesn't like our winter climate, too grey for him) and he is coming home next week.  You may have noticed that this blog is not filled with stories of how I spend my time cleaning and polishing.  Today I gave my vacuum cleaner a good workout....but it's definitely not over yet!!! (Dust bunnies be warned!)  So I shall spend some time cleaning but, I don't know,  maybe not polishing.  I mean, I do have some other fun projects I'd like to get done before he gets home as well.  Priorities, right????

I'll be back.....

Early morning sunshine with a strong chance of stitch

I got up early friday morning and the sun was just starting to hit the clematis at the perfect angle....the one that gets me out with my camera.  We had a couple of days of unseasonably warm weather (up to about 24 degrees celsius!) and there were lots of people out as well as the flowers!

And then on the weekend I spent about 10 hours stitching.  It was good to make some head-way on my pieced quilt for the Kemshall class.  These are all my own hand-dyed fabrics and they are ones that I wasn't sure I would be able to use because some of them are quite distinctive, but I think (I think) they all work together here.  I hope you agree!

And now I am wanting to do some printing, inspired by Linda Germain's printmaking class.  (I notice that she has another one scheduled,with the sign-up this week.  It really is a great class, do consider it).  I am enthused to keep playing with the methods she showed us, and I want to try some of the ideas using thickened dyes.  I bought some heavier papers to try printing onto and I have cut some more stencils.  And I'm looking forward to playing with them all.

And so, check out both of these great sites:
www.lindakemshall.com;
 www.lindagermain.com

More to do and so hopefully, more to show you later.  I'll be back.....