Added Extras

Sometimes, I just can't help myself... while printing, I spotted a couple of bits of fabric.  This one had been coloured during a workshop last year, and has been lying around ever since.

Yes, I probably should have ironed it first.  No, it didn't seem to matter; it has turned out quite nicely.  I will iron it before I stitch it, however.  The other piece was a bit of rust dyed silk which, as it happens, has bondaweb on the back of it for some reason. 

I think it works quite well.   Admittedly, I have absolutely no idea what I'll use them for, but that's okay.  I've got a bit of paint left...not sure how malleable it'll be after two days, admittedly.  And I doubt I'll get round to using it for another couple of days.  Today was a hospital day, complete with shower (they take up a huge amount of energy); tomorrow, I'll be meeting up with an old friend...who would doubtless say, less of the old..  So not enough energy to spare for print making, painting or anything else.  At least I got some hand stitching done in the hospital; waiting rooms are ideal for that sort of thing. And we're heading for the coast tomorrow, so perhaps a few photographs...  art is life, after all.

Printing...

one of the books that I'm planning around the theme of shields and spears.  I've now carved a couple of lino blocks for that, with a couple left to do....enough for now, I thought, even though one of them was only partially finished. And, just to prove I've learned my lesson, note my (relatively) tidy work surface...

I decided to use acrylic paints this time, combined with a medium that delays the drying time, so that the ink doesn't just dry on the plate.  For once in my life, I followed the instructions; I was a tad alarmed by the idea that too much medium might mean that the paint doesn't dry at all.  It's one thing to get the ink from newspapers on your fingers; entirely another when the visual art comes off on your hands...  \I mixed my own colour, a combination of three paints.  Someone once told me not to use paint straight out of the tube; it was important for an artist to mix their own colours.  And so I have found it.  It's a meditative thing to do, and allows you to really think about the effect you're trying to achieve, and the colour that will do that for you.  It took several tests before I was happy with the colour, somewhat warmer than the dark brown out of the tube.

 The blocks are too small for a double page, and besides, other than the central spread, they aren't seen like that within the structure of the book, so I needed to select elements to print on each individual page.  I started with the partially carved block; here's the test print.

The bit I hadn't thought through was that the whole thing would print, not just the leaf.  Fortunately, I liked that result...if I hadn't, there would have been a lot more carving to do before I could have used it.  I may well cut one of the remaining blocks in half, and carve a block specifically like this, to use in the future. 

I started to print the five pages that make up the signature (the technical word for a combination of pages, if you haven't come across it before).  I wanted a random combination of images, but started with the central motif.

It became obvious quite early on that I couldn't print on both sides of the pages; lutradur is semi transparent, so the print can be seen on the other side, though, as it is printed, not dyed, it hasn't come right through; it's like having a shadow.  And that was okay, because I intended to stitch, so the shadow would be supported by the stitch.  And, without overtly thinking it through, that had been my intention from the start.  What I hadn't realised, though, was that I needed to vary on which side of the lutradur I printed, so that there would be an interesting visual mixture of strong and weak prints.  I only managed to do that once, though... a combination of getting carried away and brain fog...sigh.  I'll be more deliberate about it the next time I make a pamphlet book in this way.

I struggled with deciding what to do with the cover.  In the end, I decided to print the same thing on both front and back covers, and here it is.

I think that works well; the image is a strong one, an eye catching way to present the piece, I hope.  When the ink was dry, I folded the book and combined the pages, mixing up the different images to avoid having the same thing twice.  The joy of working with semi transparent material, is that you get more than you usually would, when you look at the open pages.  Here's a look at that central page again, this time combined with the rest of the pages.

That effect will be something to consider in the future.  And now I'm stuck.  I want to stitch this with the machine, and I still don't have it back (hopefully this week).  Overall, though, I'm pleased with the way it has worked...for once, pretty much as I thought it would.  It needs a poem...I have two of three lines, but one refuses to come.  It'll doubtless arrive in its own sweet time...words are not as biddable as paint.

Notes To Self.

1. Don't try to work when you're overtired; it's going to end in tears.

2. You can never have enough clear workspace when you're printing.

3. Sometimes good things come out of bad stuff.


So... printing....  Seemed like a good idea.  Was narked about an online conversation I'd been having (should know better, really), and thought, I'll go play a bit.  I ignored the fact that I'd already brushed and washed the kitchen floor, which had taken most of my energy.  Yes, I'm an idiot.  Yes, I should have asked Robin to do it.  Yes, it looks better.  Just every so often I like to prove I can still do this stuff.

Had already looked out the stuff I wanted to use, so... and that was my first mistake.  Really, there wasn't enough room on that table top... but being me, I Just Got On With It. 

Mixed up the ink, new to me, printing ink for fabric... got sort of the colour I wanted, eventually, but mixed far too much... sigh. 

