Technique:Surface Design : Serendipity and the Art of the Quilt

Itajime Shibori

November 8, 2009 | Filed Under Technique:Dyeing, Technique:Surface Design | 2 Comments

So there I was, just quickly checking some blogs and e-mails before getting started on some sewing, and here I am still at my computer nearly an hour later. Sucked in! but in a good way. It all started when I went to Pink Chalk Studios and read Kathy’s review on Color Your Cloth: A Quilter’s Guide to Dyeing and Patterning Fabric by Malka Dubrawsky:

That in turn took me to Malka’s blog StitchinDye including a picture of a circle quilt very similar in appearance to the Confetti Wedding Quilt that I made for Amy (my sister) and Paul except that the circles are entirely dyed - there is no applique. And how are those glorious circles created? with perspex resist shapes and C-clamps sold by r0ssie via her etsy shop.

The technique of dyeing using clamped resists is known as itajime shibori. It is a technique used to funky effect in the Ocelot clothing line. I also used this technique in my Twelve-themed work - Double Six. Which reminds me, I really must get on with my pink piece, which may (or may not!) include itajime shibori.

Blue Moon

September 21, 2009 | Filed Under Technique:Dyeing, Technique:Surface Design, Twelve by Twelve | Comments Off

While I once declared I would never do shibori dyeing again. Now it’s more like once in a blue moon. So far, three out of eleven of my Twelve by Twelve works incorporate shibori-style techniques: Piece de Resistance, Radiance and Introspection. I thought it might be fun to see if I could put some shibori into the current theme - Twelve. I experimented with using 20 cent coins as a resist. The results were not quite what I was after but the interaction of the coins with the soda ash solution gives an interesting ring effect that I’ll keep in mind for future pieces:

And I meant to mention that last week Erica and I made an excursion to Fairfield City Museum and Art Gallery for the International ArtCloth exhibition, ArtCloth: Engaging New Visions, which continues until 11 October 2009 before touring elsewhere in Australia.

We had the gallery to ourselves and could take everything in at our own pace. Each of the twenty works were presented in a banner-like format approximately 1 metre wide by 3 metres long. For me, the least interesting pieces were those that incorporated digital images - while undoubtedly clever, they lacked the character of a personal hand. My favourite piece was Razing/raising walls, Warsaw by Norma Starszakowna of England for its earthy palette and the way light passed through transparent section to create patterns on the wall behind. Unfortunately Norma does not have a website but I found a handful of images online.

Quilt First/Paint Later

September 3, 2009 | Filed Under Contemporary Quilts, Inspiration, Technique:Surface Design | 3 Comments

When I get some studio playtime, I am keen to experiment some more with quilting first and then applying dyes, paints, oilsticks or pigments. This process is discussed in The Painted Quilt by Linda Kemshall.

Inspiring examples of this technique can be found in the work of Deidre Adams and Pauline Burbidge. Pauline is an artist from the Scottish Borders and she exhibited some of her Quiltlines work at the 2009 Festival of Quilts at Birmingham. You can view a video presentation by Pauline on the Festival of Quilts Facebook page. (You don’t need to be a FB member to view it and there are some other interesting videos there.) Thanks to Mai for alerting me to this video.

Could have been a contender

March 31, 2009 | Filed Under Technique:Dyeing, Technique:Surface Design, Twelve by Twelve | 4 Comments

When Gerrie announced “window” as the next theme for the Twelve by Twelve Collaborative Art Quilt Project, I immediately thought of the magnificent rose windows found in Europe. I contemplated dyeing some shibori-style mandela shapes following directions from Paula Burch but I was missing some vital dyes so I folded and painted instead:

I even started with some quilting and additional painting but then I turned in a different direction. Check out the Twelve by Twelve blog on 1 April (US time) to see my other ideas.

Tomorrow afternoon the Laundry King and I fly out to Auckland, New Zealand to catch up with some family and friends. I know this city very well but do let me know if there are some new shops, sights, galleries, brew pubs or other places we should check out.

A Charming Frolic

March 29, 2009 | Filed Under Technique:Surface Design | 5 Comments

Despite a tedious 2 and half hour prelude in horrendous Sydney peak hour traffic, I thoroughly enjoyed my screen printing workshop with Kath and Kirsten (and three other students) at Prints Charming. As you can see, their playful style was infectious and I ended up with a happy garden scene all of my own design. My plan is to put a striped border around the outside and to do some big stitch quilting with brightly coloured perle threads. I also plan on returning sometime to experiment with more abstract motifs along the lines of Sarah’s work which you can see in some of the photos. If you are interested in doing a similar workshop, keep an eye on the Prints Charming blog for their class schedule or organise your own group of four and book a private workshop.

Prints Charming

August 17, 2008 | Filed Under Products, Quilters' Guild of NSW, Technique:Surface Design | 1 Comment

Apart from selling some of my patterns and contemporary quilt notecards at the market day, the highlight of yesterday’s Guild meeting was a presentation by Cath Derksema and Kirsten Junor of Prints Charming. Reknown for their fresh and funky fabrics, the Prints Charming team shared the story of the genesis of their creative business which today finds them developing lines for Marcus Fabrics whilst still continuing their strong tradition in handprinted fabrics.

As part of their presentation, Cath and Kirsten showed us their original design samples created by screen printing through paper stencils onto various base cloths on a relatively small table surface (see, for example, these blog photos). It was fascinating to see how faithfully the designs have been interpreted by the mills. I was even more excited to learn that Cath and Kirsten offer Print Your Own Fabric workshops where you learn how to layer colour using papercut designs to create 1.5 metres of your very own fabric. Classes are limited to four people per class and the 2008 program is booked out but I am keen to add my name to the list for the 2009 program.

Acacia Bloom at Canberra

August 7, 2008 | Filed Under Contemporary Quilts, Technique:Surface Design | 9 Comments

Today the Canberra Quilters’ Exhibition 2008 opens in Australia’s national capital. I have two quilts entered this year - Acacia Bloom and Afterglow. I am thrilled* to report that Acacia Bloom was awarded first place in the open Mixed Media Quilt category:

Quilt may include materials other than fabric and must include mixed techniques such as embroidery, embellishment, painting, printing, dyeing, fibre manipulation and trapunto. Must comprise at least 50% fabric and meet the definition of a quilt.

Acacia Bloom ©2007 Brenda Gael Smith 46cm x 55cm

I understand that my prize includes a voucher from Unique Stitching, an online business that sells all sorts of textile art goodies. I look forward to going shopping - thank you for your generous sponsorship Cecile.