Polymer Clay Stamps Demonstration at SAQA Regional Meeting

I was honored to be asked by the So. Nevada/So. California Regional Representatives of Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA) to present a demonstration at the May 18th regional meeting on my method of making polymer clay stamps for use on fabric.  Included here is a preview of only a few of the many stamps I have been developing and that will be for sale at the meeting, along with a "how-to" booklet and start-up packet.  Polyform Products, the parent company of Sculpey Clay, has generously donated several pounds of clay for this upcoming demonstration event and for a demonstration that I will be doing at the International Quilt Festival in Long Beach, CA, on August 3, 2013.

 

 

 Hope to see many of you at the SAQA regional meeting and at the International Quilt Festival in August.

Exciting Gallery Solo Exhibition of Deborah Stanley's Art

 

Yesterday I had the singular opportunity to attend the opening reception of Deborah Stanley's art at Soft Expressions Gallery in Tustin, California.  Deborah's fiber art works are deliciously refined and capture the essence of her portraiture subjects and her pictorial works.  I managed to capture only a few photos of Deborah's art.  I only wish that these photos could have been good enough to adequately reflect the truly fine quality of Deborah's work.  To enjoy more of Deborah's art, visit her website, Deb's Artistic Inspirations.

Here are a few additional photos of Deborah's art that is in her solo exhibit:

Deborah discusses her art with reception attendee, Mary Tabar

Attendee, Mary Tabar stands with one of Deborah's works

Reception attendee, David Charity, admires one of Deborah's fine works

Artist, Deborah Stanley (in black and white attire) enjoys discussing art with Teresa Shippy, Mary Beth Kile, Nancy Mraz and Mary Tabar (from left to right)

DaVinci's Vetruvian Man Visits the Art Quilt World

Body Map Quilt in Honor of DaVinci's Vetruvian Man

I was totally exuberant to recently learn that my 30" x 50" Vetruvian Man quilt was juried into the International Quilt Festival with the Quilts on the Wall "Maps" exhibit that will be held in Long Beach, California in August of this year.  Particulars of the Quilt Festival are, as follows:

Maps Exhibit - Debuting at the International Quilt Festival, Long Beach

Show Dates August 2-4, 2013

Preview Night Thursday August 1, 2013

http://www.quilts.com/home/shows/viewer.php?page=SummerFestival

Here are some pictures of the quilt as it developed.

Initial Drawing

 

 

Auditioning Color Scheme

 

Blocking in Color

Handwritten Translation of DaVinci's Notes

Closeup of Handwriting

Close-up of Spiral Quilting with Gold Thread

Hand Painted Vines in Border with Outline Stitching

Create Fabric Design with Original Polymer Clay Stamps

Printed Fabric

 A while back I created polymer stamps made with Sculpey Original White Clay because it is quickly malleable with often less than a minute of hand kneading, forms easily, bakes uniformly and is long lasting. I first formed the clay and applied it to a block of wood.  A brayer was used to flatten the surface of the clay and then the unit was put into the oven for the prescribed time on the polymer clay directions.  Since the oven is set at a rather low temperature, the wood was not compromised by the heat. The original intent was to use these on paper but the results were less than optimal.  Today I used a sponge tool to dab fabric screen printing ink onto the stamps and applied them to a piece of fabric that was laid on a padded surface.  The results were rather successful.

Here are the stamps that I made and used.

Group of Stamps

Floral Stamp #1

Vine Stamp

Star and Moon

Leaf Stamp

When applying the ink with a sponge, care needed to be taken not to get ink on the mounting block because that would have also printed and would have detracted from the design.  You can see that this happened on the first two printings of the flower on the bottom row.

Hint #1:  Make the polymer stamp thicker so that it stands farther away from the mounting block and will eliminate the need for a super light touch when applying paint or ink.

Hint #2:  Deeply inscribed lines make for an enhanced printed image.

Now that I know that the stamps work with fabric, these images will probably appear somewhere in my future fiber art works.

"Floral Lure" - Delphinium Field

"Floral Lure" by Linda Friedman

I belong to Artistic Expressions, a group made up of eight, outstanding quilt, fiber and surface design artists.  We have each completed a quilted art work that represents our individual interpretation of the delphinium flower.  These works will be in the Delphinium Field exhibit with 7 shows on the Mancuso circuit beginning in Denver, Colorado in May, 2013. To see other works that will be in this exhibit, visit the Artistic Expressions blog.

Over the next few weeks, I hope to post mini tutorials on the various steps that led to the creation of "Floral Lure".

Until then, be happy, create and ...

Face Value #2 - A Difference of Opinion

"Face Value #2:  A Difference of Opinion"

In an earlier entry I posted a picture of a 12" x 12" art quilt based upon the theme, "Face Value". for a Serendipity Art Quilt group exchange.   When I started developing my idea for this theme, my first attempt looked like this:

First attempt
(with images rendered in paint and water color pencil)

The bust silhouettes were hand painted with fabric paints.  I didn't like it.  The images were too flat, not spaced well and so I started over to create this piece for submission:

"Face Value #1:  It's Not a Black and White World"
(with appliqued silhouette images)

For several weeks the original attempt sat on my work table.  Even though I didn't like it, I didn't relegate it to the trash can.  Just a couple of days ago I revisited the first attempt to see if I might be able to salvage it in some manner.

#1- I stitched spikey lines around the silhouettes with dark red, heavy thread...

#2 - I machine embroidered the leaves with bright green and highlighted the scroll shapes with red Sharpie "Stained"...

#3- I densely quilted the background with circles...

#4 - I dry brushed the entire background with red Setacolor transparent fabric paint. and, finally, twisted deep red, cotton yarn into cording that I couched to the edge to finish the piece.

 Here, again, is the finished piece:

When all was said and done, I am glad that I did not toss the first attempt into the trash, but instead experimented with further surface design elements.

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Floral Studies on ACEO Cards

"Across Open Land" ACEO Cards

These cards were created from one of those "what if" questions--What if acrylic paint is mixed with Elmer's white glue?

Results:

1.   The glue thinned the paint to a transparent quality, spread smoothly, and remained wet on the card surface so that images could be inscribed with a dull implement.  I used the rounded wooden end of a paintbrush to inscribe looped shapes to suggest flowers. 

2.  Unlike thinning acrylic paints with water which tends to warp the card, the glue thinning agent first warped the paper but then it settled to a flat surface.

3.  The glue sealed the surface with a matte finish upon which I then added line drawings with a very fine Sharpie retractable pen and watercolor pencils.

All in all, I believe that the process of thinning acrylic paint with Elmer's glue was a successful one.

Here are closeups of each card:

Floral Study #1

Floral Study #2

Floral Study # 3

Floral Study #4

Marching Across the Land