It is all about the process

These images were supposed to have the following text in the previous entry. As you might guess I am new to blogger!

The discussion was about scarves as Art Cloth.

With the scarves it is much more about color and texture... I am not fretting about placement, balance etc. Each time the wearer puts it on the composition changes. I really like this interactive aspect to wearable work.

Sorry to have my learning curve impact everyone.

Scarves as Art Cloth?

Are scarves Art Cloth?


Many of my scarf customers tell me that they think of them as art and hang them where they can see them when they are not wearing them. As an artist I find this flattering... but why? Is a scarf less valuable then wall work? Is it just the market value that determines this? Interesting questions.

When I am working on creating the cloth I have already determined if it is for the wall or the body. I definitely spend more energy on how I compose for the wall. It will not have the advantage of being wrapped around a body to alter the composition. Even in my more all over print wall works I am wrestling with composition.

Can scarves be considered art cloth?

My art crit group seems to think so!  I'm the only textile artist in a group with a couple of painters, a photographer, a glass and ceramic artist, printmakers, a collagist, and mixed media artists.  Last night, I brought my silk scarves to our meeting, just to show what I have been doing.

This one sold (although I was not planning on selling it till Open Studios in November) but more important was the fact that the artist who bought it and is curating an exhibit of our work, held up several of my silk scarves as art cloth and thought they should be exhibited,perhaps hung from fishing line, the way the Art Cloth Network exhibits our work.

While it won't happen this time because the gallery has the Walker Hanging System, which won't work with art cloth - I was thrilled that the other (non-fiber) artists even came up with the idea. Motto: if it's ART, the medium doesn't matter.

Thanks, guys!

deColourant discharge

I recently received some free samples of the new discharge product, deColourant. Here are some pictures and a few of my thoughts on the product.

These are my two samples. The first, with the dragonflies, was done with silkscreening. The second was stamping using a cool silicone trivet I found at Target. The fabric was a silk broadcloth I'd dyed and overdyed a few weeks ago.

I used the color remover as well as the color replacer, mustard. You can see in the closeup below where the mustard color removed the color underneath and then applied color on top, all in one step. It looks distressed and imperfect because I didn't wait 24 hours to wash out after iron setting (using steam), so I lost color (still, a cool effect). The second sample lost no color as I waited a few days to wash out after setting.

I like this product a lot. It has much less of a smell than another brand's discharge paste, and though I was slightly irritated while setting the second piece (it had more product on it) because I am sensitive (asthma), it was far less than with other discharge pastes. I did use cross ventilation of windows and doors and overhead fan, but next time I will use a respirator.

I did not notice a lingering smell or any irritation after I left the room and then returned. In the past I have been able to notice the other discharge paste's lingering smell/irritation long after leaving the room, so for me this is a plus.

I will do more experimenting with application tools and amounts as well as trying some steaming in my steamer. I have a bit left from my experiments with this first bottle, but I did just order some from Dharma as they also have the paints, in stock as of today. I'm excited to try the metallics!

---Mandi

San Jose Grid

I took the following picture when strolling in downtown San Jose, CA. I was there to attend the annual meeting of Art Cloth Network.
 

When I got home, I used Photoshop Elements to create this image, which I now can make into a thermofax silk screen.