Preamble
This blogspot exhibits many of my students outputs from a variety of workshops. There are one, two and five day workshops as well as workshops that have a different focus. Nevertheless, it always surprises me how much I learn from my students and how enthusiastic they are to learn and so for your convenience, I have listed the workshop posts below.
Visual Communication and Design (The University of Newcastle Multi-Media Course).
The University of Newcastle (Newcastle and Ourimbah Campuses, NSW, Australia) 2008 to 2010.
In Pursuit of ArtCloth:Improvisational Screen Printing Workshop
The Australian Textile Arts & Surface Design Association Inc. Sydney, NSW.
One and Two Day Disperse Dye Workshops
Various Textile Groups (Australia) 2008 - 2011.
Five Day Workshop - In Pursuit of Complex Cloth
“Wrapt in Rocky” Textile Fibre Forum Conference (Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia) 29th June to 5th July 2008.
Five Day Workshop – In Pursuit of Complex Cloth
Orange Textile Fiber Forum (Orange, NSW, Australia) 19th to 25th April 2009.
5 Day Workshop – In Pursuit of Complex Cloth
Geelong Fiber Forum (Geelong, Victoria, Australia) 27th September to 3rd October 2009.
Two Day Workshop - Deconstructed and Polychromatic Screen Printing
Beautiful Silks (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) 20th to 21st March 2010.
Five Day Workshop – Disperse Dye and Transfer Printing
“Wrapt in Rocky” Biennial Textile Forum/Conference Program (Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia) 25th June to 1st July 2010.
Two Day Workshop – Improvisational Screen Printing
ATASDA (Sydney, NSW, Australia) 28th to 29th August 2010.
Two Day Workshop – In Pursuit of Complex Cloth (Day One)
”Stitching and Beyond” Textile Group (Woodbridge, Tasmania, Australia) 2nd to 3rd October 2010.
Two Day Workshop – In Pursuit of Complex Cloth (Day Two)
”Stitching and Beyond” Textile Group (Woodbridge, Tasmania, Australia) 2nd to 3rd October 2010.
Advance Silk Screen Printing
Redcliffe City Art Gallery Redcliffe, Queensland, Australia) 10th April 2011.
One Day Workshop - In Pursuit of Complex Cloth
The Victorian Feltmakers Inc. (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) 14th May 2011.
One Day Workshop - In Pursuit of Complex Cloth (Felted and Silk Fibers)
Victorian Feltmakers Inc (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) 15th May 2011.
Five Day Workshop – Disperse Dye and Transfer Printing
SDA (Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA) 13th to 17th June 2011.
Five Day Disperse Dye Master Class – Barbara Scott
Art Quill Studio (Arcadia Vale, NSW, Australia) 15th to 19th August 2011.
Five Day Workshop – Disperse Dye and Transfer Printing
Fiber Arts Australia (Sydney, NSW, Australia) 26th September to 1st October 2011.
One Day Workshop – Improvisational Screen Printing
Newcastle Printmakers Workshop Inc. (Newcastle, NSW, Australia) 5th November 2011.
One Day Workshops – Low Relief Screen Printing
Various classes within Australia.
Two Day Workshop – Disperse Dye and Transfer Printing
ATASDA (Sydney, NSW, Australia) 23rd to 24th June 2012.
MSDS Demonstration at Zijdelings
(Tilburg, The Netherlands) October, 2012.
Five Day Workshop - Disperse Dye and Transfer Printing
Fibre Arts@Ballarat (Ballarat, Victoria, Australia) 6th to 12th April 2013.
Two Day Workshop - Disperse Dye and Transfer Printing
EFTAG (Tuross Head, NSW, Australia) 13th to 14th April 2013.
Two Day Workshop - Disperse Dye and Transfer Printing
Zijdelings Studio (Tilburg, The Netherlands) 9th to 10th October 2014.
PCA - Celebrating 50 Years in 2016
Art Quill Studio 2016 Workshop Program (Newcastle, Australia).
