A textile experiment...

I wanted to take a small stitching project with me when I was traveling with my hubby so I came up with this small idea that fits in with the circle theme my textile group is doing.

First I did some sun painting with leaves and my Golden brand fluid acrylics. I did a yellow & pink layer first. When that had dried I did another layer with green and let it dry. The Golden paints are so bright that I only used a tiny amount and the fabric remained very soft when dry. I forgot to take a photo of the finished fabric before I cut the circles out but you can still see the results.

 I thought I had explained sun painting before but I can't see it anywhere on this blog so I will do a detailed tutorial in my next post. It is unpredictable but fun.

 After I cut out the shape I wanted I machine stitched it to stiffened felt so it would hang flat against the wall. I then scanned it and printed a copy with my computer. There is a little less detail in my printed image but it will still work as a design tool.

 I took the printed fabric and doodled stitching lines and patterns onto it. I tried to work out thread colors as well so I could use the diagram as a stitching pattern.

 While we were away I stitched the design. I didn't stick exactly to my original doodle but it helped a lot when I was trying to figure out where to stitch. I really enjoyed this freeform style of embroidery and will probably do it again.

This is another one of the circles for the textile group. I saw a tutorial in Quilting Arts Issue 48 (August 2012) by Diane Savona about embedding objects into your quilts that I wanted to try. I started with a stiffened felt layer then placed on top all the objects I wanted to embed. I chose buttons, doilies and scrapbook items like flowers, swirls and letters. Although the scrapbook items are supposed to be acid free I expect they will darken the fabric where it touches them after several years. I then laid a piece of hand dyed linen on top with the grain running diagonally so it will stretch more.

I stitched around each object to secure the top layer and then got out my colored threads to stitch the decorative bits. After I did all the fancy stitching I wanted I used a pink thread to stitch lines across the rest of the background. Lastly I used a fabric crayon in white to go very lightly over some of the raised items so they stand out more. The crayon is barely noticeable but you can see it most on the word. I enjoyed this experiment and will probably do another one with a different theme.

Glue resist on fabric

I have been sorting out my textile magazines and have come across a few different techniques I want to try out. One of the techniques I have seen a few times is a glue resist on fabric so I decided to experiment with it.

Each article I read was a little different but the basic technique is to use washable glue to draw a design on fabric and then add color over it when it is dry. Later on the glue is washed away to reveal the design, looking a lot like batik without using hot wax. In almost all of the articles they mentioned using the blue Elmers washable gel glue. I was unable to get that here (unless I ordered online) so I decided to try a few different glues that were available to me in the local shops.

 Basically I chose any of the washable glues that I could find. The two Elmers products were on clearance so I doubt I will be able to get them again. Some of the bottles had large nozzles that were hard to control so I put those glues into small squeeze bottles that I had. That was the Crayola, the Mont Marte and the J Burrows glues. In fact the J Burrows glue bottle is so hard that I could barely squeeze it at all.

I also decided to experiment with the colors I was going to use to see the different effects I would get. Some instructions said to use paint and others mentioned dyes.

      I used some scraps of synthetic material to do my experiments on but you can use natural fibres too. This first sample was on unwashed fabric.  I wrote the name of the glue so I could find them later on. I also tried to draw small flowers with some of them but the glue spread too much. I painted over the right side of the fabric and used dye on the left.When it was dry I soaked the fabric for about an hour to soften the glue then hand washed it. The paints are very bright on the synthetic, the dye is quite muted.
     The two glues that worked the best were the Elmers white glue and the Kids glue by Portacraft (from a $2 shop). The other glues worked on the painted areas but not very well with the dye because they didn't penetrate the fibres as much. The metallic gold Dala fabric paint didn't really work at all (it is the green looking paint in the middle). It seemed to stick to the glue and not come off. At the very bottom I used a white Uniball Signo pen just to see what would happen. To my surprise it did work a little.

 This is after I threw the fabric in the washing machine to see what would happen. The crayola glue that didn't wash out properly by hand did wash away this time. Some of the white areas have become brighter too. 

This sample was done the same way but it is on washed fabric. I don't think there is much difference to the unwashed fabric. I also used the smaller bottles on this one to see if I had better control of the glues. I was able to take more care to get thinner lines.

After machine washing some of the fabric paint washed away but it is barely noticeable.

