Out of the Ashes - Beyond Boro

 Recently a friend conjectured that I might be able to use the two wooden rods on a tattered fabric scroll and and she gave the entire scroll to me.  Indeed, it was a mess.  It was stained, ripped, and the fabric was degraded in several places.  It sat in my studio for only a day when I set about trying to give it new life while maintaining the integrity of its past.  What follows is a journey of rebirth.
  

The tears and degraded areas were mended using 6 ply embroidery floss in a loose and wide cross stitch pattern.

Close-up of Mended Section

 

Since the original, tattered piece looked and felt to the hand as if it had been either through a fire or had been buried in the earth, I wanted to convey a sense of hope, even in the most dire of times.  The image of a bird rising from flames and soaring toward the sun came to mind.  I used a craft knife to cut simple flame shapes from freezer paper to make a stencil and then ironed it to the fabric.

Stencil Ironed to Fabric

Choice of Flame Colors

Because I used Setacolor transparent fabric paints they tended to disappear into the dark fabric.  I ended up mixing acrylic craft paints into the Setacolor paints and added a smidgen of fabric medium to the mixture.  Even after doing this, the flame shapes were rather transparent, but when I removed the stencil, I liked the modulation of color intensity that was produced.

Painting with Setacolor Fabric Paints

Although the semi transparency worked out well for the flames, I wanted the bird form to be opaque so I used Speedball screen printing white ink with a screen that I had made for another project

Screen Printing a Bird Image Using Speedball Screen Printing Ink

Screen Printed Bird Form and Stenciled Flame forms

Originally I had planned to only have flame shapes and a soaring bird shape; however, when I looked at it, I thought it looked more like a bird escaping flames and that is not what I intended to convey.

In order to suggest hope, rebirth, and elevation of spirit I cut a circle out of card stock and used it to suggest a sun shape, a light source to which the spirit could reach out.

Circle Stencil Cut from Card Stock

Since I had already learned that transparent fabric paints tend to sink into a deeply colored background, I chose to first apply a layer of gesso using a hand cut card stock circle template as a stencil.

Layer of White Gesso

After the gesso dried I first stenciled around the edge of the circle with Setacolor Orange.  While the orange color was still wet, I applied Setacolor Red to the center of the circle, painted outward and feathered the red color into the orange color.  A narrow ring of white gesso can be seen and I like that.  It adds another visual depth of field.

Sun Shape Painted with Setacolor Transparent Fabric Paints over a Base of White Gesso

It wasn’t until I hung the piece on the design wall to assess what more might be added to this piece, I discovered that I had printed onto the back of the fabric.  At first I thought, drats, I sure goofed on this piece but as I looked at it further, I began to like the way that the mending stitches looked on this reverse side and how even the hanging hoop showed the mended area.  Now, I am at peace with this serendipitous mistake.

Fully Mended and Painted Scroll

Next I will remove the wooden rods, add batting and a backing to stabilize the piece and then lightly free motion machine  quilt this piece before reinserting the rods.  When the piece is completed, I will post more about the process and add photos of the work.