silk and paper

I've finally gotten started actual trials for a new idea to make "temporary" casting molds, and used it to try combining silk fusion and cotton casting - here's a word that will go in a piece for the local fiber arts show. The letters are silk and the "background" is cotton.
Once I get through tutorials for clay molds I will start showing some other methods like I used here. Hopefully photos of the finished piece will be here soon (since the piece has to be at the gallery on Thursday!)
Here's another one I did with light and dark cotton fiber

that will be part of a piece in the Art Bazaar "Featured Artist" exhibit in April, possibly with some of the silk fusion pieces you see drying around it.
A thank you to my friend Melinda who brings me lovely lint from drying her cotton towels.

Quick update - Artist of the Week

I got to be Twinrocker's first "Artist of the Week"! http://twinrocker.tumblr.com/post/17952666384/joanmerrell

Boy, I guess now I'm Famous, too bad I somehow missed Rich as in "rich and....". :)

They make wonderful handmade paper, practically reinvented handmade paper on this continent - you should check them out - http://www.twinrocker.com/history_2.html

STEP 4: Transferring your design to polymer clay for paper casting

I used to love the "acetone transfer" method. It is so efficient - you simply take a recent photocopy, lay it down on your clay, and rub a cotton ball soaked in acetone over it. (A cheap container from WalMart's hardware/paint department lasts years) This releases toner and viola! your design is right there permanently on the clay, all reversed for making a mold, easy to cut away all the black. Very simple to make a copy the size you want and with all the detail. Well, every year or two they get new copy machines, fancier and fancier, and now you never know if the copies will work for this process. You can try - one way is to go someplace with old machines (like our public library) or try a laser printer (not inkjet - you need toner). This process works best with fresh copies - within a couple of days is best. It does not work outside in very cold weather (outside is usually good because acetone has fumes).
I had no luck the last time I tried, but this week, fresh copies from the local copy center worked just fine. This method is really great for large and detailed designs. Not only do you clearly know what to cut away, it automatically reverses your design to avoid confusion.

Roll your clay to the desired thickness (preparing clay) and have it on waxed paper on top of cardboard or another other hard surface.Its safest to tape the waxed paper to the cardboard so nothing slides off as you go in and out.  Have a fairly fresh photocopy of your design ready with excess paper trimmed out of the way, bend one corner up (to grasp the paper since it tends to stick). Lay it carefully where you want the design and rub lightly for it to adhere slightly. Go outside if you can to keep the fumes outdoors.

 Soak a cotton ball in acetone and rub over the design. It is the chemicals NOT pressure that releases the toner so  you don't need to push down. Occasionally a dark image may smear if you use too much.

Carefully lift one corner to see if it has transferred - if so lift it off right away. If not, try more acetone. If your surface is not smooth it will not transfer down in depressions, but still might transfer enough to tell where to cut. If it doesn't transfer at all, you will need to try another method (see below) or try a different copy machine or printer.

Leaving the acetone on too long affects the clay texture more. If you look closely, you might be able to tell the clay around the dragonfly has more roughness on the surface due to the chemicals being left longer. The K was lifted almost immediately. If a really smooth surface is important to you, you might want to use the next method. The roughness doesn't show much in the casting and can be smoothed out a little with gentle finger friction. Until you  make a casting its hard to say if it will show at all.

Thankfully, there are more sure alternatives, of which the best was discovered by the Utah calligraphy guild during an early workshop there. Simply trace it all in pencil (fairly sharp and not too hard, mechanical one is good),

 lay it face-down on your clay, rub gently and leave a few minutes. It helps to have a corner turned up to grasp if the paper is smaller than your clay sheet.

Whichever method you use, it's helpful to include a border. Even if you don't want any border-type edge in the mold, you need a guide for making your deckle when you cast it. You will be able to see the line after baking the clay and use it as a guide, even if its just a guide to draw a new line further out or in. You may not know for sure what edge looks best until you actually make a test casting.

Remember, if you want live help, workshops are available see teaching information on my website

Just heard! Passed 2nd round of judging!

