Art Quill Studio
The Education Division of Art Quill & Co. Pty. Ltd.
Art Quill Studio Director: Marie-Therese Wisniowski.
This site will feature a new post each week centred on the following categories: ArtCloth, Art Glossaries, Fiber Arts, Prints on Paper, Textile Arts, Wearable Arts, and include posts from our publishing house that are pertinent to each of these categories.
Artist and Descriptor: Erika Carter, Nest VIII. Techniques and Materials: Machine pieced, discharged, machine and hand quilted; cotton, cotton thread. Size: 57 x 40 inches. Comment[1]: The nest is a metaphor for home, an image that alludes to temporality, resilency, fragility and strength.
Artist and Descriptor: Bean Gilsdorf, Quija #1. Techniques and Materials: Machine pieced, appliquéd, and quilted, hand dyed, painted, monoprinted; cotton, commercial cotton. Size: 47 x 50 inches. Comment[1]: This quilt is part of an ongoing series that I am using to explore issues of violence and loss.
Photograph courtsey of Dan Gilsdorf.
Artist and Descriptor: Jen Swearington, Good Humor. Techniques and Materials: Pieced, appliquéd, drawn, painted, hand and machine embroidered, free-motion machine quilted; sheets, houshold fabric, gesso, shellac, grease pencil, ribbon, thread, monofilament. Size: 34 x 24 inches.
Artist and Descriptor: Judith Plotner, Caution. Techniques and Materials: Machine pieced and appliquéd, photo transfer, hand quilted, machine embroidered; cotton. Size: 26 x 18 inches.
Artist and Descriptor: Donna Radner, Floating World #1. Techniques and Materials: Machine pieced and quilted, fused; cotton batik, variegated thread. Size: 64 x 56 inches.
Photograph courtsey of Mark Gulezian.
Artist and Descriptor: Phyllis Harper Loney, Landscape on a Young Planet. Techniques and Materials: Dye painted, machine quilted; fiber-reactive dye, sodium alginate, silk habotai, silk noil, batting. Size: 39 x 26 inches. Comment[1]: The layer patterns speak to me of the turbulent beauty of the millions of years of the creation of this world.
Photograph courtsey of Denis Griggs.
Artist and Descriptor: Barbara D. Cohen, Cityscape. Techniques and Materials: Dyed, discharged, machine pieced, appliquéd, embroidered, quilted; cotton, cotton velveteen, cotton and rayon thread. Size: 54 x 26 inches.
Photograph courtsey of Marcia Ward.
Artist and Descriptor: Jeanne Williamson, Orange Construction Fence #6. Techniques and Materials: Monoprinted, hand stamped, machine appliquéd and quilted; cotton, fabric paint, thread, batting. Size: 40 x 30.5 inches.
Photograph courtsey of David Caras.
Artist and Descriptor: Robin Schwalb, Strong Words. Techniques and Materials: Stenciled, piece, appliquéd, quilted; cotton. Size: 36 x 36 inches.
Photograph courtsey of Karen Bell.
Reference: [1] Ed S. M. Kieffer, Fibre Arts Design Book 7, Lark Books, New York (2004).
Introduction[1] Ever since ancient cave people used stenciling to produce impressions on their hands there have been printmakers. The earliest known relief prints are woodcuts dating from almost 2000 years ago in China, and from the medieval period onward many innovative printmaking techniques have appeared, such as engraving, etching, drypoint, lthography, mezzotint, photogravure, screen-printing etc.
Woodcut: Saint Sebastian
Traditional intaglio printmaking involves four steps, namely:
With intaglio, the inked image originates from the grooves just below the surface of the plate. Drypoint, engraving and etching are common intaglio processes with etching being the most favored. For a simple line etching, a printmaker draws with a sharpley pointed tool through a coating of an acid-resistant ground and when the plate is immersed in the acid bath, lines and grooves are etched into the exposed metal. The ground is then cleaned off, ink is applied to the plate so it sits in the etched lines, and the excess is wiped off the surface. Dampened paper is laid on the plate, covered with felt blankets and rolled through a press with sufficient pressure to force the flexible damp paper into the grooves, thus picking up the ink and transferring the design to the paper.