Image Dreamings: Basic Silk Screen Printing Workshop - Part I
2016 Art Quill Studio Workshop Program (Newcastle, Australia).
Image Dreamings: Basic Silk Screen Printing Workshop - Part II
2016 Art Quill Studio Workshop Program (Newcastle, Australia).
In Pursuit of: Improvisational Screen Printing Workshop
2016 Art Quill Studio Workshop Program (Newcastle, Australia).
In Pursuit of: Low Relief Screen Printing (LRSP) Workshop 2016
2016 Art Quill Studio Workshop Program (Newcastle, Australia).
Art Quill Studio 2017 Workshop Program
2017 Art Quill Studio Workshop Program (Newcastle, Australia).
In Pursuit of: Low Relief Screen Printing (LRSP)
2017 Art Quill Studio Workshop Program (Newcastle, Australia).
In Pursuit of Complex Cloth: Layered Printing Approaches
2017 Art Quill Studio Workshop Program (Newcastle, Australia).
Melding Experiences: New Landscapes Using Disperse Dyes and Transfer Printing.
2019 Art Quill Studio Workshop (NCEATA, Newcastle, Australia).
Introduction
In “Improvisational Screen Printing” the printed image is not under complete artistic control - as is the case in traditional screen printing. Hence, it is an exciting, creative process for the adventurous spirit who loves to play with serendipitous and spontaneous effects.
Improvisational screen printing techniques enable artists to carefully and deliberately seek random effects by using inexpensive, everyday materials like wax crayons, talcum powder, low relief texture items, fabric interfacing, drawing fluid and screen filler etc. in order to create multi-faceted rich and colorful layered imagery.
Improvisational screen printing includes the application of non-permanent, semi-permanent and permanent screen surface media. Non-permanent applications include wax crayons, talcum powder, low relief texture items, paper stencils, shredded paper, confetti and flour paste media. Semi-permanent applications include cold wax, soy wax, plastic stencils, multiple color interfacing stencils, tyvek stencils, freezer paper stencils, ezy cut stencils and drawing fluid and screen filler media. Permanent applications include photo emulsion, acrylic paint, commercial silkscreen block out and spray paint media. Both fabric paints and fabric dyes can be used with all of the above applications of these screen surface media.
I have written an article for Embellish Magazine – one of ArtWear’s publications. This magazine is a “how to do” magazine, giving step-by-step instructions on how to create exciting screen printed images on cloth. Of course, I will not cover the contents of the article such as; (i) properties of talc powder; (ii) materials needed; (iii) step-by-step instructions and intermediate outcomes of the technique. I will give you a feel for the technique and highlight some of the outcomes using it.
Front Cover of Embellish Magazine (Volume 3, Issue number 14, June 2013).
Talcum Powder Prints – An Improvisational Direct Stencil Technique
Talcum powder as a silkscreen media is non-permanent - but resilient - and allows a surprising amount of passes before you have to repeat the technique. The printed images have a lovely organic quality to them. Introducing interesting color combinations can add further interest to the textural quality of the printed works. Unique, richly printed fabrics can be created using fabric paints or thickened dyes.
Talcum powder screen printing employs a blank screen and a direct stencil technique. Direct stencils are prepared by applying a block out medium directly to the screen in the areas that do not print. They block the paint from penetrating the screen such as wax and other commercial products.
Simply put, when the talcum powder is placed and then silk screened, the talc particles swell and so impregnate themselves into the pores of the silkscreen in the pattern that you have sprinkled or drawn on the paper. Hence it fills those voids in the silkscreen and so acts as a resist to any further color that you may wish to transfer from the prepared talc silkscreen to the fabric.
ArtCloth Outputs Using Talcum Powder Screen Printing
Talcum powder silkscreen print employing black fabric paint on a white cotton substrate.
Talcum powder silkscreen print employing orange, green and black fabric paint on a dyed and discharged silk substrate.
Untitled
Talcum powder silkscreen print employing opaque yellow fabric paint using a stencil design through the central area of the piece. The piece includes breakdown screen printing, hand painting, mono printing and sponging techniques.
Talcum powder silkscreen print employing fuschia and yellow opaque fabric paint using a wax resist design on a paper substrate.
Social Networking
Mono printing, talcum powder silkscreen print employing fuschia and yellow opaque fabric paint using a wax resist design and photo emulsion silkscreened “fly” images on cotton substrate.
Introduction
Embroidery is the art of decorating a fabric or other materials by stitching designs using thread or yarn and a needle. Often, other materials such as metal strips, precious and semi-precious stones, and sequins are also used to adorn the fabric.
