Dye Worskhop with Martha

Martha admires some of our dye results.

Lynn paints a series of pieces for possible use in a future garment. Above Martha views the results.

Nita chooses a dye from one of 22 color choices - a tough decision!

Cheryl uses a squiggy toy to create a cool design.


Nita's leg got in the way of the wet fabric while walking with it to the clothesline. She'll be wearing pants to work on Monday.

Lynn's finished piece - painted and stamped. Print paste (sodium alginate mixed with urea water) is used to thicken the dye for stamping.

Shirely placed a large piece of fabric into a big bag, added dye, and squeezed and squished to disperse the dye. Martha enjoys Shirely's approach.

Cheryl and Cindyare getting started.

The day flew by for the seven of us as we twisted, scrunched, painted, stamped, and dabbed dye onto yards of fabric. Martha Spark did a fabulous job of providing tons of supplies for us. While it was hot outdoors, we stayed comforatable in Cheryl Jordan's dye studio aka the lawnmower room! Many of our pieces need to "marinate" overnight in plastic bags. We eagerly await viewing the results. THANK YOU MARTHA for a great day!

Highlights from Jello Printing and Stamping Workshop

Workshop Highlights:
Seven of us had a great time on Saturday, June 27 playing with jello. Using gelatin as a large stamp pad and acrylic paints as the medium, we printed, stamped, rolled, scrunched and just about everything we could think of to create some great fabric pieces. Once we got going, there was no stopping the experimentation. My personal favorite "stamp" was the imprint from the bottom of a wine bottle that Ginny brought. Karen Tornow brought a wire rack and Virginia had a sink strainer that made great grid imprints. Karen Miller had several rollers with interesting imprints. Foam stamps work really well with this process. We used bubble wrap and rubbing plates and scrunched paper to make patterns. Several people brought leaves and flowers to use for imprinting.

Some of the results:

If you are interesting in playing with jello, purchase a box of unflavored gelatin (Winco sells a Hy-Top brand that is a good price). If you use an 8 inch square pan, use 4 packets of gelatin. Place the contents of the 4 packets into the pan, add 1 cup of cold water and still until gelatin is dissolved. Then add 1 cup of very hot water and stir well. Place in frig until set. Remove the gelatin from the pan, placing it onto a piece of foil or a tray that won't be used for food. You can use the gelatin stamp pad from many hours, gently wiping off excess paint with a baby wipe or paper towel when you are ready to add new paint. HAVE FUN!
Nancy

Here's what's on my design wall - it is one of the pieces I am working on for an exhibit at LaSells Stewart Center at OSU next December. I've had a great time creating fantasy flowers. I have a few more flowers and leaves to satin stitch around their edges. Then it's time to layer it up and machine quilt the piece. Hope you will see the Loosely Bound show in December. Best regards,
Nancy

What are you working on?

Greetings!

Our beautiful spring weather has inspired me. I am working on a crazy quilt using mostly solid fabrics. Blue skies, plowed fields, cherry blossoms and spring greens are the colors I am using. I rarely use solids in my quilts and am eager (and anxious) to figure out the quilting design. There are no prints to hide quilting baubles!

What about you ...what's on your design wall? (or on your loom, easel, dye pot etc) ... where are you finding inspiration? Give our new blog a try and post a comment!

Happy sewing!

Pam

Welcome!

Welcome to the blog for Contemporary Fiber Arts!  We are a guild hosted by the Corvallis Arts Center in Corvallis, Oregon.  Our members are interested in a wide range of fiber arts:  baskets, art quilts, traditional quilts, weaving, fiber dyeing, garments and accessories, dollmaking, knitting, crocheting and surface embellishment.

Monthly meetings are held at the Corvallis Arts Center located at 700 SW Madison Avenue in Corvallis, Oregon.  Meetings begin at 6:30 pm on the first Tuesday of each month.  Meetings typically consist of

• Announcements:  shows to enter, shows to see, workshops etc.
• Show & tell:  members are encouraged to bring pieces they have created to share with the group
• The headline event:  a featured speaker(s) or hands-on activity
  

Annual membership dues are $20.  Junior membership dues are $10.

Please join us and share our enthusiasm for fiber arts!