Intaglio prints can be created using solar plates [1]. Here UV light only penetrates the clear area of the transparency and hardens the polymer, whereas areas beneath the opaque lines of the drawing remain soluble [1].
Intaglio Prints Created Using Solar Plates[1] - Part I
Artist and Title: Laura Stark, Passport Series IV (1995). Technique: Two-plate intaglio print with relief embossment. Size: 61 x 45.7 cm. Comment[1]: Laura Stark has collaged text and images using a photocopier and transferred this to a solarplate to form the key plate. The background is a collagraph, an impression printed from a plate built from cardboard and other materials.
Courtesy of reference [1].
Artist and Title: Jo Peller, Gallery Opening (1997). Technique: Intaglio print. Size: 30.5 x 23 cm. Comment[1]: This Degas-like image was created by painting with etching ink on the polymer. The plate was exposed in the sun and printed using the a la poupée inking technique.
Courtesy of reference [1].
Artist and Title: Kelly Fearing, Dark Bird in Passage Searching (1996). Technique: Intaglio print. Size: 45.7 x 61 cm. Comment[1]: Made from an original drawing, enlarged on to a photocopy transparency and reworked with lithographic crayons, ink, and scraping back techniques. The plate was printed by Jerry Manson with a special mixture of Charbonnel and Graphic Chemical & Ink Co intense black, to achieve a rich deep black color.
Courtesy of reference [1].
Artist and Title: Soledad Salamé, Invisible World (1998). Technique: Intaglio print and gold leaf. Size: 61 x 45.7 cm. Comment[1]: Originally drawn on acetate, this print demonstrates how solarplate can capture subtle tones and fine brush work. The artist added gold leaf after printing the image.
Courtesy of reference [1].
Artist and Title: Nick Sememoff, Contemplation (1999). Technique: Intaglio print. Size: 38 x 28 cm. Comment[1]: Nick Semenoff used photocopy toner dissolved in a solvent to paint on clear acetate, and then heat set the rresulting image before creating the solarplate.
Courtesy of reference [1].
Artist and Title: Dieter Engler, Glencoe Farm V (1998). Technique: Two plate intaglio print. Size: 39.5 x 27 cm. Comment[1]: Dieter Engler created the transparencies for this solarplate by painting with gouche on drafting film in an expressive manner.
Courtesy of reference [1].
Artist and Title: Brad Cushman, Cubism: Work Done by Cuban Artists (1994). Technique: Intaglio print. Size: 12 x 9.5 cm. Comment[1]: To create this image, Brad Cushman collaged a photocopy of Fidel Castro's head on to the body of Pablo Picasso.
Courtesy of reference [1].
Reference: [1] D.Welden and P. Muir, Printmaking in the Sun, Watson-Guptill Publications, New York (1997).
Introduction The very first post I published on this blogspot (26th of August, 2010) was the ArtCloth exhibition that I curated and that was funded in order to tour it throughtout Australia. It was titled - ArtCloth: Engaging New Visions. Twenty one ArtCloth works were exhibited from 21 artists who resided in Britain, Europe, Japan, the USA and Australia.
Joan Truckenbrod (USA) was invited to open the exhibition, but unfortunately due to unforseen circumstances she was unable to fly to Australia. Els van Baarle (The Netherlands) flew to Australia and at the last minute agreed to open the exhibition. She gave a wonderful impromptu opening speech.
Her ArtCloth work - Nothing is the Same I & II - reflected on the loss of her husband and so was an emotional work for others to experience.
Els van Baarle, Marie-Therese Wisniowski and Cherilyn Martin catching up at the opening of the "Memory Cloth. Rememberings in Textile" exhibition.
This piqued my interest in ArtCloth and Art Quilts in the Netherlands and so in 2015, whilst at the Textile Lab in Tilburg, I purchased Henk Lijding, Art Quilts in Nederland, which gives a wounderful insight into the work of so many quilters in the Netherlands.
Art Quilts in the Netherlands - Part I[1]
Artist and Title of Work: Els van Baarle, You Are Here (2012). Materials and Techniques: Batik, silkscreened. Size: 30 x 300 cm.
Courtesy of reference[1].
Close up of a section of the above.
Courtesy of reference[1].
