Virginia A. Spiegel

Cliff Study

Iris Karp of Attached Inc! recently sent me some of her new Mistyfuse Ultraviolet with which to play. So with my cliffs in mind, play I did.

The above piece started with this interesting chunk of “fabric” (polyester felt, hand-dyed silk, stitched and burned) from a previous experiment as a base.

Here is some fabric I painted earlier that seems to me to very evocative of the cliffs:

On top of the felt base, I layered Mistyfuse Ultraviolet and long, skinny “trees” cut from the painted fabric. I fused using a teflon sheet. Stitched. Added another layer of Mistyfuse Ultraviolet and scraps of hand-painted silk organza. Fused again.

A little heat gun action and here’s the end result:

Interesting for a first try. Time to cut that up and move on.

I made another sandwich of the funky felt base, Mistyfuse Ultraviolet and a handful of good stuff (thread ends, fabric snippets) from my “compost pile” bucket. Fused. Added another layer of Mistyfuse Ultraviolet, some skinny trees and a layer of blue tulle. Fused. Stitched. Burned. I liked this a lot and was so excited that I forgot to take a photo.

I cut it into strips, then put down a layer of Mistyfuse Ultraviolet on a piece of the yellow painted fabric and layered the strips very tightly on top. Fused. I thought the piece was going to be vertical at first, as shown here:

I chose some skinny strips from the first piece that I had cut up and sewed them to the top which I had turned horizontally. See the finished piece above and here’s a detail showing the many layers of interest:

I think it’s important to do studies that are not finished artwork in any sense of the word in order to see what materials and processes might work for a new series. And, as in the Andy Goldsworthy Challenge, it’s good to work fast and without a lot of thinking sometimes.

I hope you enjoyed this special theme week. Since this blog is now replacing my Art, Nature, Creativity, Life e-newsletter, I wanted to do something special to mark that occasion. I’m always up for a challenge, so if please let me know if you have a request for another special theme week.

Monoprinted fabric

I finally ironed the fabric I painted in my Virtual Studio at IQF-Chicago and here are a few of the pieces.

I have had several inquiries from people who visited with me in Chicago about materials:

I use Createx acrylics. They are multipurpose for fabric, paper, etc. On fabric, iron to set. I do this outside or in a well-ventilated room.

I order them online from the list of suppliers on the Createx Colors website. I use Aatriceco frequently because they offer free shipping on large orders.

I use Kona PFD cotton. I buy wholesale in 100 yard bolts, but I use to buy it at fabric stores. Just check the bolt end for “Prepared For Dyeing.”

The main tip for using Createx colors is to wet the fabric first, otherwise the paint will be too thick. I just use a small bucket, squish the fabric in, wring most of the water out and smooth it down on my painting table.

You can apply the paint with a foam brush, a brayer, stamps, screenprint with it, monoprint, etc.

Brayer-painted fabric

I would recommend that you buy some smaller bottles to start to see if you like the paint. I tried many kinds before I found the kind of paint I like in its application and the end result. The key is paint a lot of fabric until you begin to develop your own techniques and methods - then it becomes really fun and interesting. I plan on devoting much of July to painting fabric en plein air.

Monoprinted, painted and screenprinted fabric