Nine gungho artists got together at Vera's ranch for a 2 day fabric dyeing workshop, with an emphasis on water soluble resists. Vera's dye studio/pottery studio was set up with a pile of different marking and masking tools and several resists. The tubs of resist were; potato dextrin, corn dextrin, sugar syrup, flour paste, commercial water soluble resist & soy wax. We also tried masking tape resist, school glue and wet newspaper. Vera had samples of each resist, so we could compare the results, the soy wax and potato gave the most crackle, and the sugar and corn gave the sharpest images.
We started by making impressions with the various resists onto pastel dyed fabric, and set them out to dry. Pat used a brush to make circular shapes and Peggy used foam stamps.
Amy's potato masher looked like a sand dollar, and Cheryl like various stamps with corn dextrin.
Meredith used plastic construction fence as a mask, and after they were all set out on plastic in the sun to dry, we took a lunch break. A wonderful potluck as always, quiche, melons, fresh salsa and chips, broccoli salad, peach cobbler and spice cake, and lots more goodies.
After lunch we began to add dye to the first layer of resist. Amy's squiggles were made with soy wax and a squiggly drinking straw from the dollar store, a rich blue dye was painted on next.
Cheryl added rich saturated colors of thickened dye paste and blended them with a foam brush.
Crystal added orange to a stamped piece and used different colors on a masking tape geometric design.
Jana used school glue and a syringe with commercial water soluble resist and a dark blue dye. Peggy's orange was painted over masking tape.
Amy's purple and pink fabric, used foam stamps and other tools to stamp with potato dextrin. Peggy added several layers of tape and dye, and I can't wait to see how it turned out.
Cheryl hung her first pieces on the line, and wanted photos , so she could compare them at this stage, and after they received a second coat of resist and dye. We realized we need to batch the dyes, so they would set, so we took them off the line and layered them in plastic sheeting.
Amy's 2 pieces on the line, each got a second coat of paste resist and a dark green over dye. Jana's masking tape on the 2nd or 3rd layer of gold and brown.
At the end of the day, while we were packing up, Vera tripped with the containers of dye concentrates, she ended up with a bloody lip and blue dye on her face. We also spotted a rattle snake, heading for the shade under the cars, we chased it off, and trapped in it a hole under the potting studio. We were concerned about the ranch dogs and it was headed where the cattle were. Thank God it did not end up under the cars while we were packing up, that was a recipe for disaster. We were so happy with our dye play day that we decided to have another day to finish up next week. So YEA! We look forward to one more day of fun, and we'll post our results and finished fabrics next time.
