Fabric Painting- Can't Resist!

There are so many resists! Simple and complex. Even dried acrylic paint will create a unique resist!

This piece uses string as the resist. Sprayed and and free form painting from nozzle bottle. Pair this with sun printing to increase depth.

 Painted fabric with leaf used as a simple resist. Spray painted over previously painted cloth

 Painted fabric with plastic wrap applied, while wet, for a simple mechanical resist.

Any torn or cut paper cover sections of the the dried painted cloth. Paint can be applied with brayer sponge or brush. Move paper repeatedly to create the design. 

Painting Fiber- Creating the Mood with the Muse

Painting fabrics is something I can do when I need motivation to get in the mood to work on other projects. I can paint without much thought or even thinking about color combinations. 

I never wash my brush when I'm painting but continue to use it as I add colors. This method of painting lends itself to painting in the moment, creative color mixes and listening to the muse.

Silk Noil, above, is one of my favorite fabrics. I love the texture, the nubs, the feel, even the smell. This fabric has been painted several times, each time I regathered it loosely and allow to dry before adding another layer of paint.
When I finish a painting session, I spray out the paint, collected in the brush, with water, on the cloth. This almost cleans the brush and adds delicate colors to the painted fabric.

 Silk Organza is another favorite. I use it often for layering. Most of the time I paint on damp fabrics to encourage spread. This piece was painted that way first. Then, I added blobs of highly diluted black on the dried fabric and allowed it to spread.

Occasionally I get into resists, which are included in my Fabric Transformations Workshop Series. This is a simple starch resist with 2 layered of paint. Love the texture!

And paper! A fairly recent addition to my work. About 10 years agao I took a workshop with Fran Skiles. It was delightful! She was one of those teachers that really changes your perspective on how you can do things. While I don't do what she does with my own work, I have fun playing with different papers. This is simple drawing paper used as a print off on painted fabric.

I have an Etsy shop where I sell some of my painted fabrics- you can go here to see some!

Painting Cloth- Adding Metallics

 detail from Stalking the Wild Print Workshop- adding the gilded leaf

painting the plastic first and doing print offs- from my Media Mix Workshop

 painting, adding metallic and line drawing- from my Fab Fabric Workshop- part of my Fabric Transformations 

painting interfacing on plastic results in unique textures on reverse. Gold added in a free flow manner from nozzle bottle. 

Fiberart For A Cause 2015

I am thrilled to be an invited artist for "The 100" to be held on February 4, 2015.  The goal for this fundraiser is to raise $10,000 in one day!!  
For more information click here. 

Fiberart For A Cause has already raised $240,000 thanks the amazing Virginia Spiegel and the generosity of fiber artists and patrons.

My work has recently been published in the new Dec/Jan Quilting Arts Magazine 2015 in my article "Mini Puzzle Quilts" Not only will you receive the mini-quilt but the magazine in which it has been published! 

"Bottle from Pa"  includes the brush hanger too! Almost a $200.00 value for a mere $100.00 and a donation for an excellent cause!

fab painted fabrics in color on my Etsy shoppe

"Your way begins on the other side.

Become the sky.

Take an axe to the prison wall.

Escape.

Walk out like someone suddenly born into color.

Do it now."

Rumi

Painting fabrics is a spontaneous and wonderful thing to do when I don't have much time to work on intensive projects. 

I can splash on paint and spread it about, creating wonderful serendipitous color mixes, playing with print offs or adding thermal fax silkscreens from my photography. My other non-quilty pleasure!

Some of these can be found on my Etsy Shop- for Sale if you would like! 

Threads and all!

Free Thermal Fax SilkScreen Demo Dec 13 Dover NH

I'm sharing my Thermal Fax silk Screen technique at Village Goldsmith Gallery, Dover NH, this Sat, Dec 13 2014 from -10-4.

