I'm gradually getting some fabric "collages" together that will form the basis for the next batch of mixed media work in the on-going (though presently stalled) Calabria Series.
I'm pulling material from my seriously depleted supply of scraps and fitting them together in colours/patterns/arrangements that please me. I'll then sew them together and add the photo transfers on muslin. However, I'm debating whether to hold off sewing them together until I have the transfers ready so that I can tuck the transferred photo edges under fabric edges. Not that it really matters, as paint will be spread over all. I'm just dithering as I'm fearful to get going again. What's that about?
I'm also flummoxed by the discovery that the Staples brand of transparencies that I use to make the photo transfers onto muslin is no longer being produced. The replacement brand is appallingly expensive and I'm not sure how the image quality will be, so am reluctant to go there. I'm going to experiment with transferring from matte photo paper onto muslin. Will let you know how it turns out. Fingers crossed!
Great process...mixing it up, laying it out, fooling with it...sounds like my studio day too. I'm starting a new piece using collage squares, some fabric, some sewing and some paper collage...sometimes I get to a place where I need to quit for awhile because I'm tired of all my little decisions. Does that happen to you? You have a great start here!
ReplyDeleteHi Blue Sky,
ReplyDeleteSounds like an exciting art piece you have on the go! I don't know what makes me quit. Usually some upheaval in my routine (once I get a routine going). Or too many different types of projects that are unfinished, languishing in corners, and whining for my attention. Or new ideas that pop into my head and want to be explored. Or, more likely, a lack of self-discipline. It could also be a sort of revving of the creative engine. Yeah, I prefer that explanation!
I've always got a few projects on back burners; perhaps they need to simmer. On the other hand think how much we could get done if we had a few studio assistants. Nice work on the fabric and I can't wait to see where it goes next.
ReplyDeleteBill, I have so many projects on back burners I'm afraid they're all going to boil dry before I tend to them again.
ReplyDeleteSlaves, yes! I mean studio assistants. Dream up the idea and then let the assistants do the acutal work. Excellent.
Thanks for encouragement. Am also looking forward to seeing where it goes next.
I'm afraid I can't help you, Photoshop has me in its grasp too I'm afraid...
ReplyDeleteAaaargh!!! But are you still in your pyjamas?!! (not to get too personal!)
ReplyDeleteLove those fabric scraps and the colors. I'd go into a store to buy material for one project and can't help myself. I leave with all kinds of scraps that sit in my cupboard waiting for the right project to come up. It may take a while, but they find their own place. In this house, there is very little that is wasted. Something almost always finds a second life, or third...
ReplyDeleteIt's funny. I know i left a comment y'day, but it isnt here. Nice to see how you play with this via photo shop. I dont have photo shop. I have on my list to buy some transfer paper though, just havent gotten to Staples yet. Maybe the store here has some store brand stuff still. So far i have had little success doing transfers with inkjet printouts on paper.
ReplyDeleteHi Bev,
ReplyDeleteWaste not want not! The old Italian ways of using everything up die hard. At least, that's my excuse. I have fabric and crafting supplies in my cupboards that have been waiting to see the light of day for several years now. But I know that as soon as I decide to give them up I will suddenly find that I needed them after all.
Hello Suki,
ReplyDeleteComment boxes can get quite tempermental at times! I'm glad you returned!
It seems to me that Staples just isn't producing transparencies any more, so if you do find some old stock, buy it all up! My experiments with transferring from paper to fabric have worked but I don't like the results: the resulting image is too "milky" for my purposes. Plus it involves more work. I fear I will have to bite the bullet and buy the new, decidedly more expensive brand, that Staples is now carrying. I don't remember the brand name. I've also read that Apollo is another good brand of transparency. I'm afraid transparencies are another "must have" in my arsenal of art supplies.
Sim sim*mer*ing,
ReplyDeleteSim sim*mer*ing,
sim, yes sir*ee,
Fear*ing to get to
what you thinks pret*ty!
Sim sim*mer*ing,
Sim sim*mer*ing,
waiting to see...
if someone else carries
cheap trans*par*en*cies
Sim sim*mer*ing,
Sim sim*mer*ing,
I'm al*so guil*ty,
of boiling back-burners
while writing to thee...
................
Oh, ya gotta love Saturdays, made for loafing and goofing, when what I really need is a swift kick in the @$$
Ha! David, you are funny. And perhaps the worst thing here is that I know exactly which song you're "singing"! I guess we could both use a good dose of Ms Poppins' "swift kick in the arse with a spoonful of sugar" brand of medicine . At least with Saturdays, one feels almost justified in loafing about.
ReplyDeleteHa! Sorry about getting Mary Poppins stuck in your head... but I gotta say, you started it all with your Fa la la la la, la la, la la over at SM. So there :P
ReplyDeleteYeah, David, Tit for tat! (Not literally! Don't get me wrong!!)
ReplyDeleteGuess who ended up watching the Mary Poppins DVD last night?!
chim-chim-cheroo!