     These samples are a different variation of this technique. You place a stencil on the plain fabric first then use a silk screen ( I used a home made screen http://www.quiltingdaily.com/blog/how-to-use-an-embroidery-hoop-to-screen-print) to spread the glue across the fabric. Immediately wash your screen and stencil so they don't get ruined. Then when the glue is dry paint or dye on top and leave to dry before washing out the glue.
       I used the J Burrows glue at the bottom and the Mont Marte glue gel (cheap store) at the top. Again I dyed the left side and painted the right. The left fabric is unwashed and the right washed.  I did heat set these fabrics in the microwave by placing in a microwavable bag and zapping for about 30 secs. The dye is a bit darker than the previous samples. I pressed too hard when screen printing the glue so the pattern is a bit blurred but the basic idea works. With a bit more practice I should get a clear image. The glue doesn't resist as well with this technique so the white is not as bright. 

After machine washing the fabric is as soft as it was originally, even the painted side. I think this would be a great way to make some pretty fabric of your own to use in your textile projects. You could probably do more stencils and colors on top of these for a multi-layered look. The possibilities are endless.

Colour me positive week 2

I have fallen behind with my colour me positive challenge already. I think I have been distracted by textile experiments and am unsure whether I will continue or not. In the meantime here is a step by step of my week 2 page.

The quote for this one was "She took the leap and built her wings on the way down"

I decided to sketch a leaping person. It took a while to get it to look right but finally I was happy with the sketch. I used a journal page that was already painted pink with watercolor. 

I used some stencils and acrylic paint to add patterns to the page. I sprayed on some dye ink while the page was still wet to make the paint bleed a bit. 

I wanted to make it a bit more orange so I added a few more stencils and paint.

I couldn't stop myself from having fun and added even more paint because I thought the red stood out too much. I was not unhappy with the finished look but I could have stopped after the first step. 

Next I painted the hessian (or burlap in some countries) white and stamped that onto the page for a different texture. I liked it and added a bit more here and there. I also did the same stamping with green paint and bubblewrap.

 I painted on the leaping figure and used a white pen to add some lines. I added some white dots with a flick of the paint brush. I wrote the quote with a pitt pen and thought that the page was finished.

A couple of days later I decided I wanted to add a little pattern to the green paint of the silhouette so used a stencil and some copper paint to go over the girls dress. Now it is definitely finished.

An experimental textile piece

This year my textile group ATASDA has asked us to make circles for the display at the craft fair in August. There are no restrictions and they can be any medium and any colour. I decided I was going to try out some of the techniques I have been reading about in my magazines. 

The first technique is from a textile artist called Margaret M Roberts. She was featured in Quilting Arts magazine Issue 4 (winter 01) and on the cover. Unfortunately there were no instructions, just images of her work and a brief description but I was intrigued so I gave it a go in my own way.

I dyed my own cotton fabrics and some synthetics but I only used the cottons in the end because they were the colors I liked. I frayed some of the fabrics or used the edge that was already frayed. Most of the work is machine stitched with a little hand embroidery.  I did include some of those novelty yarns that are around now. The grass in the foreground is actually a scrap of dyed mohair fabric that was left over from making a teddy. It didn't match as much as I wanted so I painted some acrylic paint over the fur and when dry embroidered the flowers to make it go with the rest of the fabrics. Initially I intended to make the colors darker but somehow I ended up with this bright piece. It should look good on the black display boards at the craft fair.

I want to try another one and make it more Australian in design. That will happen in the next couple of months. Meantime I have several other things on the go that I will share soon.

Experimenting again with fabric paper.

I forgot to share the fabric paper experiments I made when I was testing the technique so here they are...

This first one has the wrapping paper underneath but I turned some of it over to the plain white side to make a checkerboard pattern. I did more machine stitching on this sample. I used a different tissue here and you can see some of it tore when it was wet. If you are going to paint over it later on that probably wouldn't matter, or it could be just the look you are trying to achieve.  Experiment with small samples of what you have before you start a big project.

 In these samples I used different paints on top to see how they would cover the design underneath. The gold is Lumiere paint and the other two samples are Golden artist acrylic. I put them on thinly so there was still some transparency.

This sample is the same paper as above but I used Silks acrylic glaze by Dreaming Color on top. It is more opaque than I thought it would be but is metallic so very shiny. It is an interesting effect. I also tested some Viva Inka-gold paint along one edge. 

So what can you do with all this fabric paper?  I made a grid style collage.