The palette knife came from a pound shop; the glass I'm working on is an old fridge shelf....it's an ideal size for the kind and scale of  work I do.  Did a test print on paper... which gave me a clear indication that this particular block is fine for printing.  I grabbed the first bit of paper I could find, some watercolour paper.  It was bone dry, so the print quality isn't great, but since I don't suppose I'll use it for anything, so who cares.

Reader, I rather liked it.  So I decided to use it to print on one of the hand made books I've made recently, which I'd been mulling over.  The block is slightly narrower and somewhat longer than each page, but hey, I thought, it'll be fine.  And it would have been, had I followed points one and two, above.  First page printed, no problem.  In order to print the second, I had to move some stuff...and realised that I'd dipped the first page into the ink, inadvertently.  What an idiot.  Fortunately, it didn't look too bad, and I simply extended it along the rest of the pages...but it could have been a perfectly decent book, written off.  I really am an idiot. 

So... printed, it looks like this.  Because Lutradur XL, like all the lighter weights, is semi transparent, you can actually see elements of the other side. 

Stand it up against the light, and it's even more obvious

I'm really pleased with this.  Not bad for a handful of scraps and a printing block...

I did a bit more printing, which I'll show you tomorrow, swathed the remaining ink with cling film and hoped for the best.  Should be okay til tomorrow.  What did strike me is that I need to start using my press if I want even printing results.  I like the way this has turned out, but it won't be appropriate for every project, and I'm not getting enough pressure, sitting down.  You live and learn.  And now I need a sleep.

The Grunt Work

Cara is coming for a sleepover, today, so I'm not gong to get a lot done.  So, before she arrived, I decided to do a little carving on one of the lino blocks.

The one on the right is finished, more or less, ready for a trial print.  I've never particularly enjoyed carving lino, and I like it even less now that I don't have much energy.  I can carve for about twenty minutes at a time; once upon a time, I would have carved something like this in a single sitting.  So it's taking quite a long time to get these blocks ready to print, because if I do something else, like work on a book, that's the energy used up, so the blocks have to wait.  What I really need is a slave...cough...assistant...but that's not going to happen.  These will be the last carved blocks I make, I think.  Mono printing will be my method of choice in future, and I intend to try collagraphy, which has been on my to do list for years, but I've never actually done.  Must try to find a workshop, locally.  Or an online course, perhaps. 

There's a lot of grunt work in textile art...all the preparation for dyeing, for instance, scouring the cloth, mixing the dyes, rinsing (my personal favourite, not...), and finally...ironing...groan...  I think that people who don't do this stuff, don't appreciate that... I think they think we all sit around in a genteel manner, hand stitching... well, okay, sometimes we do...but sometimes we lug gallons of water around....

So...that's it for today.  We'll doubtless go out, so I might be able to get some photographs...here's hoping...

Warm...

almost to warm to work.  Well, I'm a Scot, I'm just not used to these high temps... and am very grateful I'm not in Arizona or anywhere else that's far hotter, for that matter.  I thought I'd go and do some work in the shed, but despite the fan, it was just Too Warm, so I've come back in to fiddle with photos in the relative cool of the living room, which, as it doesn't get much sun, is one of the coolest places in the house.  Sadly, it's also one of the darkest, too... but you can't have everything, and it is quite snug in winter.  But I digress...

I went into the shed to put a couple of layers of varnish on a floor cloth that has been painted by members of the Dereham Hub; I'll show you pictures when it's finished.  Since I was on a bit of a roll, I then started working on some cloth.  I started by trying to discharge dye some cloth...but either the cloth won't discharge, or the bleach pen I found is too old, no luck...

Then, I started playing with some hand dyes.  I had intended painting onto the cloth, but instead, started working with some lino blocks.  The first piece is tentatively entitled Flowers In The Fields, and is cotton sateen, hand dyed and then printed with two blocks.

Then, I remembered explaining printing with bubble wrap to someone this morning, and, since I had some big bubble wrap, proceeded to do just that... this piece features it, 'Ferns And Flints'.

This was a section of an old cotton sheet, dyed, and then printed, bubble wrap first, then printed with a fern shaped linocut (as if the title didn't give it away...).  I think the ferns piece is simply a background, I have Plans for it... but I think Flowers In The Field might become a poem.  We shall see...  first they will wait for a while, to see if my ideas change.

Flamin' 'Eck...

it's June...  already. I thought it was more than time for me to give the studio a Good Going Over.  Now, I'd like to say that this was a 'before' image, but it's actually a 'during'; I haven't got as far as 'After'.  A combination of sloth, heat and the feeling of being overwhelmed got to me, and they, combined, are bigger than the need to clear up, or even to get to work...

