Dancing Crow Designs

ink spill, snowpocalypse and green

on the good side, a new ink pad, and also knowledge about how easy it is to make another, and I do have another five blanks ready to go, AND it works really well, so it is a huge win all around

on the less good side, a lot of ink in places it should not be, and I have to make a new work surface because this is now shedding green on various snowscapes that are in progress, serious snowscapes, all white, and more white... no green until March, when the thaw starts

experiment

Today was much warmer; all the way to just below freezing!

Thursdays are peaceful for me; I have lunch with Al, I have a Theater Tech meeting, and then I go home and do a good deal of nothing.

I was interested in trying a method to show how shiny and icy the ground is. I stitched a piece of plastic bag over an opaque transfer, and used marker to accentuate the shape and color of the tree. I think I can experiment with stitching on the plastic as well.

 

 

 

cold and blowy

As every knows who watches any weather on TV, or probably listens to it on the radio, we are in a Polar Vortex (that you know the Weather channel is pronouncing POLAR!! VOOOORTEX!!!!!!) and it is pretty cold around here. I mean, New England gets real winter every year, with snow and nasty driving; not the way Chicago or Minnesota or Michigan's Upper Penninsula get winter, but we're a pretty hardy bunch. But still, this feels epic.

I was trying to show, with twisty thread and experiments on saturaing the color in the transfer image, how cold and blowy it was. Also if it looks like a migraine aura, there is that involved as well.

To get the darker image, I used a transparent transfer on silk organza, and then used the same image on an opaque transfer on the dark page. I lined them up, and stitched the top and bottom to keep them from shifting too much, and then free stitched the blowing wind.

I am delighted with the way the gray thread blends into the sky, giving it motion without too much extra color, but still stands out as it crosses the dark branches. That is something I can pursue further.

comparisons are illuminating

At least, I hope they are illuminating. Because I wanted to clarify for myself how differently the light-fabric and dark-fabric transfers worked, I printed the same image on each kind of transfer sheet. And then I realized I had failed to reverse the printing on the light-fabric sheet, so it would be backwards. (* headdesk *) This is the side by side comparison, on light and dark fabric, of the two different transfer sheets:

 

Okay - from here on I am calling them opaque and transparent transfer sheets. On the left page, the left side is opaque, the right side transparent. You can see how the white fabric shows through the snowy parts of the image (it is mirrored around the center line) so it looks snowy. On the right page, the left side is transparent, and you can see how the image is nearly invisible against the dark purple page, while the opaque side still shows lights and darks, although they are muted a bit because the opaque sheets kind of melt into the fabric when you iron them.

My experience with this experiment seems to be that all transfers work better on light colored or white fabric. I imagine printing things onto tea or coffee stained fabric would yield interesting aged looks.

In other news, I rode two horses today, the first was the red mare, and we went out in the woods with a friend and had a great time. This is a picture of us afterwards, taken by Elaine who obviously loves us both:

And then I rode Brooks' beloved, ancient gray horse Nuada. We went out in the field, because it is lovely now, but the rain is supposed to come tonight and make the lovely snow vile and wet and then freeze solid so that walking becomes deeply hazardous and un-fun. So: canter cincles in snow = deep happiness.

moving in the snow

This piece is a mirror image of the view across the street and past Mac's barn to the big trees in the conservation area. I printed it onto the light-colored-fabric transfer sheet, and since I wanted it to show up, I ironed it onto white fabric and stitched it into the book.

It is still wicked cold out, moderated some from last night.

We helped Red Kate move into her apartment (here! in our town!!! Yay!!) at the top of 14 stairs. We know that number well. Arein and I went earlier and helped her dad get the trailer emptied and off the road. Then Al came and helped schlepp the things still in her van. We made the bed. We found her pajamas and toothbrush. Al and Aerin fed her supper. She is at her own place now.

Which is why I missed Timna's opening over ath the Jones Library in Amherst. I was delighted the opening was not on Thursday while everyone was freaking out over the snow, but I forgot we'd be helping at the new time. I will still go see it, and write in the visitors book (how is that pluraled and possessived, anyhow?) but I'm sorry to miss the cookies and the crowd.