I used the fabric paper as the background and for some of the individual rectangles. I was testing out some ideas for my textile group's current challenge using recycled materials. Can you spot the pull tabs that have been embossed near the bottom left? I also have a bread tag on there, an old ice cream stick and an old bluebird earring that has lost it's mate. I raided my stash for a few extra embellishments and charms. I added beads, sequins, machine and hand stitching.  I like the way it turned out so I am going to do something similar for my challenge piece.

I did it as two journal pages so I can make a fabric art journal because I have run out of wall space to put all my art now. I will be adding pages throughout the year.

Fabric paper

Today I am sharing one of my textile techniques. It was invented (I think) by Beryl Taylor, an English textile artist. I have a couple of her books and magazine articles where she explains the technique so I wanted to give it a try.

I haven't followed her instructions exactly but it is basically the same. First you need to make your diluted glue mix.  I used 50% water and 50% white glue (pva) like Beryl's instructions stated. I have also tried Mod Podge with equal parts of water added and it worked the same way. I then experimented with textile paint diluted with 50% water too because I wanted to see if the finished paper would be softer to work with. I thought all the glues felt the same in the finished piece so just use what you have.

What I used: cream synthetic fabric, white tissue paper and wrapping paper.

 1. Starting with a piece of plain fabric I painted on the glue mix to saturate the fabric. You could use patterned fabric if you are trying to use up scraps because it will be covered by the paper layers anyway. Make sure you do this on plastic so that you can peel it off when the glue dries!

2. Then put on a layer of paper, pressing it into the glue and add more glue on top the saturate it. Beryl prefers to tear her papers into smaller pieces and lays them down without overlapping so it isn't too thick to stitch through. I wanted to see if you could use a whole piece of paper so I used some pretty wrapping paper.

3. The final layer is tissue paper. Simply press it onto the glued papers and if needed go over the top with another layer of glue. You need to be careful with this layer because once you wet the tissue it becomes fragile. You can scrunch the tissue first if you want more texture but for my piece I applied it flat. I found that some tissue paper was sturdier than others. Experiment with what you have first before doing a large piece. Leave it to dry for a while, I usually leave it overnight.

That is it. Now you have a piece of paper that can be stitched on either by hand or machine. It is very tough and yet still thin. You can see how the wrapping paper shows through the tissue, the colors are a lot softer than the original paper.

I used my experimental piece of paper to make this textile journal page. I machine stitched around the leaves and hand embroidered the rest of the paper. I mounted it onto a piece of textured Kunin felt that had been painted with metallic paint first. I think the fabric paper would also be good to use in collages in my art journal and want to experiment with that too. I will be able to stitch on it then glue it into a journal for added dimension. Stay tuned for those experiments...

Art Journal Basics - Paint

What type of paint should you get and what brands?  That is a hard question to answer because it really depends on what you want to do in your journal. I will explain some of the differences here.

Acrylics 

Acrylic paint is a good type of paint for journals because it is so versatile. It is the paint I use most often. Generally it is opaque so that means when you add layers it blocks out the color underneath, unless you paint it on thinly so it can be transparent. The look you get is decided by how you apply it. It doesn't take too long to dry but stays wet just long enough to be wiped away or distressed if you gesso first. You can draw on top of acrylics with pencils and markers.

 These are some of my favorite brands. I really like the Folk Art brand in journals because it dries completely matte. That means I can use colored pencils to draw on top of the acrylic painting like I did on this journal page to add fine details (click on the photo to see it larger).
 The other paints in the photo above are the same as the folk art paint. They are all considered craft paint and are not as color fast as artist acrylics would be but I don't worry about that in my journals. I also like craft paints because most of them are non-toxic. A lot of artist paint is toxic and the toxins can be absorbed by the skin. I think it is something to consider if you like to paint a lot. 
 I don't buy the dabbers anymore because the foam pad always becomes stiff and unusable after a bit of use even though I cap it straight away. You also get far less paint in those little bottles than the other brands. If you do not intend drawing on top of your paint then other brands will be okay. 

 
When I first started painting I was using these Jo Sonja's paints so I have a lot of them. They are an acrylic gouache so that means they have some chalk added to the paint. They dry super smooth but are a little more glossy than the Folk Art paint so I use them on pages where I don't want to draw. 