Bring a plain T-shirt and I'll screen it for you!

this is the news blurb
"Wen Redmond, mixed media fiber artist, will be on hand to demo some of her signature techniques. Wen mixes photography, printing and more with fabric for unique and interesting approaches to fiber art. Bring a T-shirt for her to do a Thermal Fax Silk Screen Image on! Wen will have samples to show, fabric to sell plus a huge inventory already at the Village Goldsmith Gallery! You won't want to miss this!"

Hudson Valley Holographic Images and More Workshop

Just back from 3 days of fabric painting, thermal fax screening and using those fabrics to create our Holographic Images. The workshop took place at Hudson Valley Art Workshops in Greenville, NY.
It's a lovely B and B with many art workshops to choose from- see more info here
They provide AC rooms, excellent gourmet food, and delicious cookies! Prepare to indulge!
We spent the first day exploring painting and created several fabric to choose from for our border fabrics.

The second day, we used our own images to create 4 thermal fax screens that were just the right size to  add thermal fax screen details to our sewn borders!

The last day we sewed and completed our Holograghic Images.
A candid shot of our reflections from the demo mirror!

Finished!
Thank you Garrie, Lisa, Manon, Barb, Barbara, and Grace for being a gem of a class!
It was challenging, wonderful and a truly unique teaching experience!

Workshop Series- Puzzle Mini Photo Collage Quilt

My new Digital Fiber work references the traditional quilt technique of working in squares or segments. I use photographs instead of geometric designs. These are cut and re-sewn together for a somewhat foldable and packable project. 

Work with  black and white images. Color with art materials that can travel in today's world.

Creates a small unique segmented foldable quilt.

 

New finishing techniques!

Published in Quilting Arts Magazine! (Link in sidebar--)

CRANE

Throw Back Thursday Quilt from 1992 
Based on the poem- ‘Rice will not grow in New Hampshire . The Chinese do not know this. They travel with small white flutes.” Auther unknown

Original design based on origami folding. Each crane is pieced with different fabric and flys over a vertically pieced rice fields, embellished with 3-D leaves and freshwater pearl rice. 

Cottons marbleized, hand painted, batiks, silks, antique kimono silks. Metallic Quilting and couching. 21x43

Behind the Shadow, Waiting to Shine

Throw Back Thursday Quilt 
Behind the Shadow was the second art quilt I made in response to 9/11 tragedies. At that time. it was my hope that a new precedent would be set to bring our country into a new thought level beyond revenge. 

Intuitive curved piecing, free appliqué, and decorative machine quilting. Hand painted and dyed cottons.35x56

This piece was exhibited in Quilt 21 –American Arts quilts at the Brush Factory and included in their catalog.

First Star Farm

Throw Back Thursday Quilt
1984

Scrap Pieced Traditional pattern using untraditional cotton fabrics. Three houses set among tree blocks is inspired by our New England antique cape home which was being restored at the time. I made each house block different, reflecting all of our decision-making processes. 

Published in Quilters International, now defunct, about 1991 or earlier...

9/11 then- Our Grief is Not a Cry for War

I was raised in NJ and had some friends tell me stories of that day- how folks in nearby office buildings could see the people in the Towers holding hands, forming a chain, to snake their way down the stairs before the buildings collapsed. 
I did respond to that then and I'm reposting it again. 

 Intuitive curved piecing, bonding, painted. Net, organza, and cotton.  2001   35x56

the flag flies behind the towers

painted hands circle the border

title written on the Hudson River

original mock up

Infused with Delight

Infused with Delight is a journaling result from my latest Stalking the Wild Print Workshop.

(see workshop tab at top of blog for description)

It's an organic, fun and absolutely simple print making technique!

finish, folded

left threads, added silk organza prints

center fold out

love tearing the edges of the pages for undulating side view

outlined some prints with marker and thread

I like the way the stitched outlines show on reverse

added words with simple iron on image transfer

some pages received extra paint to highlife the leaf prints

love the way this journal presents texture in touch, feel and sight

the limited colors tie the book together. This page has a bit of the plastic sheet I work on sewn in.

some of the prints were made with fabric, which are raw edged, and sewn in

don't know why I love doing these so much but I'm 'infused with delight!'