I want to thank you for reading my blog, I truly have appreciated your support and comments. I have always felt very fortunate to be able to spend my days making art, recently though I haven’t had blocks of time to really make the art that is most fulfilling to me. So I have to make some changes.
I’ve decided to suspend posting on my blog for now. My website will still be up, but I will be posting my art on Instagram and on my YouTube channel (tap the bell on YouTube to get notifications). I’m also working to get my Etsy shop open in hopes of finding new homes for some of my art.
If we aren’t already connected on Instagram and/or your own blog, please let me know so I can follow you and see what quilting and art you’ve been up to. I’m not on Facebook.
Below is my short video showing how I painted the background photo paper print painted fabric for the fish piece. I’m still thinking about how I will finish it, I’ll post to IG when it is finished. The fabric on photo printer paper technique was fun, and as long as I have the paper I will continue to explore ways to use it.
Take good care and make something that makes you happy every chance you get!
After I figured this out I noticed that other people online have used photograph printer paper in place of Yupo paper for watercolor and ink. I didn’t look to see if anyone was doing exactly what I am, which is to use acrylic paint (textile and regular) and print/paint fabric from it. When done well, I ended up with not only a piece of fabric but a piece of paper that could be used in other projects too.
I made several pieces that didn’t make it into my new videos (below). The camera was on for some of them but I’m not sure if I’ll ever edit and publish them. Anyway, it was a lot of fun and I could have painted fabric and paper for hours, just to see what would happen if…
Here are a few of the pieces.
The paint spreads on the fabric, depending on how heavily and thick it is applied to the paper.
I love the paper piece (below) from this flower piece more than the fabric. It could be stitched on, added to collage, or framed just as it is. There’s a lot that could be done with the fabric too… I think I’ll probably hand embroider on it.
I used different tools to get different outcomes. For the flower piece I used a tiny metal tip on the paint bottle and painted/printed the green. Then I used a dot tool and added first the violet color to the paper and printed/painted the fabric a second time. Then lifted it and added orange to the paper and laid the fabric on the paper for the last time.
This is the photo paper after the fabric had been lifted off.
These are just more exploring with different tools and layering. I used the tiny tip again, a mist bottle, a cheap bristle brush, an eyedropper, just poured from a little container, and of course, my fingers! I still need to heat set, maybe rinse, and press them.
I have two new videos, one shows how I painted the fabric using this technique, the other I showed in my previous post. Not my best videos but they do go through the How-to of it.
Asked how I applied the Three Hearts art quilt to the canvas, here is my answer…
I left an area in the center of the canvas unpainted (it was an already gesso primed canvas) and I applied artist gel medium over the entire canvas front and added some to the quilt back, then with the quilt face down on the table, lined the two up and I added some weight for awhile. When it was set but not completely dry I removed the weights and flipped it face up to dry completely. I hope that is clear. Next time I use that method I’ll try to take some photos.
I finished editing the video for the new way I painted fabric (that I mention in my last post), but decided I had to make the second part (applying the fish to the fabric and quilting) a separate video, so hopefully next week I’ll share at least the first if not both. Here is the piece quilted, it’s small and I have an idea for finishing it that’s not binding or facing it, but we’ll see.
Giveaway Winner of the five little hearts is Gayle C. Congratulations! Please email your mailing info to me at fiberdesignsbyann@gmail.com and I’ll send the hearts ASAP.
Two pieces that I finished are Three Hearts (art quilt) and Cloth, Paper, Fiber (Mixed media).
Three Hearts is mounted on a 8″ x 10″ canvas that I painted. I hadn’t planned to mount the piece but it fit perfectly on the canvas just at the edge of the binding so that’s what I did.
I may still put bumpers in the corners of the canvas.
Cloth, Paper, Fiber – I really like this piece, it was a fun one to make. The frame (not wooden) had damaged glass, which I removed, and some scratches on it; I fixed that and I’m working on a video showing what I did… Editing it is on the to-do list too!
It looks a little washed out here as I’m typing. I hope it shows better on your screen.
Approximately 10″ square.
Below is the teaser for another small piece I’m working on. I paint printed fabric using an unusual method (for me anyway). I drew a simple fish on paper, scanned and then manipulated it in photoshop. I’ll be applying the fish to the fabric using a water soluble stabilizer and quilting it.
Have you used fish in your quilts or other art?
Reminder: In the next blog post I’ll announce the winner of the Five Little Hearts.
If you have any interest in assemblage and mixed media art or just want to enjoy something a bit different from fabric and quilt making, I recommend Ina’s Art Room on YouTube. She makes wonderful works of art, usually using surprising elements (sometimes fabric). Ina also invites subscribers and visitors to participate in her 4 Core Challenges. I’ve participated in the past and it’s fun! Ina posts her videos on Fridays.
Ina’s January 2022 #4core challenge was to use a book as the substrate and include texture, metal, and give the piece a “winter vibe.” After the deadline she posts a video showing everyone’s finished projects. The January challenge video should be posted on her channel in early February.
I decided to participate again and here is my piece; a candle backdrop featuring a fabric landscape.
I have made the inside of the book the new “front.” The votive is covered in fabric coils and has a flameless tealight.
The cover is now the “back.”
I bought the used book at the local library. The original hardcover was red and had some globs of glue under the paper part of the cover… so I scraped and tried to cover it with snowflakes. I tried a few different things to add texture to the snowflakes but in the end just painted them with a pearl white acrylic paint.
Here are few photos of the process.