A lot of journalers recommend Golden fluid acrylics. They are not a favorite of mine but I do use them sometimes. They dry glossy so it is not possible to draw on them. Even some pens won't work on them. I do use them on pages where I am not drawing because they have wonderful color. Most of them are transparent. You can see how transparent they are by that strip of paint they apply to the label over the 3 stripes. In this photo the Alizarin is less see through than the other paints. Note- some of the Golden paints carry a toxin warning so read the labels carefully. 

These are the artist acrylics I use. They  are very similar and I most often use them for canvas paintings. I consider them a bit pricey to use in my journals. The interactive paints don't completely dry for a couple of days so you can spray them with water and they will reactivate. It is great for removing color like I did in this large painting (where the light areas are on the rock).

 When I want to add shiny paint these are my preferences. I like the Lumiere paints a lot because a little goes a long way. They are slightly transparent and glossy. If you do two coats they become opaque. The Stewart Gill paint is very similar but is a bit more runny. The Pearlescent liquid acrylic is usually thought of as an ink but it is a very fluid acrylic. It is fun to use for drips on a page. I consider metallic paints a finishing touch because it is too hard to work on top of them.

The Silks acrylic glazes are an interesting product to use. They dry glossy and transparent. Glazes can make your papers stick together if you put them on opposite pages so I would only use it on one side of a journal. If you want to use them a lot you can use wax paper to stop pages sticking or wax rubbed onto your page.



 These distress paints are the only ones I won't recommend. They have a very bad chemical smell to them so I don't like using them. They are a bit glossy too so that means I can't draw on them later.


 




Watercolor

Watercolor paint is also a good choice for journals. If you want to use them in a traditional way with blending and shading then they need to go onto watercolor paper. They are not meant to work on gesso but in a journal it is a fun technique. They won't blend on gesso like they do on paper but are great for coloring in. I have used watercolor on top of acrylics too. They don't soak in like on paper so they are a bit harder to work with this way and very unpredictable but that can be fun too.
Quality matters with watercolors. The student grade paints don't have very much pigment in them so your work is a lot paler.

  Watercolor travel sets are great if you don't want to take a lot of supplies with you. This one comes with a water filled brush so you don't even need a bucket of water but you do need a towel to wipe the brush on. The foam they have in the kit for wiping doesn't work as well as paper towel. It is a good quality paint with a lot of pigment and it is my most used set.

 This is my collection of artist watercolor paints. I do use them in journals sometimes, if I am looking for a particular color. I mostly use Art Spectrum (an australian brand) and some Winsor and Newton paints. Sometimes the lids get stuck on with the tubes and they must be soaked in water for a few days to loosen the lids.

This is a different set of watercolors that I picked up from Dick Blicks art store (they don't have the brand name on them). I have used them a bit and they are very bright. They are a little more opaque than the artist paints but that is okay for journaling. I love the colors in this set and they will probably become a favorite for me. There is even a gold and silver paint here.

I got the Peerless paint after doing Jane Davenport's classes. You get a booklet with pages of each color. To use them you just pick up the color off the card with a wet brush. I cut a strip off each card and glued it to a piece of paper to fit into the back of my journal. It is handy for travel but as the colors are limited and you don't actually get much paint I wouldn't recommend these paints for journalers. They are magnificent for adding colour to black and white photos which was there intended purpose. 

Brushes

Brushes are an important part of painting. For journaling I like to use synthetic brushes because they are a bit tougher than real hair brushes and a lot cheaper. I use both white and orange synthetic brushes. I have never found any difference between them. In this photo I have a selection of synthetics on the right. I mostly use the flat brushes for covering big areas fast and the round brushes for doing details like faces etc. Get a few big ones and a few small brushes. The two brushes on the left are hogs hair brushes (super cheap) that I use when I want to make brush marks. The synthetic brushes make a smooth line compared to the rough line left by a hogs hair brush. 
It is important not to leave your brushes in water overnight. The wooden handle will get ruined and the brush will come apart. At the end of every painting day take the time to wash your brushes out thoroughly with soap (I use dish soap) and let them dry flat overnight. Pay particular attention to where the hair of the brush meets the metal. This is where paint collects. If you leave it there it will make your brush hair splay out and become too hard to paint with.  Your brushes should last for years if you take the time to care for them. 

If you are not sure what paints you want to get I would suggest buying one color in each brand. You can compare them yourself and find the ones that you like to use. Pick a few colors that are favorites so if you don't get any more of that brand you will only have one tube to use up but it will be a color you really like.