Chinese embroidery has a long history since Neolithic age. Due to the quality of silk fiber, most Chinese fine embroideries are made in silk. Some ancient vestiges of silk production have been found in various Neolithic sites dating back 5,000 - 6,000 years in China. Currently the earliest real sample of silk embroidery discovered in China is from a tomb in Mashan in Hubei province identified with the Zhango period (5th - 3rd centuries BC).
After the opening of Silk Road in the Han Dynasty silk production and trade became flourishing industry for China. In 14th century, the Chinese silk embroidery production reached its highest peak. Several major silk embroidery styles had been developed, like Song Jin (宋锦 Song embroidery) in Suzhou, Yun Jin (云锦 Cloud embroidery) in Nanjing and Shu Jin (蜀锦 Shu embroidery) in Sichuan.
Chinese Su Embroidery.
The Cambridge University Press has and will publish a large number of monographs as an “Introduction To Chinese Culture”. Of interests to the readership of this blog are such monographs as:
Chinese Clothing
China’s Museums
China’s Cultural Relics
Chinese Folk Arts
Chinese Painting
Chinese Arts And Crafts
…just to mention a few!
This art essay focuses on Chinese Silk, The Silk Road and the Art of Embroidery - one of the chapters in monograph - Chinese Clothing, authored by Hua Mei [1] – a must buy in the Cambridge University Press series!
Silk, The Silk Road and the Art of Embrodiery
At one time China was the only country that was producing and using silk. Chinese legend has it that a royal concubine of the Yellow Emperor, Leizu, was the first to cultivate silkworms and to produce silk. Ancient Chinese Emperors worshiped her as the silkworm goddess.
The Yellow Emperor (Huangdi) (2698-2598 BC) is a legendary ruler and ancestor of the Chinese people who is said to have lived for 100 - 118 years. He is credited with having invented Chinese medicine; various religious practices, including worship of the sun, moon, and five planets; and technological inventions, like the compass and calendar.
On the other hand, archaeological evidence shows that silk was used in China long before the days of Leizu. In 1958 at the Liangzhu historical site some silk textiles were excavated from 4,700 years ago, including silk threads, silk ribbons, silk strings, and pieces of silk - all held in a basket. These historical relics have been carbonized and so are barely discernable. Nevertheless, the warps and wefts patterns were still evident.
A historical site comprising of a system of dams has recently been found in Liangzhu Town in Zhejiang Province. This has been identified as the earliest example of hydraulic engineering in China, and extends the history of China’s water conservancy back to more than 4,800 years ago.
As early as 3,000 years ago, the Shang Dynasty (1766 – 1121 BC) bone and tortoise shell inscriptions had characters that represented the silkworm, mulberry tree, silk and gauze, thereby indicating that silk terminology was very much in use even in the lexicon of the Chinese language.
A great deal of knowledge of the Shang Dynasty has been learned from the studies of the oracle bone inscriptions. From the studies of many scholars, about 2,000 characters among the more than 4,500 different characters found on the bones have been identified.
In the Spring, Autumn (722 - 403 BC) and Warring States (475 – 221 BC) periods, agricultural development reached new levels of importance. With agriculture, men and women labor was realigned - men were allocated to the more physical taxing chores of farming and women, who were child bearing, child rearing or family supervising, were assigned domestic duties. Hence women were responsible for cloth making and so collecting raw material for weaving. Weaving became a labor-intensive chore.
Detail from the Song Dynasty silk scroll – “Silkworm Breeding”. The painting shows the silkworm breeding scenes in Jangsu and Zhejiang Provinces.
Courtesy by Wang Shucun – see reference[1].
The oldest cloths ever found date back to the Warring States period (475 – 221 BC) and were unearthed in Hebei province, as in the case of this unlined garment with the tiger below on the left (detail view) and the phoenix.
The planting of mulberry trees, the cultivation of silkworms as well as silk reeling, was highly developed technology of these times. Silk reeling derives from the twisting and spiraling movements of the silkworm larva as it wraps itself in it's cocoon, and to the metaphorical principle of "reeling the silk from a silk worm’s cocoon”. In order to draw out the silk successfully the action must be smooth and consistent without jerking or changing direction sharply. Too fast and the silk breaks whereas if too slow it sticks to itself and becomes tangled. Thus silk reeling movements are continuous, cyclic, spiraling patterns performed at constant speed with the "light touch" of drawing silk. Silk reeling is trained in solo forms and stances as well as in pushing hands with a partner.
