RUSTING WITH DELIGHT

  This  month it is my turn to write about what we did.  I showed the group how to use iron powder to create rust exactly where we want it instead of the randomness of using rusted metals.  

  Before the meeting I mixed iron powder with sodium alginate creating thickened iron powder.  The first thing that we did was to screen the mixture onto fabric.  Some brought white fabric and others brought patterned fabric, giving us a variety of results.

Kathleen Malvern screening her first piece.

Sandra Hoefner and Angela Kenley intent on their project.

Jan Warren making her checkerboard prints.

The next step was to lightly spray our prints with a salt, vinegar, and water mixture  and be PATIENT while waiting for the chemical reaction to start.

Jan's checkerboard piece.

Sandra and her famous ladies.

And Jan's second piece,  more abstract.

Susan Strickland and her first piece.

 Angela,s tree, unfortunately backlit by the window.

Suzanne  Barnhart's piece screened on this great blue-green fabric.

And Suzanne, hiding behind her chickens.

Susan with her favorite crows.

Kathleen seems to be hiding.  She also did a screen on black fabric which I'm eager to see after it has had a chance to "rust" a little longer.

Before coming to the meeting I took a piece of fabric that I had painted in Mickey Lawler's class and did some screen printing on it with screen printing ink  and thermofax screen.

Then I added this fence with the rusting mixture.  The colors are somewhat different in person.  The group thought was that it looked like a park in Paris.  Sounds good to me.

This process can be used on paper as well, creating some interesting pieces for anyone doing mixed media.

All in all, a great learning experience, for me as well as for everyone else.  Now the challenge will be to use this technique in one of our upcoming group challenges.

The formulas and techniques that we used were from an article in Quilting Arts Magazine, Controlled Rusting by Barbata Triscari, O/N 2013.  

Anyone with questions can contact me at  gjeneve@gmail.com

Kathleen's First Commissioned Quilt

The top picture is a photo I was given of a family farm.  Along with the photo I was given a bag that contained an old jean jacket, with the name of the farm, and a the farm's logo (pig). I was asked to incorporate those items into the farm picture in an art quilt.  The bottom photo is the finished art quilt. I found the photo very hard to work from and had many challenges with scale, shadows, etc.  The new owner of the quilt was pleased with the results.  Phew!

Members Painting

Susan showing fabric she painted with acrylic paint.  The fabric on the right is her painted fabric printed on fabric.

Members Susan taking a water color class.  Member Jan is also in this class and this week they did contour drawings using a live model.  Then they water colored one of the drawings.

                                                      Model sitting for contour drawing.

Susan's unfinished water color.

                                                              

                                                              Jan's unfinished water color.

                                          

Definition of an Art Quilter:

(posted on creative-quilting blogspot originally)

 

An Art Quilter is an ordinary quilter who has discovered an extra-ordinary secret...that it is ok to play in the "no rules zone"

 

An Art Quilter makes art by adding something of herself

 

The Art Quilter looks at what everyone else is looking at and sees possibilities no one else sees  

Blogology 101

Nancy Dobson, resident Blogologist

As many of us have been very neglectful in updating the Raven Mavens Blog, Nancy took it upon herself to have us all over to her home to teach us the "ins and outs" of blogging.  As a group, we are great Fiber Artist's but not too great on tecky things.

Here are Angela and Jan looking at the TV on which Nancy was showing us our blog.  Nancy has a little Apple what-cha-ma-callit device that she plugs into her computer and then can project images onto her TV.  Notice the technical term for Nancy's Apple thingamagig.  We were each supplied with a complete written sheet of instructions on how to blog and then Nancy tested us by passing the computer around.

One last picture to post of Nancy, Jan and Angela.  Picture posting was to be part of our homework so I am doing my homework now.

We all agreed that we will each take turns posting to our Blog as our turn comes around for various demos for the group.  Stay tuned and hopefully there will be much more activity posted from our members

Transferring Paper Collage To Fabric

Angela teaching paper collage

 

February meeting, Angela Kenley demonstrated paper collage technique.   Artist can then transfer image to fabric. 

We ripped and cut selected images from magazines to create scenes.

The papers that are ripped and/or cut to create the scenes are pasted on a base piece of paper.  The paper is then used to print on fabric.

This shows a finished piece ready to be printed on fabric.

Collaged image was transferred to fabric sheets specific for inkjet printer.

New Exhibit

The Raven Mavens have a new exhibit at the Art Center in Grand Junction, Colorado.  If you are in the area, please stop in and take a look!  These pieces will be on display and available for purchase from the Art Center through February.