On My Sewing Table

Thinking, contemplating my next move, lots of ideas rambling through my head seemingly too many some times, but then it occurred to me that I can marry several "themes" I've previously worked on for a greater continuity.

More to come later.

Gelatine Plate Printing with Natural Dyes

This is from several years ago, I have a geliplate my best friend Brenda got me for xmas last year that I really, really need to use! I'm thinking some earth pigments and my Black Birds in Tree stencil onto fabric for starters.  The plate in the above photo I made myself, here I'm using lace and trims as resists for the print which I made onto fabric.

Cotton fabric, that I do believe I compost dyed, osage orange on the gelatin plate with some lace trims gave a nice resist pattern.  After curing and washing the osage orange color is about 30% of it's orignal brightness on cotton fabric.  Now to find this piece of fabric in my stash and audition some threads for stitching.

The Studio Waits!

I have mono at the present, so my studio sits idle waiting, waiting for me to come paint, dye, and stitch!  All simply because I'm just too tired to do anything, but the diagnosis sure does explain a lot.

John moved the plastic drawer units into my studio two weeks ago, it's so nice to have all of my vintage yummies within arms distance now.

Vintage pink trim, there's a few things left in the office that need to be moved into the studio otherwise it's all in there now and it's a matter of just getting busy producing some new work.

I love black and white zippers, somewhere in one of those plastic drawers there's a black and white houndstooth zipper that's just wanting to be stitched onto a beautiful surface!

Pepper being Silly

Found out I have mono, which explains why I've been so tired of late, on top of a sinus infection and a pulled hamstring.  Sometimes life seems to pile up and in a big fashion.

Sample

Silk crepe de chine with screen and mono printed with natural dye extracts.

Natural Dyed Fabrics

Screen printed natural dye extracts onto cutch dyed silk dupioni.

Screen printed osage orange onto cochineal and lac dyed silk crepe de chine fabric.

I've been looking for a piece of natural dyed, compost dyed, mono and screen printed silk fabric I surfaced back around 2006, I'm finding everything but that particular piece of fabric!!!

Mono Print with Golden Paints

Below: Golden's Thick Body Paint, Indian Yellow, on the foam plate. Above: First print printed onto commercial stationary.

Will have to mix some extender with the Golden Paints they dry out wayyyyyyyyyyy too fast! I thought I'd try it with just straight paint to see just how fast the paint does dry out.

Mono printing

I over printed yesterday's reverse print, which didn't turn out so well the print looks really good with color coming from behind, though if I were to do it again I'd make the top print more saturated.

This last one is my favorite out of the bunck, even if it is a little crooked on the paper. The object in the background to the right is a windmill, they are springing up all over the rural landscape here so it's only natural I would incorporate them in my work. ;-)

More Mono Printing

The first three, was still working out the ink consistancy on the brayer.

Printed on PFD cotton fabric that has been prewashed, just not ironed.

First run is now completed.

Not bad for a first run it's been about 5 years since I've done any serious printing.

Foam Tray Mono Prints

Foam Meat Tray incised and inked up.

Acetate envelope that I used as a ink palette - the ultimate in recycling.

On artist paper

On an envelope that was painted with oilbars and acrylic paints.

On aritst paper.

Roadside Wonders WIP

I've been working on this piece for several years now, last year it sat hiding in my closet due to my being pre-occupied with flooding etc. It's time to fetch some green plants from the ditches and do more monoprinting with the plants. The central block no longer works for me and I

plan to do something else now.