Turkestan in 1862. The men are reeling silk. The older man on the right is boiling the silk cocoons and feeding the silk strands up over the wooden frame leaning over the pot. The younger man is guiding the strands onto the charkha for winding.
By the Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD) the art of spinning and weaving moved even further forward with yarns made from 4 or 5 strands of thread, and each thread was spun from 14 to 15 pieces of fibers, so that each yarn was made up of 54 pieces of fiber. Developments in spinning also advance the art of dyeing and embroidery, giving the finished garment extra embellishment.
Han Dynasty Embroidery.
From the evolution of the Bronze culture (3000 – 1900 BC) trade began between China and its neighboring countries as early as 2000 BC - in central and western Asia. Exchange among different peoples with different cultures and regions informed and enhanced garment development. By the fifth century BC, Chinese textiles started to appear in Western Europe.
Silk was so adored and expensive in the West that In 273 AD the wife of Emperor Aurelian ordered a Purpura dyed silk garment. The Emperor decreed that the sale be canceled. The silk was imported from China (using the China "silk road" trade route, which was established just before this date). The cost of the silk garment for Aurelian's wife would have cost its weight in gold; that is how much the various traders charged for silk per order.
Silk Road(s).
The Greeks and Romans called China “Serica” and the Chinese people were known as “Seris”, both of which were derived from the word “Serge” or silk. Chinese silk was also imported into India very early in history. For example as early as the second century AD, there was already in place a law in India prohibiting the theft of silk.
Above, a cloth with Buddhist images, Northern Wei period (386 - 534). The technique of weaving under the Northern and Southern Dynasties (420 - 581) remained essentially unchanged, being just a prosecution of the Han weaving tradition; the most notable innovation is the introduction of Buddhist motifs.
By 482 - 565 AD two monks returning from China brought Justinian I silk worm eggs hidden in a stick. As a result Byzantium was able to free itself from the enormous cost of transporting the material and the high duties levied by the Persians. By the mid-sixth century AD, the entire process of silk making – from the production of raw material to weaving of the finished product – was known in the East Roman Empire.
Eastern Roman Empire. It finally collapse in 1453 with Constantinople taken and looted by the Roman Catholic Crusade.
What is known as the Silk Road started from Chang’an (today named Xi’an) – then the capital of the Western Han – and extended all the way to the Baltic Sea. As one portion of the road extended to the West, another portion of the road headed eastwards to Japan. In 107 AD the Japanese Emperor sent a delegation of 160 people to China to learn the art of embroidery, sewing and the weaving of brocade. For the next 100 years many artisans from Japan were sent to China to learn specific crafts, while China sent weavers to Japan significantly developing the art of silk in Japan.
Mary Wood’s Book - The Craft of Temari – The Ancient Japanese Embroidery.
In ca. 457 AD Emperor Yuryaku Tenno is said to have been extremely enthusiastic about th craft of textile and embroidery, and ordered his concubines to raise silkworms so that he could realize his dream of Japan becoming the “kingdom of garments”. On his deathbed he mourned that his dream was not realized in his lifetime.
Legendary Emperor Yuryaku Tenno.
In the “Lectures on the Art of Clothing” which was published in Japan, garments of various Japanese periods of Asuka (538 – 710), Nara period (710 – 794) and the early Heian period (794 – 1185) were basically imitations from the age of Sui and Tang. In particular clothing of the Chinese period strongly influenced Japanese decorative patterns and so included such motifs as the crane, ocean waves, dragon, turtle shells, phoenix and the qilin. These motifs were specifically used on garments made for highly ranked Japanese government officials during the Heian period.
Raifuku – Front of the outer robe of the ceremonial court costume of Emperor Komei (1846 – 1866) 19th century (Imperial Collection of Japan) - illustrating Japanese adoption of Chinese motifs.
A gentlewoman in a court-style costume; Tang dynasty (618 - 907).
The “Silk Road over the sea” refers to trade between China and the coastal and island regions of South East Asia and Africa. Such trading began in the Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD). The Roman Empire at the time offered for silk such items as ivory, rhinoceros horns and turtle shells, whereas Persia, India, Sri Lanka and Cambodia added different items for trade such as pearls, feathers, spices, glass and cotton for silk fabrics. The Silk Road over the sea reached its peak in the Yuan (1231 - 1368) and Ming (1368 - 1644) Dynasties.
