New Class??!! So many fabrics so little time!

There are a total of 35 yards of brand new fabrics sitting in my dye studio begging to be used up and all I have to do is clear the decks to make time to do some dyeing experiments with them!! They are, in my humble opinion, spectacular fabrics.

From left to right we have a bamboo flannel knit, regular bamboo with a textured weave, a bamboo/cotton blend, white linen, white organic cotton, viscous rayon, and hemp.

I need to test these fabrics to see how they react to the dyes and how they hold up to sunlight, abnormal wear and tear and some other stress tests. I want to try some regular dyeing processes; try using some thickeners and try stamping concentrated dyes on them, and do some discharge dyeing. I should know in month or so if this is something that has interested enough people (I need 20 students to start), if the fabrics are beautiful and utilitarian enough for projects and wearable art projects, and if I have the expertise to teach a class of this magnitude.

My intention is to write a six part session that features these "new" fibers and discuss their history, how they are made and, of course, how they take the dyes. The class will not be offered through Quilt University because I want to be able to limit the class size (20 max) and to only offer it to students who have taken all of my dyeing courses or a minimum of 4 QU courses. It will be a very intense course so advanced dyeing skills will be necessary to keep up and to make it worth your time and money.

I want to add two other fabrics to the pile: soy/cotton and a silk/hemp blend. Fabrics I already have tested and love are burlap, flannel, and cheesecloth. I already know how they react so those are already in the mix and will be a part of the new course.

If you are interested in taking this course, please let me know by emailing me- marjie@fabricdesigns.com .

Nui Shibori

Here is a detail shot of a very large scale Nui Shibori piece from the show of graduate work at California College of the Arts in Oakland, CA. The student's name is Laura Kramer.

Here is another detail shot (sideways- sorry). notice that she left the tiny bits of thread in the piece. The piece is actually black with a very pale blue background.

Here is the whole thing. Four long panels. The fabric is like our silk velvet but the pile is a lot denser and shorter. It was either dyed black or purchased black and then discharged after the sewing. The panel on the far right has the most black left and is the most striking. I wonder if she meant to loose so much on the first three panels? Kind of cool having it increase in intensity.

Here's that last panel again. Nice job!! Lots of work. What do you think about those bits of thread staying in the work?

Batiking-back to my first love!

My batik students from Quilt University were asking to see some of the ways I hold the tool called a Tjanting Needle. Above you will see "Pose #1...The Pencil Grip". I like to hold it fairly far back on the handle for two reasons- if I hold it too much closer to the spout, it is risky as the metal cup and shaft that holds the wax is HOT and secondly, moving my hand back makes me hold it more loosely so that the movement is more free and relaxed.

This second picture shows "Pose #2-The Pinkie Out". This gives me some added stability as the point of the tjanting needle AND my finger steady my hand for a more even and precise line.

Last one- "Pose #3-Arm Down". This one is for the long haul. I rest my arm on the stretcher bar for when I am tired or going to be using the tool for a long line. It makes for a much more steady hand. I guess I should have included a fourth pose- "Point, Pinkie, Arm" for the ultimate in control. You get the idea, right?

Here is a picture of me making a thin line with a very wide (but thin) brush. You don't need lots of equipment for batiking. If you can load up that wide brush with lots of wax; carry it successfully to the cloth, and then turn it to the side you can make a very long, thin line without any trouble at all!

Since I had all the stuff out and the wax was hot and ready to go, I decided to start a new batiked piece. I didn't stop to plan or draw or set myself up at all for this one. I do have a picture that I really like of our son with a professor of his from college and two other friends. So I have the general idea of what I want to do but no other preconceived ideas of what to do or how to do it. I really like to work this way.

The picture above is the first waxing. I laid out the main shapes very quickly; perhaps spending no more than 10 minutes on this. It can be critical to the success of a piece but I tried to not think about that too long and too hard.

This is a fairly large piece (maybe about 45x45) and I am not sure it will be a masterpiece but I need to do something with no agenda and no huge brain drain at the moment so we'll see where it goes. I already see a problem in my composition. Due to the large size, I made our son's face a bit lopsided (he's the one on the right) but I can fix that as I go along.

Here is the first pass of dyes applied with a brush- black to gray tones. Used a lot of chemical water to pull the black down into the lower sections of the background.

Can't tip the piece up to take a good shot of it because the dyes are still very wet. Added color and it's starting to shape up quite nicely. I'm liking it. I am pleased with the placement of the people and the piece is hanging together so far so I decided to stop for now and let it dry. Tomorrow I will hang it up on the board and start thinking about what should happen next.

I purposely did NOT bring the dyes UP to the edges of the eyes and mouth for a reason. You'll see when I show you the next step of the process which will be to add some detailing- maybe with fabric paints and maybe with dyes. I want to keep the two mediums away from each other until I figure out what I am going to use for those important features.

The most critical thing I can do with this piece is NOT over think it. I want it to be free and easy and light. The next two sessions of work on it will tell me if this piece will be successful or not. If I get too tight and serious, it will fail. If I go too dark or get too fussy it will fail. If I get too critical with myself and with the subject it will fail. Yes, there is a lot of opportunity to miss the mark BUT there is also a chance it will be a smashing success!

Thanks for looking. Happy batiking everyone!

Workbook coming out August 2008!

I am working on a new product that will be ready for sale by August 1st of this year! It is the first in a series of workbooks that will lead the beginning dyer through the process of hand dyeing cotton fabric. It can be used at the same time you take my Quilt University (http://www.quiltuniversity.com) course called Cotton Dyeing Basics, or you can use it separately without the course.

