Monday, April 24, 2017

FIBER JUNKIES APRIL MEETING - PART TWO

This focus of this month's gathering was to play with printed images on transparency sheets which are then transferred onto fabric that has been lightly treated with a matte medium. 
The first step: Judy scanned our chosen images into her computer....while Gen and Kate watch.  She uses Photoshop Elements to manipulate the image if desired (darken/change size/etc.)  The image is printed onto a transparency using an ink jet printer.  It's then placed (ink side down) onto fabric that has been treated with a medium.  Next a burnishing tool or even the back of a spoon is rubbed over the image until it transfers to the fabric.  It's left to dry, overnight is best before rinsing.
Here you see the pile of images Kate brought to work with.
I actually hadn't planned on making any since I'm not fond of working with the type of 'hand' this fabric creates. However, Kate encouraged me to do one anyway....sharing one of her images...........
................and a rust dyed piece of fabric she'd brought.
 AND....am I ever happy she did..... I love it! Thank you Kate.....
 Val is such an accomplished artist.....here are some of her drawings that she'll use to transfer to fabric.

Val got ambitious and used a color print.
....Which was transferred to another hunk of Kate's rusted fabric.  Val had brought some of her lovely painted fabric designs that she had planned to use.  However, we soon learned that this technique was not suitable...the medium wouldn't soak into the painted fabric nor did the ink-jet images stick.  That's what we love about our experiments....we always learn something!
 Denny brought some dyed fabrics for her backgrounds.
She's creating a series of images of the houses she's lived in....soooo clever!
We all went ga-ga over Gen's piece......the transfer was done with color, yielding  a great deal of depth and detail to her piece.

Next month's date is already on our calendars.  We will be heading back to Val's wet studio for some deconstructive screen printing.  We've done that a lot....but continue to find it one of the most fun and successful techniques to play with.  Happily, thanks to Val's generosity....we will invade her space from May to late fall, focusing on all the messy methods we enjoy.



4 comments:

Kathy said...

Technique question: do you let the medium dry on the fabric first or do you put the transparency down while it's still wet? I want to try this!!! And it's something I actually have all the materials for already! Ready, set, go!!!

The Inside Stori said...

It's Mary here replying to Kathy's question......the fabric is wet when you work with it......not soaking wet but more than damp....and honestly some fabrics needed more medium than others....it's always a mystery. Pretty sure the temperature/humidity also play a roll....so my advice....experiment!

Robbie said...

This is a fun technique which I haven't done in quite sometime. I actually forgot what it was called and was curious as to what your group was doing this month! HA Cool pieces....nicelydone.

margaret said...

another good play day which was a great success love seeing what you ladies are up to