We Had Breakdown

Printing that is. Dryed dye was breaking down all over the place and some stunning results were happening. Can't wait for "Show and Tell" next week.

Bring the images back along with your stencils, silk screens, stamps, rubbing supplies, printing ink and paint to accent what you already printed. I will bring more thickened dye be sure your cotton is soda ash treated and DRY before you come to class.

Don't forget to make your gelatin plate ahead of time. (Before Class) so it is set and ready to print on Wednesday.

Get your organza and cotton duck ready for printing if you want to screen print organza for a kimono. We will be doing this in 2 weeks. If you need to order fabric DO IT NOW.

We Had Breakdown

Finished!

The cabinet man just left and I took the first shots of my kitchen without the plastic and sawdust all over the place. The stove is once again hooked up and the fridge is out of the family room. WOW! I can cook in my own kitchen if I so desire. I'm very pleased with how it all turned out. Now I need to go shopping for some nice accessories.

Class notes* We will be doing breakdown printing on Wednesday so don't forget your screens and prepared fabric.

Breakdown Printing

Materials:
Blank silk screen
Squeege
Thickened dye
Made with Sodium Alginate and dye powder
Fabric Silk for Acid Dye Cotton for Procion Dye

Pre-preparation:
Mix Sodium Alginate
Into a quart of warm water stir 1 to 2 Tablespoons of Sodium Alginate powder.
Stir until dissolved or use a dedicated blender to mix (It will still have a few lumps)
Let it sit for at least 1 to 2 hours or overnight. If it is too thick stir in warm water to thin the solution. If not using right away refrigerate until ready to use.

Soak Cotton, Linen, or Rayon
Make a Soda Ash solution of 1/2 cup Soda Ash with 2 quarts water and soak the fabric at least 15 to 30 minutes, but overnight is best. Hang to dry, press lightly with warm iron.

Silk Printing:
Mix Acid dye powder with thickened Sodium Alginate (1 or 2 teaspoons dye powder per 1 Cup thickener). Mix well the day before using. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Prepare the Screen:
Lightly paint inside of the screen with a couple of colors of thickened dye, leaving several open spaces. Let it dry upside down. This needs to be done far enough in advance to be completely dry before printing.

Printing:
Iron the silk fabric smooth and place on a padded surface. Lay the prepared screen down and use another color thickened dye or clear thickener or more than one color thickened dye and squeegee it across the dry dye. As you print the dried dye will breakdown and each print will be different. This is the magic of this technique.

Setting the Dye: The silk will need to be steam set. Then rinsed (run through the rinse cycle in the washing machine for best results) to remove the thickener and any excess dye. Damp dry and iron until dry.

Cotton, Linen, or Rayon Printing:
Mix Procion Dye powder with thickened Sodium Alginate ( 1 or 2 teaspoons dye powder per 1 Cup thickener). Mix well the day before using. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Prepare the Screen as above and let it dry upside down.

Printing: Lay out the smoothed Soda Ash treated fabric on a plastic covered padded surface and print as above; however while the print is still wet roll plastic and the fabric together and place in a plastic bag for 24 hours to “batch” and set the dye.

Its in the Details

We will start layering over our backgrounds in the next class. Bring the fabrics you painted last week and make them sing with rubbing, stamps, screens and stencils. Bring thicker paints, like Luminier, printing ink, paint sticks or oil pastels. A stencil brush is also handy for blending and smoothing.
I will bring the Thermofax machine in case you need a few more silk screens. Bring your Xerox copies, remember printer copies do not work so head to a copy shop and get a copy made.
The "Birds on a Wire" pattern seems to be very popular. That makes me happy. If you ordered more patterns I will bring them with me. I'm going to get the copies made today. I have been off baby-sitting for Sara for a couple of days so now am catching up.
My kitchen is coming along beautifully. Right now it is still wrapped in plastic and tape, but he assures me another week we will be finished. In the meantime I have no access to cooking, but that's okay I spend more time in my "studio" working on ideas for us to try.