We cover full immersion dyeing for solid colors, partial immersion dyeing for mottled colors, gradation dyeing, dyeing the spectrum, and over dyeing. It is a five lesson course and has a few tips and bonus lessons not found on the online course. Other features will be discussed later but these days I am spending my time collecting pictures and re-shooting new ones.

I'll keep you posted as to the progress of the workbook. It goes out next week to my editor!

Cheers!

BBQ, Bamboo, and More Magic in the Sink!

It has been a long time-again-since I posted something on the blog but it seems like I haven't done anything very interesting lately that is blogworthy. Up until the last few days it's been business as usual. Here are a few pictures you might find amusing.

I have been thinking about the BBQ piece (below) and my critique group suggest Angelina fibers. I went online; found a place that sells it; bought it; it arrived and I just now had some fun experimenting with it. Kind of garish stuff BUT there is some potential for the flames and smoke. Little bit of wire, little bit of sewing to make the stuff dimensional and I think I've got it!

This product is pretty eye popping. I'm sure I could paint it to tone down the iridescent qualities. Belongs in the land of unicorns and mythical beasts.

Next picture....


I made a fiber art piece a few months back called "Hiroshima". I hung the shredded silk on a bamboo rod. I liked the effect and was thinking that it would be a good idea to stockpile more of the bamboo to have on hand for future art making adventures. My friend Jerry knows where the stuff grows along the road out in the country and actually used some to fly one of my silk banners at "Burning Man" a few years in a row. It's good to have friends like this who aren't too terribly worried about getting arrested or shot at or captured by space aliens. I asked him to call me when he had some time to go harvesting. Yesterday was the day. Isn't it beautiful?


Each shoot is about 12-14 feet tall. If they are to be used as armatures, I want them to be as straight as possible but there is the possibility of using ones that are slightly swayed if I can dry them out flat on the patio.

How many? I knew if I said 100, that would be ideal however there were only two of us and the patio is only so big. How about 50? Ummm....we didn't bring any coffee and donuts. How about 12? Okay!

Jerry starts sawing. I watch and take pictures...and kind of watch over my shoulder for the cops or UFOs. Don't know which would be worse or better. It does cross my mind that this could be stealing however, bamboo is one of those things that most people who own the farm land would probably say to us- "12??? You kiddin' me? If you don't take 1,000 and right now, I'm loadin' your backside with lead!"
Once he cuts a few, then I snip off the small branches and lop off the parts that are too curved to use.

Starting to stack it up on the top of the truck. Pretty sky. Pretty bamboo.Once I had my 12, which turned into 14 and some shorter pieces that was enough so Jerry ties it onto the truck so it doesn't end up in the middle of the road or by the side of the road or on a car that goes by or....
Here is a picture taken across the road from where we cut the bamboo. It takes only about 10 minutes from my house to get out into the beautiful countryside of rural northern California. This is looking north west toward the Capay Valley. Over these mountains is the Napa Valley. That wine you are sipping may have come from over them thar hills.

So now I have bamboo drying on the patio. I would really like to use about 5 of the poles to fly silk banners from on top of my roof. I'm thinking, thinking, thinking of how I would get the poles to stay put as it gets pretty breezy up there. What I love about the idea is that only certain people would ever notice them and only certain people would enjoy the fact that they are there. Umbrella stands may be the answer.

Next picture...

You remember the silk that I had forgotten about that sat in dye and soda ash for over a year? The stink was what tipped me off that something was amiss. (The picture and story about that was posted awhile back on this blog.) Well.....it kind of happened again only this time the silk you see above and below had been cut for a project and the dye color came out way too dark. I needed a very pale pinky pearly color. I was experimenting with the color and got distracted and then when I remembered what I was doing it was slipping over into the lavender side. Not good. I threw it in a corner of sink #1 and started over again and didn't get around to rinsing it out until yesterday. So...it sat for about 3 weeks in the corner of my #1 sink. Each time I did a dyeing, I would toss the left over dye on top of the silk and rinse the container and brushes out on top of it as well. Browns, greens, reds. Didn't matter. This repeated itself about 20 times in 3 weeks. Then I needed the sink space and decided it was time to rinse out that awful looking blob of silk and clean and clear the space for the next project. While rinsing it you can imagine what I was thinking....maybe you can't....

The best way to get electric blue in the deepest shade imaginable is to abuse the silk for a minimum of three weeks. Dump on it. Abuse it some more. Dump more chemicals than you can imagine on it and let it stew. Do not care about it. Do not look at it. Do not poke it. Pour any color you want on it. When so much time has passed that you are ashamed of yourself, rinse it. I do not know what I will do with this piece but it is about 46x46 and I plan on wearing it somewhere, sometime soon.

Thanks for looking at my blog.

Happy dyeing.

Thanks, Jerry. One of these days when you drive by the house, look up!!!!!!

BBQ!

This piece is for a show coming up in Davis, CA at The Artery called "Hot Fiber" and contains selected work by the California Fiber Artists. I posted some pictures of this awhile back but think I am done now. My critique group gave me some ideas about how to make the flames which I may still do but for now I thinking it is finished. This piece is called "Burgers Or Dogs?"

Here is a detail shot. The coals are hand dyed silk as are the burgers and dogs. Mostly it is habotai silk but there is quite a bit of Crepe Backed Silk Satin as stuffed coals. The container on the side rack has fabric paint in it and a brush to look like BBQ sauce. I should take a picture of that for you to see....maybe tomorrow.

Thanks for looking.

VIDEO- How to filter red dyes

Here is a short clip of how to filter any Procion MX dye that has red in it. I prefer using a knee high to a coffee filter as coffee filters burst and take way too long.

Happy dyeing!