Art Cloth update

You may remember I shared about the Art Cloth earlier this month.  This was how the cloth was when I had washed it.

I recently attended the last day of the course.  When I got there everyone who had used the turquoise was talking about how the colour had washed out.  Very strange!

I used a quarter of a Michelle Ward stencil from her Gothic Collection to draw an outline to have made into a Thermofax screen.   I used the masked off stencil and the screen across the cloth.  I made myself a quarter circle mask so that I could work through it.

I used a crackle pattern thermofax screen through the quadrant mask with black fabric paint and then sponged through the mask with silver grey fabric paint.  I also used one of Ineke's lace thermofax screens.

When all the black and grey was dry I went back with some pearlised white with a touch of teal mixed in.

The finished painted and patterned cloth.

I'm going to put this on top of two layers of fabric and then machine it.  I was planning to machine straight lines between the circles.  However the photograph shows lines for squares so now I'm not sure which lines to machine.

What would you do?

Thanks for stopping by.
Bernice

Art Cloth Course

I am doing a three sesson course with Liske at Littleheath Barn - the studio home of Ineke Berlyn.  Making an art cloth really appealed to me as I'm really not into piecing and patchwork.

Liske & Ineke kindly prepared some soda-soaked linen for us to use.

Beforehand we had been asked to think of a theme and to take inspiration with us and a sketchbook!  I managed one page in the sketchbook.  I was going to actually plan and work in the sketchbook but in the end after I'd tried some ideas on a practice piece of fabric I got on with the background on my linen fabric.

Ready to start printing with the perspex square and thickened dyes.

The first layer was a pale yellow dye.  I carefully printed the yellow square next to each other 4 rows across and 4 rows up.

The second layer was turquoise and much more random.

And the last colour was pale grey and was printed over the spaces between the turquoise squares.

Session 2 involved making a stamp and then stamping with thickened dye on the background fabric.  The first layer was printing with turquoise.

Then with grey

After 48 hours I washed out the cloth and although not much turquoise dye came out in the rinsing this is what it looked like wet on the washing line.  I was abit concerned!

Now that it has dried there still isn't much of the turquoise.

Next session involves adding fabric paint and thinking about what to do next!  Stitch?  More colour?  Cut it up? 

Who knows!

Thanks for stopping by.
Bernice

Studio Day

The last time I worked on my Venice project was during a studio day at Ineke Berlyn's studio.   I wrote about the last time and here's an update.

It's such a privilege to be able to use Ineke's studio at Littleheath Barn.  Today Ineke's daughter Liske was in attendance as well so we had double the input.

Last time I had decided I was going to make a book with my fabric.

This time I decided I wanted to make each piece smaller and not make it into a book.  I cut the intended pages down to 7 inches square.

Then I chose bits of paper and fabric to glue down on the squares.

When the glue was dry I stamped and printed on top. They are now ready to stitch.

I managed to spread myself across a whole table big enough for 4 people to work at!

A fabulous day and I feel I achieved something.  Just need to keep up the momentum and stitch!

Thanks for stopping by.
Bernice

Venice project

Regular readers may remember that at the end of 2015 I started a sketchbook project on Venice.  I wrote several blog posts including one about a zigzag book inspired by Michelle Ward plus how I used the sketchbook inspiration in the Cas Holmes weekend I went to.

Last Friday I went to Ineke Berlyn's studio where we can work on our own projects and she comes round and encourages each of us and makes suggestions about how to extend the work.

I started with the piece of fabric I had printed at her studio on a previous visit.  I can't believe that was last March.

I used stencils, thermofax screens and fabric paint to add more pattern to the fabric.  When I showed Ineke two of the pieces I made at the Cas Holmes workshop she suggested that I could make a book using these as pages.

I tore the fabric I had printed into page size pieces

And started laying pieces of paper and fabric on top

As I was printing the fabric I also printed into my sketchbook so now I have more pages to work into in the sketchbook as well as the fabric pages.

This spread shows folded pages

now opened up.

The image on the right is a scan of the original drawing and the page on the left is the print I took from the original watercolour.

More sketchbook pages on the go

It will be interesting to see what happens with these backgrounds.

Thanks for stopping by.
Bernice

Textile Artists

During this 30 day blogging challenge I have shared with you about mixed media artists who have influenced me and blogs that I follow.  Today I thought I would tell you about some of the Textile Artists I follow online.   Interestingly when I compiled the list I realised that I have met all of them and done real-life workshops with them.