Artist and Title of Work: Els van Baarle, Opening (2012). Materials and Techniques: Batik, silk-screened. Size: 160 x 160 cm.
Courtesy of reference[1].
Artist and Title of Work: Els van Baarle, Is That ALL There Is? (2010). Materials and Techniques: Silk-screened on newspaper and organza. Size: 80 x 130 cm.
Courtesy of reference[1].
Close up of a section of the above work.
Courtesy of reference[1].
Artist and Title of Work: Cherilyn Martin, Honourable Age II (2012). Materials and Techniques: Paper pulp on mull, 178 stitches. Size: 55 x 310 cm.
Courtesy of reference[1].
Close up of a section of the above work.
Courtesy of reference[1].
Artist and Title of Work: Cherilyn Martin, It's The Stones that Speak 5 (2006). Materials and Techniques: Paper on textile. Size: 102 x 95 cm.
Courtesy of reference[1].
Artist and Title of Work: Cherilyn Martin, It's The Stones that Speak 7 (2012). Materials and Techniques: Plastic on textile. Size: 155 x 148 cm.
Courtesy of reference[1].
Reference: [1] H. Lijding, Art Quilts in Nederland, W Books, Amsterdam (2013).
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The Art Resource series will be the first post in each calendar month. Remember - these Art Resource posts span information that will be useful for a home hobbyist to that required by a final year University Fine-Art student and so undoubtedly, some parts of any Art Resource post may appear far too technical for your needs (skip over those mind boggling parts) and in other parts, it may be too simplistic with respect to your level of knowledge (ditto the skip). The trade-off between these two extremes will mean that Art Resource posts will hopefully be useful in parts to most, but unfortunately may not be satisfying to all!
Introduction The name 'vat' was derived from the large wooden vessel from which vat dyes were first applied. Vat dyes generate textile materials with the best color-fastness of all dyes in common use. The fibers most readily colored with vat dyes are the natural and man-made cellulosic fibers.
Some vat dyes.
A vat dyed textile.
Courtesy of tracymaccabestewart.com
Vat dyes belong to the chemical family of anthraquinone dyes, which were first synthesized in 1901. The vat dyes are mostly sold in the oxidized form, sometimes as dry solids, but more often as aqueous paste. Perhaps the most well known vat dye is indigotin (indigo).
Vat Green 8, C.I. 71050.
Note: An anthraquinone type vat dye, which illustrates the enormous size of vat dye molecules.
Courtesy of reference[1].
The vat dyes are large flat molecules insoluble in water and so in this form unsuitable for dyeing. Firstly, vat dyes need to be made soluble and this is achieved with a reduction reaction using sodium hydrosulfite under strong alkali conditions in the absence of air in order to produce the leuco form of the vat dye (normally a hydroxide form). This form is also a flat linear molecule but in this form is water-soluble. The leuco form generally is white or colorless. The soluble leuco form is then applied to the cotton fiber from an alkaline reductive bath. When the alkali on the fiber is neutralized, using acetic acid, the oxygen in the air oxidizes the dye back to its insoluble form.
Oxidation returns the Vat dye into the insoluble form.
Note: The leuco form is colorless and soluble in water, whereas the oxidized form has color and is insoluble in water. Also, this diagram highlights that many vat dyes have an anthraquinone skeleton.
Courtesy of reference[2].
Dyeing with Vat Dyes The application of vat dyes to cellulosic materials occurs in five stages. We shall deal with each stage separately.
(i) Aqueous Dispersion: The insoluble vat dye is dispersed in water.
(ii) Vatting: This step involves the chemical reduction of the vat dye to produce the soluble, reduced or the leuco form of the dye. This is achieved by sodium hydrosulfite, sodium hydroxide and water. The sodium hydrosulfite chemically reduces the vat dye in the alkaline conditions, created by the presence of sodium hydroxide. Note: Vatting stage also temporarily alters the original color of the dye.
