Project 5, stage 3, applique

There are many different types of applique, you can use hand applique or machine applique. Different stitches can be used for them as well. For this stage I made the following samples:

The picture above shows a Mola. This is a technique by which you cut open the top layer (or layers) and push them under the toplayer. With small stitches you then stitch these edges. It is a technique originally developed in Central America using geomatric shapes, but nowadays other types of shapes are used as well. If you want to read more about the Mola art, here is the link to an article on Wikipedia. In this sample I used two different pieces of commercial batiks and the shape of a turtoise as main object.

In this other sample I combined 3 different types of applique: satin stitch, raw edge applique and hand applique using the buttonhole stitch. For the vase I used a close zigzag stitch, also known as satinstitch. For the stems I used raw edge applique. This type of applique leaves the edges of the fabric 'raw'  and some fraying might show up. There is a straight stitch close to the edge of the fabric. For the flowers I used a hand appliqued buttonhole stitch. This stitch shows more than the machine stitching and plays a definate part with being present, it adds some more definition to the piece. With applique you can make it more easy for yourself by fusing the fabric down. This can be done with bondaweb, wonder under or whatever brand you like. I like to use a simple glue stick. During the years I have used different brands of glue stick for this and none of them had a negative impact on the stitching I did later on.

In a later blogpost I will show some more samples, using sheers. My sheers are in my studio, but I am not home at the moment. 

Project 5, Stage 4

For this stage a bigger sample had to be made. Mine turned out to be 16"x14". As you can see it is a repeated version of the onion print I did on paper for project 4. On purpose the onions are placed in different positions, the prints become more dynamic this way and the use of the fabric is more versatile. I limited myself to 5 rows of 4 onion prints, but this kind of print can go on forever.
This sample is done on a cotton/bamboo blend and I left the background in the original color. With this print many variations are possible. I am thinking about changing the size of the onions, mix big onions with smaller onions. Use different colors while printing, some can be red, others can be purple or pink. The background can be in different colors, either matching with the color used for the prints (pink background with red prints) or the opposite (yellow background with blue prints, creating an overal greenish effect). There are many ways of playing with this composition.
Another version could be big onions in a row, followed by a row of small onions. In my opinion this composition would be more static, but that can have it's use as well.
There were many samples in my design ideas. My preference goes out to the unusual, more lively/organic shapes. That is the main reason that I choose this design for the bigger sample. Another reason is that when people see this print, they will look again at it when they realise that the stamp was a sliced onion.
This kind of print shows best on a smooth fabric like a cotton, or in this case a cotton/bamboo blend. I think that the effect of the onion print would be lost on a sheer fabric. The print is rather subtile and light in certain areas and the overall effect would be lost on sheers. The different prints are close enough to form a connection, but still represent the individual shape of the onion. Some areas show more background but that is because the shape of the onion is not the same width and hight everywhere.

Project 4 and 5 extra experiment

Although project 4 and 5 are finished, I just had to add these 2 pictures. All the other techniques I have shown were techniques I have used before, but this one was a real experiment. My friend and I experimented with using gunpowder to create these results:

The first picture is of a piece of fabric, the second one is on paper. In both cases leaves acted as masks. Last year when we visited Art-a-whirl there was an artist who sold very interesting canvasses. When we talked with her, she told us, that she used gunpowder to create the images. A Google search lead to a YouTube movie which showed a Chinese artist working with gunpowder as well. This was the only information we were able to find, but the idea of experimenting with gunpowder was still on our to do list. No idea where I could get - or better said: if I could get hold of - gunpowder in the Netherlands, but I am in the US at the moment and it is easy to buy here.
To protect the driveway - and have a base to work on - we placed a piece of countertop on the driveway. Taped the fabric and paper on it (it was windy), placed leaves on top of this, sprinkled gunpowder on it, covered it with some cardboard and set it afire. How much gunpowder was needed, was a matter of trial and error. The pictures are from the second and third attempt.
If you want to try out this experiment as well, be careful with it. Make certain that you have open space around you, a bucket of water close by and no children or pets around. Don't know whether I will experiment with this again, although I have to say the results are great :-)

Project 5, Stage 3 continued

And here are my other 6 samples for this project. The first one I made by scrunching up the wet fabric, ironed it dry while it was still scrunched and applied metallic paint on it using a spounge brush.

 For this sample I placed torn strips of masking tape on a waffle woven piece of cotton and used a credit card to swipe the paint over it.

 On this sample I used bubble wrap as a stamp. Depending on whether the bubbles were whole or poked through the pattern is different. After this I used some punchinella as mask for additional marks.

 Another sample of torn paper. For this screen print I placed the strips of paper on top of the fabric - a raw silk - under the screen and used different colors of paint.

 Another screen print. This time with scraps of paper. Otherwise the same technique as the sample above. This fabric is a commercial white-on-white printed cotton.

 For the final sample of this stage I used a hand cut lino stamp of a fern leave and acrylic paint on thin muslin. The additional lines are caused by the lino cut. I consider them a bonus.

Project 5, stage 3

This part is all about stamping and painting on fabric. I allready did some stamping on fabric for project 4, but here are more samples. The first one is an enlargement of the commercial stamp I used on cheesecloth earlier on. The original one was brown paint on white fabric. This sample gives a complete different mood, much more girly. The ovals are enlarged and I used shiny pink paint for them. The background is painted wet on wet with red dyna-flow. Fabric is cotton pfd.

 For this sample I cut out a template of leaves and mirrored this. I ironed the freezer paper on to the fabric and used a creditcard to swipe the paint over it. Unfortunately the freezer paper was rather old and my experience with old freezer paper is that it is much harder to stay ironed to the fabric. That is the reason that there are some 'leaks' in the paint. Fabric used is dupioni silk.

For both the next samples I used paintsticks. The blue one is reorganised shapes - going from regular positioned circles to irregular places ones. I used dark blue/charcoal colors on a light blue background (handdyed fabric) to represent a different - more gloomy - mood.

 For this sample I used a torn piece of paper - like I did for project 4 - and repositioned this while I used the paintsticks on it. The final result looks like a mountain range. The fabric I used was a woolen one.

 The next sample did not give the effect I was after and I know why this was. The paint I used was too thick to flow on the wetted fabric. Fabric was a handdyed cotton, paint was Lumiere.

 With this fabric I got the result I wanted for the previous sample. Even though the fabric was dry (silk), the thin dyna-flow paint gave the effect of wet on wet.

More samples are coming with next blog post.