I received a lovely letter on pretty stationary but electronically as a pdf, how's that for the new world we live in? My piece has made it out of 1156 entries in the 9th International Art Competition for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and will be on display in the Church History Museum in Salt Lake City from March 16 through October 14. Friends and family are invited to the artists' reception on March 16th, awards at 6, goes until 9. Guess its time I put a photo or two out there- though you have to be there in person and close to read any of the writing in the waterfall, I think.

This piece was started several years ago when I got into working on canvas, and even exhibited once sewn onto a backing as a banner so I could roll it up and take to Canada, but I was never happy with it, especially the parts that got done in a hurry as I usually need a deadline to finish. So for a long time I had wanted to try again. I actually reworked quite a bit of it - probably the white writing in the sun was the only thing I really loved and didn't touch at all. Taking painting class helped me figure out some of the things I didn't like (and the water at the bottom had the writing redone about three times over). Now that its mounted and framed I hope I don't think of more things I wish were different! But I guess the judges in SLC liked it. Can't thank Tom Schulte enough for the beautiful woodwork.

Fiber Frenzy - a new workshop in the making

Today I outlined a one-day workshop for those interested in silk fusion - it includes making a basic piece big enough to sew into an embellished evening purse, a hanging heart ornament, a silk pin (brooch), and choice of a silk-covered frame or silk under glass plate or a molded item like a silk fiber bowl.
I think it would be fun to have one day of papercasting basics and then a second day of silk fiber - those who really wanted more casting could spend the second day on a project while others did silk. This should be fun for all sorts of artists and crafters interested in trying new media.

 Both workshops have pretty simple supply lists for participants and possibilities for lots of personalization of the techniques.

One Down.........

Looks like I might make at least part of my goal of completing unfinished works for my "Featured Artist" month at the Art Bazaar in March. I've complete two works (OK, one is still going to get some fine-tuning - hoping to bring a few more islands of legibility to the above) and have another well on its way.
That leaves a hope for finishing two large canvases and a silk mosaic. Plus doing a few small paying jobs along the way. And baking bread. Of course, my house isn't as clean as it might be and the sewing project is languishing, but I've rediscovered the joy of lettering that had somehow been forgotten.

Here's the finishing touch -the raised gold - on the "found and resurrected" piece shown in earlier posts. I'm going to call it "Family Tapestry", it's 22x29 inches on watercolor paper.

STEP 2: Joining strips of polymer clay for papercasting molds

The pasta machine is by far the easiest way to get nice thin layers of clay but the width is limited. Unless you stick to pretty small projects, you will need to join strips together. Even though the clay tends to stick to itself, leaving enough line to be visible can start a crack that breaks the whole thing, just like cutting glass by starting a fracture along a line.

Roll your clay to the thickness desired* (see note below) and lay two pieces close together (on waxed paper!) along their straightest edges.

Lay a ruler near the edge and cut one edge with a definite angle under the ruler, then cut the other with an angle going out.
Gently lift the piece you cut "under" and lay the edge just over the other.

Press down very slightly if needed or roll gently with brayer, then use light friction with your finger across (without pushing down!) to pull the clay across and make the line disappear. You want to avoid making depressions in the surface as they are very hard to get rid of. Friction pulling gently across will do it.

Lay another sheet of waxed paper over, flip it over to the other side carefully and remove the top paper.

Repeat the smoothing process on the other side until you can't see the line.

You can go back to the first side if it is the smoothest, or repeat with a third piece of clay for more width.
You can use this method to add pieces trimmed from ends or edges to even out your shape or add length or width wherever necessary, as the clay will always roll out in uneven shapes. If you are really getting big and waxed paper is not wide enough, use freezer paper underneath - but remember, you have to fit this in an oven!

*Deciding on your thickness:
it depends entirely on your design and your plan. If you are just starting out and doing something simple, try keeping it about the thickness of a piece of matboard or a bit less (you can use scraps as a guide). If you are going to be adding more layers for a multi-level mold, you want to stay quite thin. The very thinnest setting will usually not give you a good smooth clay but about the second one will do fine. If you are doing lettering, as a general rule you don't want the clay any thicker than the width of the strokes in your letters. If you are doing a backing layer you want it as thick as you can get it. More details on this when we discuss designs another day.....

Remember, you can go through the entire process step by step with personal help: teaching policies