Val d'Argent - Inspiration

On the 18th of September I went to the Val d'Argent in France for a big quilt and textile art exhibition.
These are two books I bought there:
"Textile Nature" by Elsbeth Nusser-Lampe, a German artist and very nice lady I met at my sketchbook class with Jean and Jan last year. Her work is very feminine and delicate.

This is the second book I bought there. Lots of information and an interesting chapter on how to blend colours in machine stitchery.

Of course there was a lot of beautiful art work. These are a few examples on black and white embroidery and textile works.

paper tonal columns

On Siân's advice I tried to form a tonal column going from the lightest to the darkest tone with my decorated papers. Getting the column on one single picture wasn't a very easy task, so I tried to make a "photo montage". I will do the same with my fabrics once I've put them on my blog.

Module 2-Chapter 5-Patterned Papers - White on Black

Rubbing done on black tissue paper
F1 Bird pattern
Rubbing done on black tissue paper

White acrylic paint applied with funky foam "tool"

Acrylic paint stamped with bubble wrap

D2 Armadillo pattern

Acrylic paint stamped with a square sponge

I loved doing every bit of this chapter. The rubbing technique could easily be done on fabric using Markal Paintstiks.

It is interesting to see how different techniques and backgrounds have an impact on the value and tone of the resulting papers.

Module2-Chapter5-Patterned Papers-Rubbings

All the following rubbings were done with a black wax crayon on white tissue paper.



Rubbing done on wall

Same as above

Rubbing done on wrapped cord around cardboard.

Rubbing done on different rugs

The next three rubbings were done on a self-made "rubbing plate". I drew different patterns on a piece of cardboard with glue.

For this rubbing I fixed a piece of netting on Ka-Pa fix board and then did the rubbing

Fine wire was fixed on Ka-Pa board in wavy lines and then rubbed

The next two rubbings were done with different kind of leaves. I tried to imitate birds' feathers.

I loved this technique and got a bit carried away, trying to do rubbings on different kitchen items. Although the next rubbings don't have anything to do with animal markings, they are very inspiring and could lead to some interesting embroidery motives.

Module2-Chapter 5-Patterned Papers - Glass Prints

I used black acrylic paint for the glass prints. Instead of the glass I used a DINA4 sheet of funky foam on which I drew the patterns.

The following pattern was applied with a stick and refers to the tortoises marks.



Pattern done with a small plastic card.

Here I applied the paint to the foam plate, then put a net on top to act as a resist.

Pattern applied with a stick

E1

Pattern drawn with a plastic device

Simple lines applied with the wooden end of a brush

Ghost print of the above paper

Here I coloured the paper with black calligraphy ink, then used white acrylic paint and a net.

I really enjoyed making prints and the endless possibilities this technique offers. However, as the acrylic paint dries quite quickly, one has to work fast. Therefore, when doing prints, it would be advisable to use a retarder with the acrylic paint or a special printing ink.

Module 2-Chapter 5-Patterned Papers-Bleach Marks

All the following papers were coloured with Quink Ink and discharged with Jacquard Discharge Paste. After having dried, I ironed the papers to remove the colour.

The pattern hereafter was applied with a brush.

Here the discharged paste was applied with a square sponge.

Discharge paste applied with a cotton bud

Discharge paste applied with my funky foam "tool"

The next paper is a bit of a failed experiment. I tried to apply the paste through a net, it didn't really work very well, nevertheless I think that the result is not uninteresting.

It would be best to do the ironing outside as the paste has a very unpleasant smell. Contact with skin and eyes has to be avoided.