First painted gesso over the red book cover and then acrylic.
Added splatters for flying snow.
I had the painted sky fabric in my stash, the white/gray fabrics are commercial, and the foreground snow is thin white batting. The fence is cut-up (used) craft sticks (tongue depressor size) that I painted, and the wire is just coated wire. I added a few little frays of silk fabric for the grass. The “snow” on the fence and wire is sawdust (for texture) mixed with gesso and some acrylic paint.
It was fun to quickly stitch up a very simple, little fabric landscape for this project.
Auditioning before the fabrics were fuse and quilted.
The fluffy border is a beautiful soft yarn and I think it worked perfectly!
The things I love about Ina’s challenges – She encourages artists to really make it their own, she offers loads of ideas, and there’s no pressure (though there is a finish-by date). I enjoyed every minute of making this project… well, all but the waiting time for materials to dry!
Winner! Thank you to those of you who entered the appliqued miniature landscape top sweepstakes/giveaway. Congratulations to the winner – Deborah F (Please email your mailing information to me at fiberdesignsbyann@gmail.com).
2022 – Many unfinished pieces have been weighing on me for far too long, so I’m going to work on actually finishing as many pieces as I can this year. I hope you’ll come by to see what I’ve done, maybe get more ideas and be inspired. There will probably be a few giveaways along the way.
Today I’m sharing four little pieces; you may have seen a couple if you follow me on Instagram. three may still be works in progress (wip). I have really enjoyed working on these tiny pieces. They are made from scraps of other projects and some on pieces of fabric I have had for ages but could never find a way to use until now.
This free motion palm tree on painted sky fabric was from my Needlevember a while back. Now it’s matted and framed.
Mixed media – Stained and painted cheesecloth, dyed silk, stamped dragonfly on silk organza, felt cups, grape wreath vine, and some embroidery.
Below is a piece of fabric I stamped, painted, and printed real and faux leaves, and I’ve have had it for years. Now I will be able to get more than one little piece from it. The one below (wip) has a paper clay leaves (rubbed painted) and beads are from gifted (for altered art) jewelry, silk, and embroidery floss stitching.
You may recognize the painted burlap in this last piece from a previous post and the metallic paper too. I’ve also added fabric coils held on by French knots, and more floss stitches, all on black cotton.
Do you say poyn·seh·tee·uh or poin-sed-uh? Apparently either way is okay, depending on who you ask!
It would be an understatement to say I love flowers and have used them a few times in my artwork. Winter always makes me think of the poinsettia plant and so it’s probably no surprise that once again, I’ve made a poinsettia project.
Here are my new pieces; a notecard and tag, and the video showing how the card was made. I think it would be fun to use this idea for an art quilt too or to change it up with any other type of flower. Ideas, always more ideas.
If you watch the video, thanks, and I hope you enjoy it.
And The Winner of the Leaf decorated box with a surprise inside is – Sylvia Wallace! Congratulations, Sylvia, please email your mailing address to me at fiberdesignsbyann@gmail.com
I understand the end of the year can be a busy time but I’ll have one more sweepstakes/giveaway, and of course more art in December, so if you’re up to it I hope you’ll stop by again.
First, in case you didn’t catch it, I had the date wrong for the Oct hummingbird notecard set giveaway. It will be announced next post, Oct. 27, rather than the 25th. I’ll still close entry on the 23rd.
In an early post about printing fabric on brown paper bags I shared a painted and embroidered pumpkin done on one of the background fabrics. Here is the demonstration video. It was a fun project, maybe it’s just this time of year, but I really enjoyed sitting and stitching by hand. Do you do hand needlework and if you do, is there a time of day, month, and/or year you are most in the mood for it?
After embroidering one big leaf I wasn’t happy with it so I ripped it out. I finished everything and left the leaves in an outline. It wasn’t working for me, so I had to decide outline, or embroider, or paint them. After a little consultation with my artist daughter, we decided painted leaves would go best with the painted pumpkins. I think we were right!
I’m getting ready to teach a class on Sunday, these are strange times to be teaching live, but I really am looking forward to it.
As promised I have a new video. It seems the more I play with ways to get paint onto fabric the more ideas I get, and for me ideas lead to more ideas to try.
I’ll be announcing a new giveaway in October so if you are interested I hope you’ll stop by. For now enjoy the video, I hope it gives you some new ideas.
A little glitch has caused my Printed, Painted Background Fabric video, that I mentioned in my previous post, to be delayed. In the video I will demonstrate how I achieved these fabrics and papers. Here are a few ways I’m using the backgrounds. I call them backgrounds but they aren’t only that.
Hand embroidered stylized hummingbird.
I think this is calling for free motion quilting.
I cut a stencil for the flowers. It’s hard to see but there is part of an unryu paper vase, this piece will be collaged, I think I’ll add some embroidery to the flowers too.
I thought I wanted a purple pumpkin but embroidered the body lines using orange floss so changed the plan. I will be posting a second video for how I painted this work in progress (wip) pumpkin.
This final piece is the brown paper bonus – it had been used to print/paint the trees trunks above. This piece is still a wip and is on a canvas, the moon is a painted coffee filter, and the large rock isn’t glued down yet. It is titled She Rocked Beneath the Full Moon. In honor of the rock climbing women I know.
the large rock and the cliff were from the same piece of brown paper.
I hope these pieces piqued your curiosity and that I’ll be able to actually share a video next time. Maybe you’ll have ideas for pieces that could be made with the printed, painted fabric and the paper too.
