Challenge 12

Challenge # 12 - Friday, August 24, 2007 – Due Saturday, September 1, 2007

Hostess - Gena Flatley

Theme - Maker’s Choice

Design Element- 1) A surface design technique either new or familiar to you.
2) Build on a technique, style, thought or design you’ve used in one of this years other pieces.

This month we will extend our comfort zones to include a surface design technique that you have either used before or one that is new to you. Alter a piece of fabric and use it in a small work. The extent to which you use this design element in your piece is up to you.

Share a paragraph about your technique(s) with the group. Include any problems or successes you have.

Surface design is a wide open area that includes dyes in many forms and applications, discharging, acrylic and textile paints, resists, devores, stamps, stencils, rubs, screen-printing, mono-printing, sun-printing, wax crayons and watercolor pencils and embellishments. I’m sure there are many more types of manipulations with which create new fabric designs than I can list here.

Design may be realistic, representational or abstract.

Discussion The following is included for informational purposes only:

I’m including a list of books that have been helpful to me, along with some websites with technique information. Please feel free to share any websites or information you have that may be of interest to the group on this topic.
The Surface Designer’s Handbook – Holly Brackman
Color by Accident – Ann Johnston
Color by Design – Ann Johnston
Art Quilt Workbook – Jane Davila and Elin Waterson
Complex Cloth – Jane Dunnewold
Dyes and Paints – Elin Noble
http://www.prochemical.com/ – website for dyes, books, etc, with many how-to articles
http://www.dharmatrading.com/ – website for dyes, fabrics, paints, etc with many how-to articles
www.pburch.net/dyeing.shtml - Paula Burch has an excellent extensive site with dyeing info

A final note: this challenge may be easy or hard, I don’t know…. Easy because it is wide open, hard because it is not specific, or vice versa. As we’ve worked through this year we’ve tried many different techniques, styles, interpretations, themes…. It’s been a wonderful year for me to see how everyone works in different ways with different styles and approaches. The photos in the files are absolutely inspiring. As a group, you all can be extremely proud. It’s been a wonderful, wonderful year.


Have fun! Gena