Cut It Up

At our recent CFG Stitch Group meeting we discussed what to do with the fabric you have ice dyed. Often one finds fabric too precious to use and will allow it to linger waiting for the perfect idea. I prefer to come up with an idea and then create the fabric.

For my current design, I need yardage in similar color organic patterns. Ice-dyeing yardage provides a large background color pallet to use as is, cut, or overlay with other surface design methods.

Working with yardage can be cumbersome but it is helpful when you need the flexibility of larger sections.

The yardage is a background layer of color, texture and pattern that will be painted, cut, and manipulated many times during the design process. Before I whip out my rotary cutter and paint I take a before photo of a couple of potential sections.

Crank up the music and the fun begins.

SAQA Global Exhibition StitchPunk

I work on website updates almost every day, but somehow, I never get around to updating my own website. Although I am late in announcing, I am thrilled that my piece, EcoSarra, has been juried into the SAQA Global Exhibition StitchPunk.

The Call for Entry asked the artists to “reimagine a world through an alternate, extraordinary timeline. Imagine our bodies merged with our devices or a world shared with sentient robots or other life forms.

What would a refrigerator, a clock, or even a lawn mower look like if it ran on steam power?

What sort of people would live on the streets of a decaying metropolis, starkly divided between haves and have-nots, with police drones patrolling above and neon lights cutting through the thick, dirty air?

Will science and technology free us from mundane daily chores, or enslave us to a global corporate master?

The opportunities are endless. Artists are invited to explore the science fiction worlds of cyberpunk, steampunk, dieselpunk, biopunk, atompunk, clockpunk, nanopunk, and more!” (SAQA Global)

The title EcoSarra is a nod to Sarraceniaceae in my vision of Forest/Bio Punk.

EcoSarra

I gave up friends, family, and the outside world to create a future for my plants – my bioengineered family. The constant negative backlash over bioengineering forced me into my safe place, my world inside Green Lab. Along with my carnivorous babies, I grew, changed, and thrived as the outside world destroyed itself. My latest experiment, becoming a part of the chain, both absorbing carbon and creating my own form of oxygen may be the only way to survive the destruction. I look into the mirror and wonder if I will ever leave or want to leave. I become more and more like my babies every day. For now, we are safe inside Green Lab. Thankfully cockroaches did survive the disaster. Yum! Lunch!

Materials: Wire and mixed media armature, salvage army surplus, ice- dyed silk organza, various threads
Techniques: Armature building, assemblage, ice dying, hand-stitching

The first venues scheduled for the exhibition tour are:

New England Quilt Museum, Lowell, Massachusetts: April 30 - July 13, 2024
Festival of Quilts, Birmingham, United Kingdom: August 1 - December 31, 2024

More info will be available in the coming months on the SAQA website.

Preview of Gnarled - Available in SAQA Benefit Auction

Gnarled and faded I remain, shelter for your storm.

DETAIL IMAGES

See all of the artists’ work for the SAQA Benefit Auction at https://www.saqa.com/auction

Moisture Variations in Dye Painting

Chapter 4 of Ann Johnston’s Color by Design is my favorite so far in our Dyeing Support Group. My favorite is the organic quality you get from painting on soda-soaked wet fabric and applying pressure to plastic over the top.

Thin Paste on Wet Fabric with Primary Colors - I like that you get secondary colors as the dyes bleed into each other; especially after pressing the plastic on top.

2nd sample of Thin on Wet Primary Colors

My Favorite - I love the surprise organic lines and shapes of the thin paste on wet soda-soaked fabric

Thin on Wet Secondary Colors and neutral created by adding the secondary colors together.

2nd Sample of Thin on Wet Secondary Colors

Textured Objects placed underneath wet soda-soaked fabric and thin dye painted with brush - I enjoyed this technique

Thin Paste on Dry Fabric is my least favorite. I can see circumstances where you would want less bleeding until the edges to keep some white or light areas. Maybe I would prefer it if I tried different shapes and colors.

Thick Dye painted on wet soda-soaked fabric

Print Paste painted on fabric before adding medium thickness dye painted on with sponge brushes. This was nice and evenly blended and then I decided to add additional colors with a dryer sponge brush. I don’t really like sponge brushes but they have their purpose. I much prefer using paintbrushes.

Combination of thick and thin colors painted on dry fabric

I was surprised how much more I enjoyed the exercises on wet soda-soaked fabric over the dry fabric. The fluid organic lines and intermixing of colors had interesting results. I will definitely spend more time with the same techniques and additional colors with varying thicknesses of print paste.

On My Bookshelf

I am a Library Fanatic. I read extremely fast and often; multiple books a week. I love cozy mysteries, FBI/Forensics/Serial Killer Mysteries, Sherlock Holmes, Gardening, Cookbooks, and many of the books from High School or College Reading Lists. I have to read books of a series in order. So, I maintain a spreadsheet sorted by the author with the last book I have read in each series. Sadly, I have checked out and returned so many art books over the years that I have not kept track of which were good, bad, or just ok. I have found, however, that I am an art book snob. Most instructional art books you find in bookstores are written for the beginner in every form of art or are projects to complete. The library shelves are the best place to find Specialty Topics, Intermediate, and Advanced Level books. I detest dusting, so I only purchase a few books for my personal reference collection. Generally, I buy art books that I have already checked out multiple times from the library or ones that I can’t get from the library. Welcome to my bookshelf.

HIGHLIGHTS

Dyeing:

Color by Accident - Ann Johnston

Color By Design - Ann Johnston

Fabric Dyer’s Dictionary - Linda Johansen (I bought the e-book version. It is a pain to flip through to look for a specific color on my IPAD. I need to buy a used copy as it is out of print)

Surface Design:

Art Cloth - Jane Dunnewold

The Surface Designer’s Handbook - Holly Brackmann

Visual Texture on Fabric - Lisa Kerpoe (Resist Technique Options)

The Painted Quilt - Linda & Laura Kemshall (Short Overview of Techniques but visually appealing for an older book)

Digital Fiber Art - Wen Redmond

Quilt Related or 3D Fiber:

Disclaimer: I have never been a traditional quilter so have a few just to flip through or loan out

Journey to Inspired Art Quilting - Jean Wells

Visual Guide to Working in a Series - Elizabeth Barton

The Uncommon Quilter - Jeanne Williamson

Exploring Dimensional Quilt Art - C. June Barnes

Stitch, Fibre, Metal & Mixed Media - Alysn Midgelow-Marsden

Three - Dimensional Embroidery - Janey Edmonds

Stitching:

The Intentional Thread - Susan Brandeis (Written by my college professor so I may be biased, but I learn something every time I pick it back up)

Connecting Design to Stitch - Sandra Meech

Drawn to Stitch - Gwen Hedley

The Geometry of Hand-Sewing - Natalie Chanin (Variety of stitches shown; images are not annoyingly cutesy or crafty like most embroidery related books)

Poetic Cloth - Hannah Lamb (I’m not sure I learned anything new from this book, but I like flipping through it. It is visually soothing, like visiting the spa.)

Amanda Snavely

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