Short top with long skirt tied with a silk waistband; Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644).
Embroidery reached new heights in the Qin (221 – 206 BC) and Han (206 BC – 220 AD) Dynasties. For example, a workshop set up in Linzi, capital of the Qi Kingdom, was dedicated exclusively for making official court uniforms – with thousands of weavers hired to achieve this. All the rich wore the “five colored brocade” and decorated their furniture with silks and embroideries.
The five colors used for the Han (206 BC – 220 AD) pattern woven silks.
The Song (960 - 1279) dynasty is the peak of Chinese embroidery both in terms of quantity of garments produced and their quality. The social pressures created an atmosphere for this to occur. In this agricultural age, all women were required to learn needlecraft. Hence embroidery was a basic skill needed in order for women to be accepted by society and moreover, embroidery itself was seen to be an art form, indicating a cultivated voice of taste and creativity. Moreover, many of the embroidered ideas originated from depicting works of art by painters, thereby indicating a cultured education.
Song Dynasty (960 - 1279). This upper-class woman wears a narrow-sleeved wrap top over an underskirt. The long skirt is held at the waist by an embroidered pocket. The long scarf serves as a shawl. Her “double bun” hairstyle is adorned with jewels and clasps.
In the Ming (1368 - 1644) and later Qing (1644 - 1911) Dynasties, embroidery reached its peak in popularity. In two hundred years spanning the Qing (1368 - 1644) Dynasty local schools of embroidery were commonplace, the most famous being the Suzhou, Guangdong, Sichuan, Hunan, Beijing and Shandong Schools. All of these schools borrowed heavily from their local and ethnic cultures.
Formal robe with dragon pattern on the dark blue background. Ming (1368 - 1644) Dynasty in Kong’s family collection.
Five colors used in the Ming (1368 - 1644) brocade silk.
An embroidered red satin robe for women; Qing (1644 - 1911) dynasty.
A purple satin robe with double sleeves; Qing (1644 - 1911) dynasty.
A blue satin imperial with golden dragons; Qing (1644 - 1911) dynasty.
Today machines have replaced the human hand and fashion is now internationally connected. The art of Embroidery has been preserved asa part of China’s great cultural heritage. What is often not recognized in the West is that China is a pluralistic society which contains many ethnic minority people who have their own voice in using embroidery – a taste of which is given below.
Yi women of Chuxiong Prefecture,Yunnan Province,in their ethnic clothes.
Embroidered Woman's Velvet Mandarin Jacket. Uygur Nationality Kashi, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Qing Dynasty.
Braided embroidered material for making sleeves. Miao Nationality Taigong, Guizhou Province. Late 20th century.
Women of Dong ethnic group make embroidery works at Tongle Village in Sanjiang Dong Autonomous County, southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
A Tibetan woman displays her Tibetan embroidery, a special genre of embroidery featuring Tibetan decorative patterns, in Guinan County, Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, southeastern Qinghai Province.
Mongolian robes in Zha Lute region.
Kazakh embroidery.
China, Yunnan, near Kunming, Yunnan Nationalities Village, close-up of skirt of Jingpo woman.
Reference:
[1] H. Mei, Chinese Clothing, Cambridge University Press, Melbourne (2011).
Preamble
This blogspot exhibits many of my students outputs from a variety of workshops. There are one, two and five day workshops as well as workshops that have a different focus. Nevertheless, it always surprises me how much I learn from my students and how enthusiastic they are to learn and so for your convenience, I have listed the workshop posts below.
Visual Communication and Design (The University of Newcastle Multi-Media Course).
The University of Newcastle (Newcastle and Ourimbah Campuses, NSW, Australia) 2008 to 2010.
In Pursuit of ArtCloth:Improvisational Screen Printing Workshop
The Australian Textile Arts & Surface Design Association Inc. Sydney, NSW.
One and Two Day Disperse Dye Workshops
Various Textile Groups (Australia) 2008 - 2011.
Five Day Workshop - In Pursuit of Complex Cloth
“Wrapt in Rocky” Textile Fibre Forum Conference (Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia) 29th June to 5th July 2008.
