FABRIC COLLAGE ART
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Material World

My journey into textiles and Textile art

More Fabric Collage

At Last.......

3/9/2015

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At last.......I have finished the piece in which I used the coffee-stained fabric I worked on in the previous post.  I have long wanted to challenge myself with collaging a piece that had mist in it.  Thanks to some sort of sheer gauzy fabric my wonderful sister gave me I was able to come up with a reasonable facsimile of mist.  It's all about layering when you collage.   I imagine the fabric was intended for curtains in its day or maybe a dress overlay ??  Also, the reason I wanted fabric without the white, white background is because the background fabrics I had chosen were more muted and not stark white.  It all blended pretty well.  Anyway,  I had a working title of "Misty Morning"  so maybe I'll stick with that....not sure.
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You can click on the image if you want to see it up a little closer.
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Tea/Coffee-Dyeing Fabric

8/16/2014

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I have chosen some fabrics for my next textile fusion collage.  I am working with only a couple of colors, yellow and gray, but several shades of those colors.  The pattern I was looking for was perfect in this fabric.
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But as you can see the background is pretty much pure white.  That would never work with what I am trying to achieve.  So, what to do?  Go out and try to find something like it with a more yellow background ? 
 
Well, as much as I have repeated that I enjoy the hunt for fabric-  and I REALLY do !! -  I couldn't justify it so I had to think of something else.  I remembered the tea/coffee dyeing technique I had done in the past for other craft projects and decided to try that.

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Here's what you need to do this very simple technique.
1. Instant coffee.  (I got this       coffee at Walmart for          $1 and it tasted terrible !!      So, rather  than throw it        out I decided to put it in        my craft room to use for        coffee dyeing.)
2. Water
3. Bowl
4. Spoon


Make  quite a strong mixture of coffee and water with a spoon in the bowl -  maybe 2 Tablespoons of coffee to 1 cup water.  It just depends on how much color you want to add to the fabric.  Experiment with a small swatch of fabric first to make sure it is what you want.  
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Put your fabric in the bowl and stir it around or dip the fabric up and down ( pretend you are a pioneer woman washing in the river).  Make sure it is evenly wet for an even dyeing 
or you can make it blotchy by laying the fabric flat and spooning a little bit here and there if that is the look you want. The longer you leave it in the darker it will get
I usually let it drip a bit rather than wringing it out and I don't rinse it for collage purposes.  Experiment with that as well to see what works best for your particular use.
Then, spread it out flat on a plate or cookie sheet.  Let it dry and that's it !  
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Now I have something I can use that is a much better color.  Keep in mind that if any of the pattern is light colored, that will  take on the tea or coffee staining as well as the background.  Since this was a black pattern on white it wasn't effected at all. 
Check out the link below if you want to use tea-dyeing for clothing.  It will have to be "set" with vinegar or a vinegar and water mixture and it's advisable to not wash it with lights for the first few washings as they might make the lights look dingy.
https://suite.io/genevieve-kiger/228g25p


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Fabric Facts Friday - Gingham

8/14/2014

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What do you think of when you hear the word  
Picnic napkins,  curtains...?  I see a man in cowboy boots, cowboy hat slightly askance, chewing an a piece straw with one foot on the bale and a gingham kerchief tied around his neck ...pure  nostalgic Americana, right ? 
 It might surprise you to learn that gingham was first manufactured in Dutch colonized Malaysia and also in Indonesia and India.  The Malaysian word "genggang" means striped and is likely the origin of the word gingham.  It probably looked different then since it refers to any plain woven fabric in stripes, checks, plaids or solids.




The mills of Manchester, England began to weave the checkered pattern we are more familiar with today in the mid 1800's.  



The French call it "vichy" and interestingly consider it to be composed of 3 colors-  white, the contrasting color and the color made from the blending of white and the contrasting color when the two are woven together.



 

Another surprising  fact is that it had spiritual significance in some of the cultures which first began making this type of fabric.
  In Indonesia it symbolized the battle between good and evil because of the starkly contrasting colors .
 In Japan it was used to wrap around buddha statues when a child had died.   


 
Gingham has no "right side" or "wrong side" because the threads are dyed and then woven so it looks the same on either side.  It is  one of the most economical and utilitarian types of fabric to make.
 Today gingham is almost exclusivey known as a checkered fabric . It has stayed more consistently popular with children's and men's fashions.
Although gingham has faded in and out of popularity throughout the 21st century,  it is never far from view.

