'Buried Treasure'

Over on 'The Altered Page' Seth Apter is featuring his buried treasure idea and will publish a list of participating blogs, the authors choosing their own favourite post to re post. Should be interesting.

So here is a link to a short tutorial which I wrote, on request, about using bleach on paper and I think this eventually lead to my participation in the popular Sketchbook Challenge, then to be a contributor to the book and many happy contributions to the themes for the Challenge.

http://stitchworks-jackie.blogspot.co.uk/2011/01/tutorial.html

So many blogs...so little time. With so many wonderful art blogs to follow, it is difficult to always find the time to keep up with every new post -- let alone have the time to visit the posts that were put up before you discovered each blog.

So...six years ago I started an annual treasure hunt. Buried Treasure is about digging deep to uncover some hidden gems. The premise is simple. This Thursday, July 23rd all participating bloggers will re-post one (or more) of their favorite posts that ever appeared on their blog. As you might already know, I don't like too many rules when it comes to art. So anything goes.

http://thealteredpage.blogspot.co.uk/

Distort again

I decided to have another go at the idea of distorting scrim, like 'drawn thread' work with the sewing machine.I worked using this sketch as a guide:

This time I worked on a piece of calico rather than silk.

I then distorted the scrim and painted it with acrylic inks.

You work on damp kitchen roll and the colours are much less strong as the scrim dries. I wondered if the edges of the calico together with the scrim would needlefelt onto the white felt backing, so I did a sample piece and it worked fine.

It looks quite flat in a photo but in fact the needlefelting makes the piece dimensional and quite interesting.

Distort

Somehow I had missed the fact that Jan Beaney and Jean Littlejohn produced another DVD last year, this one ‘In Motion’ is about ‘free machining’, and it strongly features using dissolvable fabrics which I used at one time but largely lost interest in. I can say that the types of fabrics have moved on since I initially used them and I could be tempted to have another go; but as you must know I am easily tempted. I was disappointed there is so little about machining on paper, I suppose I was looking for a few ideas I had not tried.

One technique which I used many years ago was distorting loose weave fabric such as scrim, like drawn thread work, but using the sewing machine. I have samples of this in my file, but this DVD inspired me to have another go.  I used the technique shown by Jean Littlejohn and then coloured the fabric in the way she shows, but I have to admit to having thrown out most of my fabric paints (they were in a bad way) so I got out the acrylic inks. As suggested the colours are much subdued when the work dries.

I then machined some lines inspired by my view onto silk organdie. I then layered the two pieces onto white felt and needle felted round the edges. The piece is not entirely successful but I will certainly try this effect again as I like the dimensional effect it gives.

 So why did I frame it and hang it up, which is something I hardly ever do, well just because I was in the mood!