Five Day Workshop – In Pursuit of Complex Cloth
Orange Textile Fiber Forum (Orange, NSW, Australia) 19th to 25th April 2009.
5 Day Workshop – In Pursuit of Complex Cloth
Geelong Fiber Forum (Geelong, Victoria, Australia) 27th September to 3rd October 2009.
Two Day Workshop - Deconstructed and Polychromatic Screen Printing
Beautiful Silks (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) 20th to 21st March 2010.
Five Day Workshop – Disperse Dye and Transfer Printing
“Wrapt in Rocky” Biennial Textile Forum/Conference Program (Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia) 25th June to 1st July 2010.
Two Day Workshop – Improvisational Screen Printing
ATASDA (Sydney, NSW, Australia) 28th to 29th August 2010.
Two Day Workshop – In Pursuit of Complex Cloth (Day One)
”Stitching and Beyond” Textile Group (Woodbridge, Tasmania, Australia) 2nd to 3rd October 2010.
Two Day Workshop – In Pursuit of Complex Cloth (Day Two)
”Stitching and Beyond” Textile Group (Woodbridge, Tasmania, Australia) 2nd to 3rd October 2010.
Advance Silk Screen Printing
Redcliffe City Art Gallery Redcliffe, Queensland, Australia) 10th April 2011.
One Day Workshop - In Pursuit of Complex Cloth
The Victorian Feltmakers Inc. (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) 14th May 2011.
One Day Workshop - In Pursuit of Complex Cloth (Felted and Silk Fibers)
Victorian Feltmakers Inc (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) 15th May 2011.
Five Day Workshop – Disperse Dye and Transfer Printing
SDA (Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA) 13th to 17th June 2011.
Five Day Disperse Dye Master Class – Barbara Scott
Art Quill Studio (Arcadia Vale, NSW, Australia) 15th to 19th August 2011.
Five Day Workshop – Disperse Dye and Transfer Printing
Fiber Arts Australia (Sydney, NSW, Australia) 26th September to 1st October 2011.
One Day Workshop – Improvisational Screen Printing
Newcastle Printmakers Workshop Inc. (Newcastle, NSW, Australia) 5th November 2011.
One Day Workshops – Low Relief Screen Printing
Various classes within Australia.
Two Day Workshop – Disperse Dye and Transfer Printing
ATASDA (Sydney, NSW, Australia) 23rd to 24th June 2012.
MSDS Demonstration at Zijdelings
(Tilburg, The Netherlands) October, 2012.
Five Day Workshop - Disperse Dye and Transfer Printing
Fibre Arts@Ballarat (Ballarat, Victoria, Australia) 6th to 12th April 2013.
Two Day Workshop - Disperse Dye and Transfer Printing
EFTAG (Tuross Head, NSW, Australia) 13th to 14th April 2013.
Two Day Workshop - Disperse Dye and Transfer Printing
Zijdelings Studio (Tilburg, The Netherlands) 9th to 10th October 2014.
PCA - Celebrating 50 Years in 2016
Art Quill Studio 2016 Workshop Program (Newcastle, Australia).
Image Dreamings: Basic Silk Screen Printing Workshop - Part I
2016 Art Quill Studio Workshop Program (Newcastle, Australia).
Image Dreamings: Basic Silk Screen Printing Workshop - Part II
2016 Art Quill Studio Workshop Program (Newcastle, Australia).
In Pursuit of: Improvisational Screen Printing Workshop
2016 Art Quill Studio Workshop Program (Newcastle, Australia).
In Pursuit of: Low Relief Screen Printing (LRSP) Workshop 2016
2016 Art Quill Studio Workshop Program (Newcastle, Australia).
Art Quill Studio 2017 Workshop Program
2017 Art Quill Studio Workshop Program (Newcastle, Australia).
In Pursuit of: Low Relief Screen Printing (LRSP)
2017 Art Quill Studio Workshop Program (Newcastle, Australia).
In Pursuit of Complex Cloth: Layered Printing Approaches
2017 Art Quill Studio Workshop Program (Newcastle, Australia).
Melding Experiences: New Landscapes Using Disperse Dyes and Transfer Printing.
