how I spend a three-day weekend. The Fort Worth Weavers Guild had a workshop with Holly Brackmann on surface design. It was like being a kid again—the freedom of using the dyes on paper like paint, no worries about it not turning out “right.” Every trip to the ironing board was an adventure, not knowing what you’re going to see when you lifted the “painted” paper off the fabric. We did everything: monoprinting, stamping, foiling, stencils (including making our own), screen printing, resist, pleating, rubbings. If you get a chance to take a workshop with Holly, take advantage of it. She introduced a technique then gave us plenty of time to explore before introducing the next technique. I came home with many “painted” papers for doing more exploration. The pictures below give examples of some of the things we did. I wasn’t aiming for finished compositions, just trying each technique to see where it might lead. I’m especially interested in a couple of ideas that I want to explore more on my own—in my spare time, of course!
Rubbing with fabric crayons, first on the paper, then ironed onto the fabric.
This is a collage of various painted papers ironed onto fabric. Below the fabric is the paper that was used for this piece. When you look at the paper, remember that we’re talking mirror image. Also, the orange paper on the right has fallen off.
The above piece is a fabric printed with the design from one of those color design books.
Above is the paper from which the fabric on the left was printed. The fabric is a sheer fabric found in the drapery department.
I have lots of other samples, but some don’t photograph well with my camera. Well, maybe they would, but I’m not going to spend any more time trying.
We used disperse dyes from ProChem and Monagum as the thickener. Read about Holly’s book here.
My brain is busy with ideas of how I might utilize some of the things that I learned. I’ll add that later. Tomorrow I have an announcement about something new in my weaving life.