(iii) Absorption of Dye Molecules by the Fiber: The vatted dyed molecules are substantive to the cellulosic textile material that is introduced into the dye liquor. To achieve adequate exhaustion, an electrolyte is added to the dye liquor and the temperature may be increased depending on the specific vat dye. The application of the dye molecule to the fiber occurs at temperatures specific to a particular vat dye and usually occurs between 20oC to 60oC. The addition of an electrolyte alters the equilibrium of the dye liquor so as to increase the substantivity of the dye molecule to the fiber polymer system. During this stage of the dye application, the textile material must be kept immersed in the dye liquor to prevent premature oxidation of the leuco compound.
(iv) Re-Oxidation of Dye Molecules within the Fiber: Once within the fiber polymer system, the leuco form of the vat dye has to be oxidized and converted to its original color and to its original insoluble form of the dye. Oxidation of the leuco compound can be achieved by atmospheric oxygen, although this is somewhat slow. In practice, a mild oxidizing reagent, such as sodium perborate, is used to convert the soluble leuco form into the original insoluble vat dye.
(v) Soaping-Off Vat Dyes: During stage (iv) some of the vat will be deposited on the surface of the fiber, and the surface dye must be removed to prevent poor rub-fastness as well as to prevent a possible change of shade which would occur as the surface dye becomes removed over a period of time. Soaping-off, which involves the boiling of the dyed material in a liquor containing some suitable detergent, removes the surface dyes.
Note: The size of the vat dyes and the way they become entangled in the amorphous regions of the fiber polymer system, their substantivity for the fiber polymer system, the weak van der Waals forces of attraction, and their insolubility in water, all complement one another to prevent loss of dye during the soaping-off process.
Printing with Vat Dyes Printing of textile materials with dyes is achieved through the preparation of a paste with stabilized reduced vat dye. The fabric is printed with the design and dye fixation is obtained by steaming to achieve adequate penetration of the fiber polymer system by the dye molecule. The textile material is then oxidized and soaped-off as in the case of dyeing.
When the fabric is removed from the dye bath, generally the vat dye inside the fibre is quite wash-fast (since they are insoluble in water), whereas the dye on the surface of the fiber is not so fixed and can be easily rubbed off. Soaping – washing the dyed fabric in near-boiling soapy water – removes the excess dye molecules from the surface as well as promoting aggregation and orientation of the dye molecules within the fibers. You should note that some vat dyes are sensitive to ultraviolet light, whereas others have excellent light fastness.
Properties of Vat Dyes Light-Fastness
The light-fastness of vat dyes rates about 7, which translates as excellent. This is attributed to the stable electronic configuration of the vat dye chromophores to resist the degrading effects of UV sunlight. The presence of numerous very electronically stable benzene rings contributes to the vat dyes resistance to UV sunlight degradation.
Wash-Fastness
The wash-fastness of vat dyes rates between 4-5, which translates as excellent. The reason for this is simple. The vat dyes are very large molecules and so once they entered via enlarged voids (due to heating) of the amorphous regions of fiber polymer system, on cooling these entry/exit voids shrink in size, entrapping and tangling the vat dyes in this region. This is further assisted by weak van der Waals forces of attraction that the vat dyes have for the fiber molecules. Laundering fading is further resisted since vat dyes are insoluble in water and so repel water rather be attracted to it.
Cost of Vat Dyes
Vat dyes have always been very expensive compared with other dye classes and are invariably used when good fastness properties are required.
Solubilized Vat Dyes
As with sulfur dyes, the solubilized form of the vat dye has been developed. This has made vat dyes easier to handle and results in more level dyeing.
References: [1] E.P.G. Gohl and L.D. Vilensky, Textile Science, Longman Cheshire, Melbourne (1989).
[2] A Fritz and J. Cant, Consumer Textiles, Oxford University Press, Melbourne (1986).
Artist and Descriptor: Erika Carter, Nest VIII.
Artist and Descriptor: Bean Gilsdorf, Quija #1.
Artist and Descriptor: Jen Swearington, Good Humor.
Artist and Descriptor: Judith Plotner, Caution.
Artist and Descriptor: Donna Radner, Floating World #1.
Artist and Descriptor: Phyllis Harper Loney, Landscape on a Young Planet.
Artist and Descriptor: Barbara D. Cohen, Cityscape.
Artist and Descriptor: Jeanne Williamson, Orange Construction Fence #6.
Artist and Descriptor: Robin Schwalb, Strong Words.
