Wax, Rust and a Sneak Peek

Well I have plenty of time at home at the moment, but don't seem to be getting an awful lot done, but her are a few pictures of what has been happening the last week or so.

The soy wax flakes arrived a few weeks ago and I have been eager to see what they will do. Karen came round on Monday, so we made up some print paste with the procions, got out some old pieces of very pale fabric and had a play. I love this wax, so easy to use and has great potential. Here are a couple of samples.

Karen tried out a tjanting and this is the wonderful result

Simple block print

I also spent a day trying out the rusting technique from the textured surfaces online workshop I have been doing. This is a totally addictive technique and I could have dyed everything in sight rusty. Here are a couple of samples, the last piece is tyvek that has been ironed lightly, I find I do not have enough control with a heat gun so use the iron and a light touch.

Ok, poor Pandora has been completely neglected while I have been trying new dyeing and painting techniques, so here is a sneak peek of her. She still has a long way to go, but as I have changed some of the materials from the original workshop, it's going to take a bit of experimentation to get her right. I have a few Christmas projects on the go at the moment, but once they are done, I must get back to poor Pandora .

Something Old Something New

  A while ago, I made this box from hand dyed fabrics, threads, silk paper and all sorts of braids ect. I have always intended to make a book to go in the box, at the moment it contains two of my favourite novels. The textured surfaces workshop has given me all sorts of new ideas for pages for the book. With the holidays coming up, who know's I might actually get this done.                                             

                                  

 

My Golden paints arrived early this week and I have had a chance to try them out on two canvases I had prepared for the workshop. I bought three interference paints in green, violet and red and just had to try them all out on these. The red has given them a lovely purple glow. I'm quite happy with the way they turned out, but need to do a lot more experimenting with these new paints to get the best out of them I think.

Coloured Samples

This weekend was a strange sort of couple of days, the weather didn't know what to do with it's self and neither did I. So I pottered about, picking up some of the samples I had made for the Textured Surfaces lessons I am currently doing. Added a bit of this and a bit of that and ended up with the pieces below. 

I have bought some lovely golden heavy body acrylics on line, which arrived today :) so can started adding more colour to the other pieces very soon. 

Senior Art Supplies  carry an extensive range of these paints and are wonderful to deal with.

So here are a few samples, love the way they are turning out and having all sorts of wonderful ideas how to use these techniques.

Seed Pods and Samples

While we were away in Queensland I collected these lovely seed pods. I plan to use the jacaranda seeds in place of the shells in my Pandora piece, and maybe the lovely little flowery looking ones. I was told the names of the trees I collected them from, but for the life of me can't remember what they are. I will be covering them in the powertex which I have been using on my FME pieces which should preserve them.

Jenny, my friend from work collected this lovely paper bark, I'm hoping to use this for Pandora's skirt. 

I have also signed up for another on-line workshop Textures Surfaces run by two amazing textile artist Carol McFee and Lynda Monk.

Here are a few of the samples I have made so far. I have been out in my studio finding "stuff" I have had stashed away for years, just waiting for a workshop just like this one. The trouble is I seem to spend as much time looking for "stuff" as I do making the samples. It's amazing how you can put something away, never to be found again!!

Tyvek pieces waiting to be incorporated into a sample piece.

Moulding paste used with texture plate, stencil, and bubble wrap.

Hand and machine couching, mulberry bark and expandaprint