Block Printing the Spiral Tree

I am pleased with the way the leaf printing turned out.

Likewise, the grass.
I do think I am going to have to do something about the sun. It looks out of proportion to me.

Happy New Year!

Spiral Tree - Painting Done!

I have finished painting the background for this Spiral Tree piece. At this point, the glue gel resist lines are not very obvious because they have been painted over. I am happy with the bold colors and lines at this point. The next step will be block printing.

Work in Progress - Spiral Tree

A few weeks ago, I showed this piece after I drew my resist lines on the white cotton broadcloth with Elmer's Glue Gel. Painting it will take a while. I paint one color at a time, allowing it to dry between colors. This way, color bleeding will be minimal. I am using Pebeo Setacolor Fabric Paints straight from the bottle - without diluting. This gives me a lot of control over the paint.

White Poinsettia

I don't enjoy putting up a Christmas tree . . . and especially taking it down!
I just fill the room with poinsettia blossoms instead.
I love it!

Mail Art Project - Week Thirteen

Don't Worry, Be Happy
Happy New Year Mail Art!

This group of mail art is constructed using random scraps of hand dyed and printed fabrics from my scrap box. I couched on some hand dyed yarns and stitched on some tiny "Worry Dolls" imported from South America.

I have an extra postcard to mail this week. If you have not already done so, send me an email with your full name and mailing address. I will add it to the random drawing! Please put "Mail Art" in the subject line. Thanks

Christmas Cactus

My Christmas cactus this year is stunning!

It is always such a thrill to have these beautiful blooms inside when it is white outside.

White Christmas

Views on our property.

A White Christmas!

Christmas Eve - Frost!

We are going to have a white Christmas here in Billings, Montana.

Frost on the trees and 18 inches of snow!

May you have a blessed holiday!

Earth Sky Fabric - Full View

Well, here is an image of the full 3 x 4' broadcloth.
The next step with be fused applique in some locations - most likely a sun or moon. Some bands to create depth, perhaps.

Then, I'll do my printing process. Block printing and screen printing.

Thinking about all that - meanwhile, I am looking at it on my design wall and waiting for a decision.

Earth Sky Painted Fabric

Yesterday, I talked about layering two different fabrics and painting both at once.
The fabric you saw in my last post was the cheesecloth that was the top layer for my painting project. Today I am showing the bottom layer - the cotton broadcloth.

Since my piece was so large, I painted the sky first - allowed it to dry, then moved my fabric and painted the earth. I was especially delighted with the effect on my bottom layer - the cotton broadcloth.

The movement of the wet paint on the dry fabric created a fabulous horizon line and wonderful texture in both the earth and sky pieces.

Since this piece will be printed with petroglyph images - the texture is perfect. Looks like the very sandstone the natives used for their rock pictures!

My original plan was to print with printing blocks to create texture, but I like this piece so well as it is - I may forgo the block printing on this one!

What do you think?

Fabric Painting - In Layers

A New Beginning

I started this new piece by layering a 4' x 5' sheet of cotton cheese cloth over a similar sized piece of cotton broadcloth. Since it was too big to fit on my portable painting surface, I taped it to the top, and let half the fabric hang over the edge. I planned to paint in two different color families, so I thought I would paint each one separately. I usually paint all my colors at once, so this is a bit of a departure from the usual.

Above, you can see the full sized piece of cheesecloth after it finished drying.
I painted the blue first, and it bled into the unpainted area.
After the blue (sky) was dry, I painted the earth.

I used only Cobalt blue and Ultramarine blue on the "sky"
For the earth, I used Burnt Sienna, Red Ochre, Velvet Brown, and Gold. As well as a copper metallic for my "earth" colors.

I love the way the paint moved around on the fabric.
I hope to use these interesting effects to my advantage.

Mail Art Project - Week Twelve

Winter Solstice Chickadees

This hand dyed fabric has been block printed using a hand cut lino block. After machine quilting, I have added screen printed chickadees. These birds are frequent visitors to my backyard bird feeder all year long.

I have an extra one to go out this week, and it is going to Mariet in the Netherlands. If you have not already done so, please send me an email with your full name and mailing address and you may be chosen at random for future mailings!

Spiral Tree - Another Version

More spiral doodles. This one - I hope to execute in a larger format:

This looks a little wonky in the picture. This is a 3 x 4 foot piece of cotton broadcloth.
I've drawn my spiral tree using Elmer's Glue Gel.
When it dries, I will paint it, then will use my new leaf printing blocks to print before washing out the glue gel.

There are some bad blobs of glue on the roots, but I think I will be able to fix those after the glue gel is removed.

Looking forward to seeing this image in color!

New Printing Blocks

I tried out my new printing blocks on some leftover scraps of hand dyed fabric.

This orange background should make up into 10 postcards - just the right proportions for both my printing blocks and my Mail Art Project.

Love the bold graphic look of these prints!

Sprial Leaf Designs

I have started a new project and wanted some new printing blocks for it, so sketched some designs on these 4" square blocks.

I am currently using "Soft Kut" that I order from Nasco. I order a large 18 x 24" sheet that I cut down to the block size I want. This product is super easy to cut. However, it is more difficult to actually do the printing (as opposed to rubber gasket material attached to a wood block, which I used in the past). There is not much of an edge to grip, being only about 3/8" thick, and I end up with messier prints and a lot of paint on my fingers.

I really love carving. These designs turned out better than my original sketches.

Next, to try printing with them.

Blue Bird Print - Quilted

I stitched these little birds with black thread.

Happy with the results - now to cut them into 4 x 6 size so they can be Mail Art!

Blue Bird Print

Doodles to Design, Again

I really liked this doodle and felt I just had to carve it so I could print it!
(I also really love the carving process - it can be addicting)

I had these scraps of red fabric left over from the placemats I made for Christmas gifts - I thought I would practice printing on that -
Yup - it works!

2 More Commission Pillows

These are both 18" square and are meant to be accent pillows.

Now off they go in the mail and I will wait to hear from the client.
I think they turned out really great. I hope they look right in the room! In my mind's eye - they are perfect.

I can't really explain it, but I really enjoy these projects. I love working with the color - getting it right - and coming up with something that will have a big impact on the appearance of a room.

Mail Art Project - Week Eleven

Christmas Card Mail Art

I made 28 of these so I could use them as my Christmas card this year.
Honestly, I don't think I have done a Christmas card since my kids were very young and I used to create sort of a newsletter with their art and poems. It was fun, but when they hit their teen years they were no longer interested in participating so it just fell by the wayside.

This week, extra Mail Art will be going out to:
Carol in Billings, MT,
Marybeth in Powell, WY,
Karin in Minneapolis, MN,
and Victoria in Bethesda, MD.

Pillow Commission, Continued

Here are two more of the pillows - 22" square.

Just as I am finishing these up - I get an email - the furniture has arrived.

Can't wait to see how these pillows look in the room!