Week 5 - Numbers 13 and 14

PROJECT:  Create 88 - 8" x 8" Canvases

PARAMETERS:  Fiber Art (including textiles, fabrics, gauze, cheesecloth, yarn, thread, embroidery floss, wool roving, and paper), mounted on 8" x 8" canvases.

GOAL:  Create hardcover book, showcasing this art.

This week I decided to give needle-felting another go.  I use wool roving for the needle-felting.  Did I have any wool roving, you might ask?

Wool Roving

Yes, a wee bit...  Probably enough for a couple of lifetimes.

#13 - I started this piece by attaching some cheesecloth, which I'd dyed with acrylic inks, to my background.

Cheesecloth

Next I added the pieces of wool roving.

#13 - Wool Roving

Followed by machine stitching to fasten the roving to the background, and to add detail.

#13 - 8" x 8" Canvas - Almost done

Actually, I thought the piece was done, but I wasn't totally happy that the stamens didn't show up well in the picture.  I used a black Uni Posca paint marker to outline the stamens.  Here's the finished piece:

#13 - 8" x 8" Canvas

#14 - Needle-felting the wool roving:

#14 - 8" x 8" Canvas - first go

Next I did free-motion stitching with my sewing machine.

#14 - 8" x 8" Canvas - not quite there...

I added some paints to tone down the middle section, and to straighten out the left edge of the opening.  Really, a subtle difference, but it made me happy.  Here's #14, finished:

#14 - 8" x 8" Canvas

Till next week...

Week 4 - Numbers 10, 11, and 12

PROJECT:  Create 88 - 8" x 8" Canvases

PARAMETERS:  Fiber Art (including textiles, fabrics, gauze, cheesecloth, yarn, thread, embroidery floss, wool roving, and paper), mounted on 8" x 8" canvases.

GOAL:  Create hardcover book, showcasing this art.

#10 - 8" x 8" canvas

#10 - I made a quilt sandwich using a piece of a nylon slip, some batting, and a piece of cotton for the backing.  Then I did free-motion machine stitching to "draw" the flowers.  This was done without a pattern.  I used variegated thread, hence the lights and darks in the stitching.

#10 - 8" x 8" canvas

#10 - I painted the flowers with a mix of watercolors and Inktense pencils.  The blanket stitch around the edge is done with the variegated thread.  The mini-quilt is mounted on an 8" x 8" canvas, painted yellow-gold.

#10 - 8" x 8" canvas - Detail

#10 - Detail showing the painted flowers.

#11 - 8" x 8" canvas

#11 - This piece started with a collage of silk fabrics painted with acrylic inks.

#11 - 8" x 8" canvas

#11 - More fabrics and lace auditioning for the final piece.

#11 - 8" x 8" canvas

#11 - Finished canvas.  Fabrics were attached to the canvas using matte medium.

#11 - 8" x 8" canvas

#11 - Detail.

#12 - 8" x 8" canvas

#12, like #11, started with a collage of fabrics painted with acrylic inks.

#12 - 8" x 8" canvas

#12 - This piece of smocking was from a thrift store blouse.  I cut an 8" piece to try out on the canvas.

#12 - 8" x 8" canvas

#12 - After the smocking was sewn on to the background, I had second thoughts!  I came real close to tossing it at this point.  Instead, I couched on navy blue yarn, and added flowers cut from the same blouse as the smocking.

#12 - 8" x 8" canvas

#12 - The finished piece, mounted on an 8" x 8" canvas, using matte medium. 

Till next week...

Week 3 - Numbers 7, 8, and 9

PROJECT:  Create 88 - 8" x 8" Canvases

PARAMETERS:  Fiber Art (including textiles, fabrics, gauze, cheesecloth, yarn, thread, embroidery floss, wool roving, and paper), mounted on 8" x 8" canvases.

GOAL:  Create hardcover book, showcasing this art.

#7 - 8" x 8" Canvas

#7 - Acrylic inks on fabric.  I used machine stitching to affix the pieces of the collage.  The collaged piece is attached to canvas using matte medium.  I also coated it with matte medium, to hold a few loose edges in place.

#8 - 8" x 8" Canvas

#8 - The fabric was cut from a nylon half-slip I found at the Salvation Army.  I colored the fabric with Inktense blocks and pencils.  Wetting the colors turned the Inktense chalk to permanent ink.  I added batting, and a piece of backing cotton.  Machine stitching added detail to the painting.  The mini quilt is mounted on the canvas using matte medium.

#8 - 8" x 8" Canvas - The painting before stitching.

The painting before stitching.

#8 - 8" x 8" Canvas - Detail

The detail shows a close-up of the machine stitching.

#9 - 8" x 8" Canvas

#9 - The fabric is crepe de chine painted with acrylic inks.  I had piled the fabrics, then added inks and water.  The dark markings are from the ink settling at the bottom of the pile.  I heat set the ink with an iron.  The three black lines at the bottom of the piece were made with what was supposedly a permanent marker.  Guess not...

Till next week...

Week 2 - Numbers 4, 5, and 6

PROJECT:  Create 88 - 8" x 8" Canvases

PARAMETERS:  Fiber Art (including textiles, fabrics, gauze, cheesecloth, yarn, thread, embroidery floss, wool roving, and paper), mounted on 8" x 8" canvases.

GOAL:  Create hardcover book, showcasing this art.

#4 - 8" x 8" Canvas

#4  -  Acrylic inks on fabrics, with extensive machine thread painting.

#5 - 8" x 8" Canvas

#5  -  The above project uses a calligraphy pen called an Elegant Writer.  The ink is black, but when water is added, other colors appear.  There is also a bit of machine stitching.

#6 - 8" x 8" Canvas

#6  -  A collage of hand-painted fabrics using acrylic inks.

New Project - 8" x 8" Canvases - Week 1

My latest project involves creating textile art and mounting it on 8" x 8" canvases.  I decided to awaken my dormant blog to use it as a record of the finished canvases, and a reminder of the techniques involved.  I'm planning on a weekly blog.

PROJECT:  Create 88 - 8" x 8" Canvases

PARAMETERS:  Fiber Art (including textiles, fabrics, gauze, cheesecloth, yarn, thread, embroidery floss, wool roving, and paper), mounted on 8" x 8" canvases.

GOAL:  Create hardcover book, showcasing this art.

Canvas Storage

#1 - 8" x 8" canvas

For this canvas, I used lace I'd cut from a thrift store blouse for the background.  The flower is from another blouse.  The color comes from acrylic inks, mostly sepia, with some gold to highlight the flower.

#2 - 8" x 8" canvas

This mini-quilt is attached to the canvas using matte medium.  You can see the blanket stitch around the outer edge of the quilt.  I used crepe de chine and silk fabrics, which I colored with acrylic inks.  The tree is free-motion machine stitching.  Acrylic paint covers the edges of the canvas.

#3 - 8" x 8" canvas

#3 - 8" x 8" canvas - Detail

This beach scene involves fabrics directly glued to the canvas, using matte medium.  The fabrics are cotton, silk, cheese cloth (the water), and gauze (the sea foam).

Till next week...