2019 Art Quill Studio Workshop (NCEATA, Newcastle, Australia).
In Pursuit of ArtCloth:
Disperse Dye and Transfer Printing Workshop
2022 Two Day Workshop (ATASDA, Sydney, NSW, Australia).
Introduction
Glenys Mann - founder and owner of Fibre Arts Australia – organizes five-day textile/fiber conferences throughout Australia, which feature highly talented international artists and designers, who share their knowledge and practices. My time at Fibre Arts@Ballarat 2013 was an immensely rich and rewarding experience and I am grateful to Glenys, my students and the other tutor’s (see last weeks post) who made it such a memorable event.
If you are contemplating doing a five-day workshop in Victoria I would highly recommend attendance at next year’s Fibre Arts@Ballarat 2014. It will be a fun filled and rewarding experience for all who attend. See the following url for more information about the 2014 Fibre Arts@Hunters Hill and other conference workshop programs – see "Fibre Arts Australia".
Five-Day Workshop Synopsis
This workshop – “In Pursuit of ArtCloth: Disperse Dye and Transfer Printing” - was organized by Fibre Arts Australia as part of the Fibre Arts@Ballarat 2013 conference/workshop program. It was held at Ballarat and Queen's Anglican Grammar School in Wendouree, Ballarat, Victoria, from the 6th – 12th April 2013.
The following attended the workshop: Bernadette Dillon (Vic), Cathy Faull (Vic), Karlyn Hanchard (SA), Patricia Jones (NSW), Marea McGuire (Vic), Sylvia Taylor (Vic), Isabelle Vu (Vic). Isabelle Vu, a student from Loreto College Ballarat was awarded a 'Fibres Ballarat Scholarship' to attend the workshop.
This five-day workshop was an introduction to the dye sublimation process (transfer printing) and melded participants experiences as valuable resources to create new artistic landscapes using disperse dyes. Participants created their own custom dyed fabric using disperse dyes via direct imaging, experimental and layering exercises. They applied painted, textured, printed imagery onto papers with disperse dyes and then transfer/sublimated the prints to polyester and blended synthetic fabrics to create a suite of color and pattern studies via an iron or heat press. Participants were also introduced to the tutor’s signature MultiSperse Dye Sublimation (MSDS) technique featuring multiple layering and resists employing flora as ‘the thematic’ experience. The MSDS works imbue richly colored, textural and vibrant 3-dimensional imaging to the cloth surface. With these new skills participants could then collage, layer, applique, hand & machine embellish their newly made fabrics into truly unique creative expressions.
In summary, a fun and exciting workshop, where individual instruction and experimentation forged the potential of each participant. All levels were welcome to attend. See participant’s outputs below.
Workshop Participants
From left: Sylvia Taylor, Bernadette Dillon, Isabelle Vu, Patricia Jones, Marea McGuire, Cathy Faull and Karlyn Hanchard.
Some of the Student's Outputs
Bernadette Dillon (a) Personal exploration employing hand painting, texture, design and color study on satin.
Bernadette Dillon (b) Personal exploration employing hand painting, texture, design and color study on satin.
Bernadette Dillon (c) Personal exploration employing hand painting, texture, resist and color study on polyester.
Bernadette Dillon (d) MultiSperse Dye Sublimation (MSDS) technique employing flora on polyester.
Bernadette Dillon (e) MultiSperse Dye Sublimation (MSDS), flora and color wash techniques on synthetic fibre.
Cathy Faull (a) MultiSperse Dye Sublimation (MSDS) technique employing flora on satin: version 1.
Cathy Faull (b) Multi colour wash, resist and contrast study including line art imagery on polyester.
Cathy Faull (c) MultiSperse Dye Sublimation (MSDS) technique employing flora on satin: version 2.
Cathy Faull (d) MultiSperse Dye Sublimation (MSDS) technique employing flora on polyester: version 3.
Cathy Faull (e) Personal exploration employing hand painting, texture, design, overprinting and color study.
Karlyn Hanchard (a) Personal exploration employing hand painting, resist, texture and color study on synthetic fibre.
Karlyn Hanchard (b) Personal exploration employing hand painting, texture, layering, overprinting and color study.
Karlyn Hanchard (c) Hand painting, stencil resist, overprinting and contrast study.
Karlyn Hanchard (d) Multiple resist and contrast study employing numerous stencils on polyester.
Karlyn Hanchard (e) MultiSperse Dye Sublimation (MSDS) technique employing flora on satin.
