Still threads ...

I've been sorting through samples of rusted and tannin dyed fabrics, one or two over-dyed in the indigo vat; others folded, squeezed and dipped in different ways and combinations of iron, tannin and rust. Their earthiness is reassuring. The differences in hue and tone ensure the beauty of each piece is not lost - each remains distinct from its neighbour. Some have areas of light and dark; some are stained; each has different strengths, textures and flaws while others appear amorphous. In spite of and perhaps because of these attributes, the group is better and stronger than the single samples of cloth, even when an element at first appears incongruous. In spite of and perhaps because of these differences,  removal or exclusion of a piece that doesn't fit neatly into the prevailing colour scheme risks a collection that is vacuous, indifferently beige and uninformed. Vive la différence.

Mola and the additive / reductive process

Going home today and packing a few clothes and 20 kg of study materials for the weekend. This week the dining-table studio helped produce some layering (additive) and revealing (reductive) pieces including further work on this piece from the previous post. I fused two of the rusted interfacing pieces  then added the rusted silk which had been Shiva rubbed (see earlier post) over a lino cut stamp made last year. The next phase was to stitch layered, small squares of water soluble paper over the lino-cut design and produce the negative (or positive) form of the lino cut - so where the spiral is highlighted in the gold Shiva rub by its absence, the moulded paper produced delightful ridges and bumps which were painted with watercolour and also gold rubbed when dry. The three hearts made from pepsimax cans (cut, flattened and blow torched by Kate) are now veiled under rusted chiffon. The selvage from a  rusted piece of old hospital sheet (still thick and rich after all these decades ) has been wrapped in small pieces of  chiffon opening at one end like flowering buds. It's still a work in progress - assignment due next Tuesday which really means Sunday night. I have enjoyed thinking about these processes - the end product is not so important as what happens in the head - and heart.

An example of using mola as a reductive and then additive process. One layer at a time removed before adding a piece of the second layer in a rolled form, couched into the space.



Tea bags and rust

A precious day with Ankie yesterday - and her WMBM - where 50 tea pot bags later (with the assistance of some Sulphate of Iron and Caustic Soda) we had rusted our way through old hospital bed sheet, organza, various weights of silk, pelon, interfacing, PFD cottons and anything else that would stay still long enough to be "dunked and dipped".

We started with 50 pot bags and two huge jugs of boiling water left to draw and cool while we caught up on all sorts of others things - like State of the Art Quilt 12 and Beneath the Southern Sky - both of which are due in another 5 weeks or so - then it was back to the tea bags.

The recipe and process we used can be found at http://essellesbabble.blogspot.com/2006/04/rust-solution-dyeing-tutorial.html  and the results are limited only by the order of dipping, length of time in the solutions and ... it's an endless supply of outcomes.

Nothing better than a heap of fabric drying on the line - in another week they'll be ready for washing. The interfacing came out like sheets of tanned parchment - so there's the foundation for journal pages - which will be made into a book of ... textile art samples. Thank you Ankie - a great day.