Class has begun

We are going to work with Paints for a few weeks. This is a jacket made with two 30" silk scarves painted with Dyna Flo (thanks to inspiration from Sherrill Kahn) So easy. After painting and ironing to set I did oil pastel rubbings and gold paint stamps. It is so easy and great results. This week we will be painting backgrounds and next week we will layer on stamps, rubbings, stencils etc.
Also we will paint backgrounds for the "Dangerous Animals" if you wish.
The black holes are part of a sample I am making for a class I will be teaching in Houston on using the speciality threads out there. Thick threads go through the bobbin and you sew upside down. In fact the class is called, "Upside Down and Backwards". Yes, they are holes.

WAC Workshop

What fun we had with Sherril Kahn. Lots of ideas spilling out everywhere. Thes a are few of the technique samples I made.
I loved doing oil pastel rubbings over the breakdown prints the blue and ochre are examples. The lighter beige, ochre and blue is a gelatin print. Wow! we will have to do something with that technique. Lots of us bought Sherril's rubber plates, (hopefully we got different ones). We will definently use them. I have also come up with a couple of ways we can make our own rubbing plates CHEAP! Not as detailed, but it will work.
See you soon.
I will be keeping track of my 15 year old grandson Justin this week. He is the last little bird in my son and daughter-in-laws nest so they are off to celebrate 27 years of marriage and I will be the transportation, cook and morning wake up caller. Also three dogs need food, water and walking.

A New Class Starts Set. 1

After spending three days with Sherril Kahn I am inspired and fired up to go.

Be sure and bring the things you have been doing over the summer for Show and Tell. I did almost nothing over the summer, so I am counting on you.

For the first class bring a pair of small sharp scissors and a pair of paper scissors, I'll bring the materials for making a couple of samples just to get us going.

Here is the proposed schedule:
Fall 2010

Painting and Dyeing Plus Diane Ricks
909-941-0331
bobbydi@charter.net
blog: www.wonderfulwearables@blogspot.com
www,dianericks.com (will also get you to blog)

Sept. 1 Introduction, plans, make a few samples, have some fun.

Sept. 8 Paint a Background Layer with Seta Color, or Dyna Flow,
Materials: fabrics: cotton or silk or silk scarves (this fabric or scarves will become garments next session)
If you want to do the “Dangerous Animals” paint
Additional backgrounds for the animals you want.
Paints, brushes, sponges

Sept. 15 Start to Layer onto the backgrounds painted last week
Materials: stamps, stencils, silk screens, rubbing plates
Paint, printing inks oil sticks, squeegee, roller, etc.

I will bring the Thermofax if you want a few new screens bring
your copies ($5.50 per 8” X 10” screen) Duct Tape

Bring your blank silk screen to prepare for “Breakdown Printing”
Let me know if you are going to use cotton or silk

Sept 22 “Breakdown Printing”
Materials: fabric or scarves tee shirt or sweat shirt
Prepared screen squeegee or 3” wide foam brush
You will set the printing at home according to the kind of dye you use.
If you are using cotton bring some sheet plastic and a garbage bag.


Sept. 29 Layering the Breakdown Prints
Materials: what you printed
Stencils, stamps, silk screens, etc.
Paints, printing inks, oil sticks, etc.

Oct. 6 You may continue with what you have been doing or try this:
Screen printing organza
Materials: Silk Organza, cotton duck to lay under the organza
Silk screens, paint, printing ink etc.
I would like to try discharging a light or dark color of organza first
and then over printing the fabric. Joan Knight got great results last time.
This fabric will be sewn into garments next session.

Oct. 13 You may continue with what you have been doing or try this:
Glue stick Appliqué I have made patterns of my “Dangerous Animals” Quilt and many have asked to do these as a quilt or
Wall Hangings.
Materials: white cotton
Batik scraps or hand dyed scraps for the animals
Glue stick, pencil, small sharp scissors, paper scissors


Oct. 20 Continue Glue stick Appliqué or your choice of technique
Materials: painted background for animals, water erasable pen
Glue stick, fabric scraps sharp scissors, paper scissors.

Oct. 27 No Class I’ll be headed for Houston
Nov 3 No Class still in Houston

Nov. 10 Layered Silk Painting
Materials: Stretcher bars push pins or prepared frame with elastic and pins
Silk fabric or scarves fabric will be sewn into garments next session
Silk screens, and/or stencils if you want to add resist in a design
Foam brushes 1” and 2” regular paint brushes

Nov. 17 Continue Layered Silk Painting
Materials: Same as above



Happy Thanksgiving



Get ready to sew great artful garments!