Today I used one 1/2 yard as a catch all place to experiment with different techniques- more rolling from below, but this time using the lino blocks I cut last week on Carvey, as well as foam and hot glue textures I made based on more BioArt. I'm learning how to use the research to inspire abstracted motifs.
Using Ballet (copyright BioArtogrpahy, SunJung Kim, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow, Center for Organogenesis and Internal Medicine, Division of Molecular Medicine and Genetics) I used craft foam to make a repeatable motif. I glued the negative space shape to a block of foam and then on the other side of the block I glued down the positive form along with drawing more connectors with hot glue.
Using the lino blocks inspired by Tributaries and Honeycomb, I tried them out by rolling thickened dye over them. Just testing scale, dye thickness, and roller pressure; not much layering happening...yet.
We also learned about making mono-prints. A thin layer of dye is applied to a flat surface- a small sheet of foam, or a large maso board, or even the plastic covered table top. Then dye is removed in a graphic manner creating texture. You can simply finger paint, wiping away excess dye as it's removed, or use various tools (a tile scraper is my favorite) to develop a pattern or texture. I still need to work on how much dye to use as my first attempt was way too thin. Once the design is set, the fabric is simply placed directly and flatly on the dye and evenly pressed into the dye using a wide brush or roller. The top corners are lifted, peeling back the fabric to reveal a print. Using Arterial Dream (copyright BioArtography, Greg Dressler, Ph.D., Professor of Pathology) as an inspiration, I scraped a layer of dye onto a board. I used my finger to scribble the inner and outer rings and used a 4 sided tile scraper to add texture between. My first attempt barely made a mark, but the second try read well. I wasn't crazy about the fold lines that got caught on the fabric, but we'll see how it turns out once I layer in other colors and textures tomorrow.
The last thing we did today was experiment with silk screens using soy wax as a resist. More on that later this week.
Comments