Patricia Jones (a) Personal exploration employing hand painting, texture, resists and color study on velvet.
Patricia Jones (b) MultiSperse Dye Sublimation (MSDS) technique employing flora on satin: version 1.
Patricia Jones (c) MultiSperse Dye Sublimation (MSDS) technique employing flora on satin: version 2.
Patricia Jones (d) MultiSperse Dye Sublimation (MSDS) technique employing flora on velvet: version 3.
Patricia Jones (e) Multi colour wash, resist and contrast study including line art imagery.
Marea McGuire (a) Batik style-resist, texture and color study on polyester.
Marea McGuire (b) Multiple resist and contrast study employing numerous stencils.
Marea McGuire (c) Personal exploration employing hand painting, contrast, overprinting, design and color study on satin.
Marea McGuire (d) MultiSperse Dye Sublimation (MSDS) technique employing flora on satin: version 1.
Marea McGuire (e) MultiSperse Dye Sublimation (MSDS) technique employing flora on velvet: version 2.
Sylvia Taylor (a) Design study employing colour wash, stamping and overprinting techniques.
Sylvia Taylor (b) MultiSperse Dye Sublimation (MSDS) technique employing flora on synthetic blend.
Sylvia Taylor (c) Design study employing colour wash and negative ghost print on synthetic blend: version 1.
Sylvia Taylor (d) Design study employing colour wash and negative ghost prints on synthetic blend: version 2.
Sylvia Taylor (e) Personal exploration employing hand painting, resists, design and color study on synthetic blend.
Isabelle Vu (a) Multiple resist and contrast study employing numerous stencils on polyester.
Isabelle Vu (b) Multiple colour wash, texture and resist study on polyester.
Isabelle Vu (c) MultiSperse Dye Sublimation (MSDS) technique employing flora and textured colour washes: version 1.
Isabelle Vu (d) MultiSperse Dye Sublimation (MSDS) technique employing flora and textured colour washes: version 2.
Isabelle Vu (e) MultiSperse Dye Sublimation (MSDS) technique employing flora on satin.
"Top Table" Decorative Artworks
The "Top Table" was a fun and delightful concept as it set the tone for each dining event during the week.
Each class was responsible for decorating and eating at that table for one meal during the week. The decorations could be as wild or as serious as your imagination and workshop group desired. All decorations remained on the 'Top Table' until the end of the week. Al items were then sold and the monies collected for the Ballarat Scholarship Fund.
The workshop participants in my class decided to create a series of beautiful "Art Mats" where they employed disperse dyes and various techniques they had gleaned on synthetic velvet. Each Art Mat was A3 in size.
Bernadette Dillon.
Cathy Faull.
Karlyn Hanchard.
Patricia Jones.
Marea McGuire.
Sylvia Taylor.
Isabelle Vu.
Exhibition Workshop Display
Below you can see various views of some of the beautiful disperse dye printed works in the exhibition workshop display which culminated at the end of the week.
Exhibition Pic 1.
Hanging on the back wall from left: Magenta MSDS Wall Hanging by Sylvia Taylor, Blue MSDS Wall Hanging by Patricia Jones, Art Deco Wall Hanging by Bernadette Dillon, Leaf Scarf by Marea McGuire and two smaller Wall Pieces by Cathy Faull.
Exhibition Pic 2.
Exhibition Pic 3.
Exhibition Pic 4.
The piece on the front right hand side has been created by Isabelle Vu, student from Loreto College Ballarat who was awarded a 'Fibres Ballarat Scholarship' to attend the workshop. The piece is a small section of a larger work on chiffon that will be designed into a wearable art garment.
Exhibition Pic 5.
Exhibition Pic 6.
Exhibition Pic 7.
Exhibition Pic 8.
Exhibition Pic 9.
Exhibition Pic 10.
Exhibition Pic 11.
Exhibition Pic 12.
Front Cover of Embellish Magazine (Volume 3, Issue number 14, June 2013).
Talcum powder silkscreen print employing black fabric paint on a white cotton substrate.
Talcum powder silkscreen print employing orange, green and black fabric paint on a dyed and discharged silk substrate.
Untitled
Talcum powder silkscreen print employing fuschia and yellow opaque fabric paint using a wax resist design on a paper substrate.
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