During is dreadful.  It actually didn't look quite as bad as this before I started, but I'm moving furniture as well as stuff, and it takes a lot of clear space to turn the big table at the back (that's it after the move).  It's now clear of stuff, is the table, and there is a clear path from said table to the door.  Yes, I have three easels.  Yes, I do use them all, though it's a while since I used all three together; two has been my limit for a while.  The bags are full of Stuff, there's a collapsed loom and a spinning wheel in there, too.  Whine.  I think this will take most of the week, just to sort out.

But there is an upside to sorting, clearing and tidying.  I knew, in the back of my depression fuddled brain, that I had far more lino blocks than I could lay my hands on... and look what I found...

I'd forgotten all about the wood block (front left).  The reason I wanted to turn the table is that there's a press on the far end of it.  I seem to have been making prints quite a bit, recently, so wanted to have access to the press.  I'm quietly working out what I want to do, and what I want to stop doing.  Oil painting, I think, might be one thing to go.  Whilst I love the texture of oils, I don't like the associated smells and the general complexity of it all, not to mention the long wait for the damn stuff to dry.  I had cut down on the oil paints considerably about two years ago, so gently moving them out will not be a problem, or indeed a heart wrenching thing to do.

Meanwhile, might take the blocks to the Hub tomorrow, and let the guys try out block printing and monoprinting... it would be fun.  We want to make a large floor cloth for one of the rooms...maybe printing would be a good way of adding some pattern.  (for those of you who don't know, I volunteer twice a week at a centre for adults with learning difficulties... we love trying out new things!)

Ringing The Changes

Just because a print is a particular colour, doesn't mean they all have to be... I like this image of a fern, which I cut from lino;

linoprint on evolon

I printed it on Evolon, using fabric printing ink, and was pleased with the results.  Because I wanted to have a strong contrast in the background, I stitched it with purple rayon thread, and am quite happy with the result.  But it's good to ring the changes, and lutradur is ideal for doing just that.  Here is Dark Fern;

Evolon covered with lutradur and stitched.

It is completely different to the fern above, yet it is made from exactly the same linocut, and a similar mount.  I added a piece of lutradur 30 dyed with transfer paints in autumnal colours, changing the mood and the feel of the piece completely.  This is why I love working with lutradur in particular; this ability to create mini series, just by adding a single piece of cloth.  The stitch in this piece is different, also.  Because the colouring of the lutradur adds complexity to the overall piece, I wanted to emphasise the shape and the veins of the leaf by stitching it.  This time, I chose a dark metallic thread, and stitched heavilyalong most (not  all) of the print, so that some of it appears clearly, and some of it less so.  I think it's more interesting that way.

Both of these pieces are for sale in my Etsy shop... just in case you've fallen in love!

Decisions, Decisions...

Such as which colour of mount to put round 'Firespot', a failed quilt which I 'altered' with Lutradur, and then cut up, not once, but twice, to get to this size.  A white mount doesn't look right; this is a terracotta coloured and a sort of beige (which looks pink in the photo).  I think the first one looks better, though I'm not really convinced by either.  What do you think?

I'm finally back to normal after an extremely busy Festival of Quilts... thank you to everyone who came to see me, bought something and/or just waved in passing.  I didn't expect to be quite as tired afterwards, but I suppose seven workshops in four days will do that to one... sigh.  Didn't see much of the quilts either, but did manage to get a few words of Russian spoken, the only time I ever get to do that!

FOQ saw the launch of my kits for lutradur, of which more another day. I'm now in Advanced Tidy Up Mode, yet again, and putting some work in my Etsy shop, which has been sadly neglected.  This is a fern linocut with lots of stitch.  I like linocutting, don't really do enough of it, though I do have a pile of printed pieces to stitch into.  

Must Do Better...

 

 

More KISSes...

I did some printing a couple of weeks ago, trying out some new blocks; I wrote about it here.  I liked this simple leaf block, and it printed fairly well.  I'd intended the motif for using individually, on little cards, but thought it might be interesting printed on fabric, too.  So I tried it on a postcard sized piece of lutradur, as you can see here;

I began printing using red fabric paint (from Colourcraft, for those of you who like to know these things...), making the two strong leaf shapes to either side of the lutradur.  Boring, I thought.  So, without removing the remains of the red fabric paint from the block, I added some blue, and overprinted.  That, I thought, was more like it.  But I still didn't like the contrast of the white against the red and lilac/blue.  So... I decided to transfer dye it, using some yellow that I had lying around... and here's the result.

I'm really rather pleased with that; it's a lot warmer.  I can't decide whether the leaf shapes really are leaves, or whether they are massed shields... either way, they're ready for stitch.  Just have to decide what to put beneath it; lutradur being semi transparent, different colours behind will have differing effects on the piece.  Ah, decisions, decisions...

Above all, it's amazing to me what can be done with a simple block and an enquiring mind!