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August 02nd, 2014

8/2/2014

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A Little Collage History

The first techniques of using collage are said to have occurred in China around 200 BC when paper was invented.  Xin Song recreates  ancient cut paper techniques in "Tree of Life" , 2012.
 
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The next most notable appearance of collage as we think of it was in Japan.  Calligraphers used collage techniques by gluing bits on paper and fabric on surfaces to be used as a background for their poems in the 12th century.
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Some collage techniques appeared in Medieval Europe in the 13th century but the most famous collage artist working in the 18th century was Mary Delaney.  She created very detailed, botanically correct floral collages using tissue paper and hand-colored papers.  She called them "Paper Mosaiks" and completed 1700 of these from the age of 71-88.


But some art authorities hold to the view that collage was never properly a part of "fine art" until the works of Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso in the 19th century.  They used collage techniques in conjunction with painting, forcing the examination of art as a process and concept rather than an end product.  And the use of newsprint in their collages brought new meaning in relation to current events and social issues.
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Here, Picasso included oil cloth, (similar to modern day contact paper) in this collage called "Still Life with Chair Caning".

One of the most famous artists associated with collage is Henri Matisse.  Later in life when he was in poor health and had stopped painting, he did many of these paper cut-outs.  This one is called 
"Blue Nude II" .
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There are many collage artists currently.  One of my favorites is Laura Breitman.  Her collages are almost photorealistic. This piece called " Maple"  is absolutely stunning !  
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Collaging fabric or paper or almost anything opens up a whole new world of expression for an artist.  


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Making Others See

7/4/2014

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That is the thrill of making art I think.  It cannot only be for the artist.  Human nature  compels us to share experiences and making art is no exception.  However, I don't think it is always possible to predict what we as artists "make others see".   That is also the thrill of making art.  It opens a whole broad world not only for the artist but for the viewer as well.  Not an exact science at all.  
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Gerhard Richter
This piece by Gerhard Richter suggests some things to me but I daresay the suggestion is entirely different for you. 





 

PicturePierre-Auguste Renoir
  " Two Sisters ( on a terrace)"  
Seems pretty straightforward, right ?  I viewed this piece before I had  seen the title and assumed it was a mother and daughter.  My perspective labeled it that way..... someone else's might not have.  Then there is the "rest of the story".  One could imagine any number of events surrounding this moment caught in time.  And I don't think it matters what was really going on.  It merely enhances, or embellishes, our perspective on the world as we view it.  That's what art does if we are really observant.  It may take a little more effort with contemporary art because we do so love our comfort zones.  I challenge you to be challenged by what artists "make us see".
My musings for today:).



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Mysterious Emotions

8/3/2013

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“The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious - the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science.” 
― Albert Einstein



 I have been exploring the possibility of using a throw-away portion of most pieces of fabric.
There have been some who have used the selvages of fabric  (selvage : a ) the edge on either side of a woven or flat-knitted fabric so finished as to prevent raveling; specifically : a narrow border often of different or heavier threads than the fabric and sometimes in a different weave); such as this clever girl :


http://vintagericrac.blogspot.com/2008/10/big-selvedge-project.html
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This is exquisitely done !!  
I have been using selvages in a different manner.  I guess you might call it coiled textiles.
Still working on the possibilites but here is a peek at what I have been experimenting with.

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Maybe it isn't  "true art"  yet.....but it has elicited a " mysterious emotion".






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The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.    ~Pablo Picasso

6/2/2013

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I love that quote!  It resonates with me right now because I am feeling a lot of the dust of daily life on my soul.  It does not define art as to what it  “should” be or what its parameters are.  It merely states that it is a healing medium.  Both artist and viewer are transported to another place.  Art has the power to renew and adjust our thinking and even our spirit.  I believe all of us have an element of creativity in us.  Those who explore that side of themselves are in for a treat!  We just have to remember not to expect perfection.  It is the journey that matters.




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    I am a fabric/textile artist.  I love hunting for fabric, new or re-purposed, to use in my 
    fabric collages.  The fact that I am also a seamstress makes it convenient as I have already accumulated quite a stash of fabric from my years of sewing.  Welcome to my  "material world" !

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