Hi everyone, long time! I've been doing a lot of surface design, a lot of hand sewing and a bit of machine sewing. I just finished a class with Pat Pauly. I took the same class last year at the Pacific NorthWest Art School.
Pat is a terrific teacher and this class was so fun and successful. It was a live class! I've never taken a class where you are in the artist's studio for the whole five days. And of course that means she was in your studio, too! There were 8 of us, so the Zoom screen was a perfect 9 Hollywood Squares.
Pat lives on the east coast so the class started at 8am each day. Even after it ended I was out in the garage printing. I worked 8-10 hours each day.
It was fascinating to see how the others set up their studios, and to be able to work alongside Pat in her studio was really great. I recommend this class for anyone who is serious about silk screening with thickened dyes. There are a lot of materials needed and its fairly rigorous physically. But if you are inclined to try it I would say go for it!
After working with this medium for a year I think I'm getting to the place where I can create enough fabric to make garments. I'm still working on the images, figuring out what I'd like to paint, but I'm closer than I was last summer.
The first piece of fabric I worked with was a combination of 4 women's light grey tshirts. I cut them up first so that I could lay them flat before printing. This garment is either very chic or looks like I've escaped from King Arthur's Court...and am still walking around in the same garment!
I used a self drafted pattern from a RTW garment. I've made this pattern several times. It's a perfect shape to piece fabrics together.
I'm crazy about this pattern. It's way more flattering on than it looks in these photos. It has a very flattering drapes over the body.
The process uses a combination of techniques; silk screening, direct application and painting to name a few.
Pat is a very generous teacher and super easy to follow. She give a huge amount of techniques and gives you time to explore each one during the week.
I had a lot of fun piecing this. I got nervous after I did the front, thinking I might not have enough but had some leftover.
I'll most likely use the same pattern for this 3' length of seersucker. I might do a bit more doodling with my new Arteza Fabric Markers.
Here's one of the techniques I'm developing. It has three layers of color applied, waiting for the last layer to dry before applying the next. This photo was taken before washing, that's why it looks a bit shiny.
This knit was painted. Not sure I'll do this technique again, it's not as satisfying. But I have three yards of it so I'll make it up and see how it looks. Not sure what it will be yet...
Until next time...