 

 

tech specs

the specs;

7 pieces of purple fabric 5x10" stacked and stitched down the center to give fourteen pages 5x5" (two weeks)

The transfers happen two different ways - transfer-to-dark fabrics and transfer-to-light fabrics. To transfer to dark fabrics, the image is printed right side up (text reads correctly) onto the sheet. The thin white plastic that carries the image is peeled off the backing paper, and ironed, right side up, onto the fabric. In this image, I drew onto the transfer sheet, peeled that off and ironed it down - this is a freehand sketch.

To transfer images to light fabric, the image is reversed, and printed onto the transfer sheet. The sheet is ironed face down onto the fabric, and then the backing is peeled off, so the image is right way around.

The distinction between light fabric and dark exists because of the idea of background. For the reversed transfers, "background color" is the color of the fabric because the image carrying medium is transparent. When the image carrying medium is white, it forms an opaque layer between the image and the fabric, and allows for white and light colors in the image to show against darker fabric.

maple moon (wings)

via www.flickr.com

Still experimenting with gelatin printing.

I used a biscuit cutter to cut nice round circles out of the sheet of gelatin, and experimented using those as block for printing. Since my biscuit cutter is smaller than my circle-a-day circles, there is an unprinted edge that I wanted to accentuate.

I realized I have not yet posted links to my sources for gelatin printing.

My favorite, and primary source, is Linda Germain, and her blog Printmaking Without a Press. Linda does lovely, delicate work. She has answers to frequently asked questions, and videos on YouTube for those who want to see what she's talking about.

The Sketchbook Challenge blog also has a tutorial, and some pictures of the process.

I have really enjoyed having the gelatin block around to experiment with this month. It has been a lovely cool way to spend time working with fabric and color. I found it easy to get started. The gelatin block was fun to make and fun to hold (and fun to make wiggle! think industrail strength Jello Wigglers...) The materials I used were things I had on hand (white fabric, fabric paint) so the project scrimmage was small. 

It took me a lot of experimenting to come up with truly lovely things, making me uneasy until I hit my groove. I am also not entirely sure what to do with the pieces I don't love. I finally decided I'd hold them as potential blocks for stitching together into a lightweight coverlet or unfilled quilt. Or maybe I'll just give them away. It is a good year for it!

 

july 17

via www.flickr.com

It is absurdly hot and dry. The studio is not air conditioned, while the downstairs is, so I spend more of my time experimenting with the gelatin plate and various paint options than I do with the stitching.

I think I am letting my brain refill? or sort things out? Processing would be another good word for it. I am not strongly moved to make anything in particular, so I have found a process I am content to explore for the remainder of the month.

Gelatin printing produces astounding numbers of more-or-less gorgeous or interesting prints. I like the print quality best on the quilting cotton. The prints that don't go into circles will be stitched together into a very light quilty thing. I may have to research bojagi - the Korean single layer piecing process.

materials, tools, process

I got a smaller brayer for rolling paint, because the brushes (shown lower left) make streaks and bubbles, but the brayer wouldn't turn freely and I had to wait for Al to come back and break it loosen it up for me. Which he did, with style and grace, but not until I was done with the process for the day. The lower right shows some swatches I made, still working with smaller pieces of fabric. That great sun shape is a washer I found and used for a resist.

three failures means I'm done

I made a circle today, and it failed in different ways three different times.

1. the bleach doesn't make black threads white, it just made them kind of green

2. the white paint doesn't sit nicely on the black thread, it soaks in

3. even when the white paint has soaked in and dried, it is not waterproof, and it washed out when I tried to rinse off the water soluble stabilizer I'd constructed the feather on

And I could have stopped there, but instead I persisted, and then:

4. the water soluble stabilizer did not rinse out completely

5. which wouldn't matter except when reapplying the white paint that washed out and trying to remove some of the wetness by ironing the circle, the leftover stabilizer kind of crystallized on top, and then

6. when I tried to photograph it anyhow, just for completeness sake, the photo won't email, so I can't even show you the catastrophe that resulted

So. I'm done now.