Hilary Beattie
I met Hilary at a two day workshop at The Festival of Quilts where she crammed in all that subsequently became 12 days spread over a year as Make It Personal.  This was the collaged piece that is still not stitched!

Steph Redfern
I started making this textile book at a Steph Redfern workshop at The Bramble Patch.  It took me a while to finish it but I'm pleased to say that I did.

Ineke Berlyn
This is a zigzag book I made as a result of a day's dyeing workshop at Ineke's studio.  I showed how it developed here.

Linda & Laura Kemshall
I have done two online Creative Sketchbook classes with Design Matters and a day's workshop at Laura's studio.   This was the book I made from the class.

Anne Brooke
I haven't done a textile class with Anne but I spent a day at her studio doing a Workbook in a Day class.  I showed my follow up work in this post.

Although most of these textile artists are quilters you can see the mixed media influence.

Next weekend I'm going to a retreat workshop taught by Cas Holmes.  I'm looking forward to seeing what I learn there.

Thanks for stopping by.
Bernice

Journal, sketchbook or workbook?

Welcome to day 4 of my 30 day blogging challenge. 

What do you call the book that you do creative things in?  Is it a journal because you write about stuff in it as well as do art?  Is it a sketchbook because you draw in it and make notes of ideas?  Or is it a workbook because you draw, stamp, create, write, make notes about everything and anything?  And there's a 4th category - the Commonplace Book.  You can read about that on my friend Mary's blog or more fully here at His Kingdom Come.  Whatever you choose to call it I hope you enjoying playing.

I don't tend to 'play'.  I get an idea and I start a journal page and I aim to finish it.  It may not get finished in one session but I like to have completed art journal pages.  However when you look at artists, and textile artists in particular, they tend to have workbooks or sketchbooks on the go where they jot down ideas or play with media and materials.  They don't necessarily use the pages in the sketchbook consecutively and they don't necessarily finish a page.

When I was doing my City & Guilds Creative Embroidery course I had to show the development of ideas and I still have the notebook.   However it wouldn't surprise me if I made the piece first and then finished the development work!   For the wall hanging my theme was Venice.  I had been there so I had lots of photos.  I used the shapes in the architecture to draw shapes and cutouts in the page.

These were some of the ideas I had for the wall hanging.

And this is what I actually made.  The three pieces hung on a wooden rod against a card frame.  After my course exhibition it got put in a cupboard.  I recently got it out and through the card away and decided I would recycle the fabric pieces.

This summer I decided I wanted to work on the Venice theme again and ordered some stencils from Michelle Ward that are part of her Gothic Collection.  I already had the Venice map stencil.

Last Friday I had the privilege of spending the day at Ineke Berlyn's studio.  We could take with us whatever we wanted to do and Ineke talked to each of us and helped us.  It was such a great time.  I took a fabric book to finish but I wanted to ask Ineke about keeping a sketchbook.  I felt that what I learned on the City & Guilds course was good but somehow very restrictive.  Ineke encouraged me to start by giving me some pictures out of some art catalogues she had.  I bought a new Pink Pig sketchbook from her and started.  I only had an HB pencil and a black pen with me.  I had a go at drawing knowing that I couldn't rub it out if I went wrong.

On another random page I tore up some fabric I had printed on a previous visit.

I started writing all the words I could think of to do with Venice.

I dyed a couple of pages.

I glued a picture on another random page.

I cut up another picture into strips and stuck it in.  The photo should have ended in straight line but it didn't and for once it didn't matter.

I cut some holes in one page where you can look through to the page behind.

This was one picture cut in half and stuck down so that I can draw another house in between.

Because I've done random things on random pages I feel there's more scope for random development.  Who knows what it will lead to!  Hopefully more play.  I'm going to get the Gelli plate out and play with those stencils.

And the best part of not throwing anything away - ever - is that I found all these stamps and stencils from my course.  Which was nearly 20 years ago!!!!!

Sarah's suggestion for day 4 of the 30 day challenge is to look at making an editorial calendar for your blog.  I've started working on that.  I have determined to write about my Venice workbook every Wednesday.  That will mean that I have to do something in it by next Wednesday to be able to show you something new.   I hope you will join me then.  And all the days in between.

Thanks for stopping by
Bernice