Catching Up

It's been a time for catching up. The "warming" following January's extreme cold encouraged me to haul the last of the Christmas decorations to the attic. A few hours here and a few hours and a portion of the house is clean. Most importantly, the sewing room was straightened up and I began working on a brand new piece.

So now a minute to catch up on the Fine Line show in St. Charles, Illinois.

Subzero temperatures and a foot of snow kept the audience to a minimum at the opening. BJ and I were grateful to have the few visitors that did brave the weather and for the opportunity to talk with them about our work. We also had the opportunity to make a short film about the work in this show.

This show was based around our work with transfer dyes. These are dyes that work only on polyester fabric. We use them as a tool for printmaking. We paint the dyes onto paper, let it dry, and then transfer the dye from the paper to polyester with heat (an iron). The colors that will transfer are limited, but what is available for that application are vibrant. And there is always the possibility of mixing dyes before they are applied or producing additional hues by transferring colors on top of each other.

BJ introduced me to the transfer dyes several years ago. I was sceptical at first. I did not like working with polyester. But I experimented with a few pieces and incorporated some into some works with other fabrics. The polyester issue faded away in light of the painterly qualities that could be obtained with the transfer dyes. But I wasn't happy with the results of seaming two pieces of polyester. It just does not lay flat or hold a crease.

Then two years ago, I saw a fiber piece at Art Saint Louis that had been collaged. And that gave me the idea to GLUE these lovely pieces of dyed polyester. And voila, an entire body of work ensued.

Most of the work that I have done over the past two years has been based on this technique. I have a collection of dyed fabrics, the exhausted dyed papers, and several bags of scraps. The fabrics and papers are cut and torn and positioned onto a background of canvas. When the composition pleases me, I glue them down to the canvas with matte medium. When all is dry, they are ready for some embellishment: more layering, stitching and oftentimes paint. They the pieces are matted and framed.

I have loved the results. But I am aching for more quilting. So I have pivoted away from the glue and am experimenting with similar compositions can be expressed through piecing and applique.