Artsi Fartsi Triscartsi

screened palazzo dei diamante

I have been having fun with my thermofax screens and what is better than a bunch of thermofax screens?  More thermofax screens.  Tee hee hee.  I ordered some more and we were able to have a few from our class fee.  Yippee!  These are some more of the first batch of screens.

original photo of Palazzo dei Diamante

The triangle screen is from a photo I took in Ferrara a few years ago.  I was walking along snapping shots of doors, windows and more when we passed a building with some protruding pyramids all over the facade.  As I described it to my skype friends who lived in Italy at the same time, Iris popped up with “Piazza dei Diamante!”  I googled and verified with awe that she could come up with that from my description of the building!  Well, I didn’t realize it is a very famous palazzo, I just loved the texture!   I took the photo and manipulated it to get a nice graphic black and white image good for making the screen.  I am enjoying using it in multi layers with some color mixing.  Then some different screening on top.

The snow decolored piece was calling out for some more hail, so I thickened some bleach.

second layer of snow bleaching

I have always enjoyed dyeing fabric and the beautiful results.  They always feel done to me.  Now I’m pushing myself to see what more I can do to them.  I’m really enjoying the depth of the layers and complexity of adding more and more.  Here are some layered fabrics that are still not done.  How do you know when enough is enough and more is just more?   So far I haven’t hit the wall of too much yet.

I did a second snow bleaching with the tiny bit of snow we got a couple of weeks ago.  Now we are in the 80s.  Go figure.  Glad I scooped it up!  The piece below has decolored thermofax screenprinting of hail.

second layer of snow bleaching

Below is one I’m really enjoying and can’t wait to show you the next layer.  This one is on layer 4.  First light blue mottle dyed, second and third thermofaxed screens with thickened dye.  Fourth layer was thermofaxed screened corn syrup as a resist and then overdyed in a medium blue.   Can’t wait for studio time tomorrow!

Four layers and counting!

And here is another parfait which had yellow on the bottom, red in the middle and blue on top.

My sister called me up and asked if I had done and snow decoloring after seeing a piece of fabric done by an artist in Montana.  I told her no I had not and we both scooped up some snow and tried it out.  This winter has been relatively snow free and unseasonably warm, so I was only able to scrape up a small bit that blew and accumulated on my deck.  Fortunately it was enough to cover up a scrunched yard of fabric.  I can always try it with some crushed ice.

I find it very ethereal and ghostly with many layers.  It still left a lot of black so I decided to try out some discharge paste through thermofax screens.

snow bleached fabric with thermofax print with dishcarge paste

I liked the clarity I could get from the thermofax screens but wasn’t sure I liked the combination of the colors from the bleach and the colors from the paste.  Where the bleach and paste overlapped, it turned yellow.  These screens were made using photos of hail I took in Italy.  The hail was very textural with lots of lumps and bumps.  I thought they would make very interesting thermofax screens because of the flowerlike shapes they were.  I’m sure they will be showing up in some of my future art.

Here is another screen of a well at the top castle in Marostica, Italy.  I did not get good enough definition from this one due to the image and background being too close in value and have sent off another order to Bobbie Vance for a screen which has the background removed to clarify the shape of the well better.  I was really surprised at how detailed the screens can be and it shows so well the scrollwork in the top of the well.  I’m really enjoying my screens!  Many more photos using them to come! I know I will still be able to order them from her after she moves away from Indy, but I’m getting a good supply before she goes.  I love being able to use my own images!  Thanks Bobbie!

Wooden stamp with corn syrup resist

It is fun to have dedicated time to go to the Indy Art Center for dye class.  Bobbie Vance has a wealth of knowledge and shares it generously.  Not to mention, she is fun and encouraging.  As are my classmates.

So last week I wanted to get some yardage dyed and did 10 yards.   I did some Navy,

some reds (mixing warm and cool reds),

did some more stamping (flowers at top of post) , some snow dyeing,

some thermofax screen printing using a screen of hail,

top yellow parfait

bottom green parfait

middle red parfait

and tried the parfait method of layering three pieces of fabric each with a different color and then the dye transfers from one to the other with little transfer on the top and lots of transfer to the bottom.  I enjoyed doing it and will definitely be doing more of it because it gives such nice color mixing and splotches.  A very productive week!

I used some thermofax screens that Bobbie Vance made for me from my photos of trees to add some further dimension to the farm fabrics for the challenge by an Indy fabric shop.   can see the original fabric in an older post.  I liked the added interest of trees that are different than what is in the fabric and that it is transparent so that I can still see the shibori through them.

I used some oatmeal as a resist on some of the fabric and really liked what it did, but did not enjoy the mess!  I was thinking if I get a really good one and take a picture or scan it I can make a thermofax of the texture and save myself some headache!

I am almost done with the quilt for the challenge and can’t wait to show you how it turns out.  I’m pretty happy with it.

This one didn’t make it into the quilt, nor is it the challenge fabric, but I made it as a possibility of use in the quilt and love the graphic nature of the tree print, the dye complexity, and the photo holds special memories for me.  The tree was in a field we went through to get to a very old church in the little town I lived in in Italy.  My sister, her husband and I went for a walk in our little town, saw a sign pointing us down a walking path between some houses and out into a field.  In the middle of the field was an old church that is no longer used except for once a year for the towns festival of the patron saint. That was only one of the wonderful treasures we found that day.