Surface Embellishment Round Robin

Today was our first pretty day since Hurricane Sandy hovered over the east coast.  My prayers go out to those who lost their loved ones or their homes in this amazing storm.  From winds to floods to snowstorms to fires, this was one mighty wreaker of havoc.  All we got here in Central North Carolina was some rain, lots of wind, and cold.  There was enough snow in the mountains to close down Appalachian State University in Boone.

So, today I started working on a new challenge.  My Anything Art bee has started a round robin Surface Design challenge.  Each participant starts with a yard of plain white fabric, and sends it to the next person on the rotation.  She can include a journal to describe what processes and materials are used.  I suggested that each person photograph the fabric when she has done her part.  I think this will be super fun and will yield some very unique layered fabrics!

 

After the days of gray weather, I decided to get right down to it with some bright colors.  First I wet the fabric and sponged on Setacolor Transparent paint in yellows, blue, and fuchsia.  I worked on a piece of poster-sized foam board covered with a garbage bag. 

 

 

A yard is a lot of fabric to hand-paint.  I ended up doubling the fabric over itself to print some of the color on bare areas.  Then I carried the whole thing out to the driveway.  Darn!  The sun was hidden behind clouds by the time I got out there.  I went ahead and put down some stencils, leaves, and flowers to try printing. 

 

Then the wind picked up, and I started putting down rocks to hold the fabric in place.  I could already see that the objects were printing. despite the hidden sunlight.

I got out some latex gloves to wear during all this, but of course did not put them on before painting.   I am going to my quilt bee tonight, and will have to get busy removing paint from my fingernails.

 

Might do some more printing before this is finished.  I like to add more paint with a sponge brush over the objects once they are in place.  Can't wait to see how this turns out!

And it was SO much fun to do some fabric design again!