Saturday 16 February 2013

We interupt this program


 For a tribute to Valentine's day, well it had to be done ;) Above is my card to him & below his card to me. Lovely.


 Note that on my card to him there's a little bit of experimental fme.

 Above is college work - this is the actual plate of an experimental collograph. It's amazing to see what texture comes out which way. Lots to learn. Below is the second pull on wet paper. The first was so gloopy with ink I left it behind along with a couple of others to dry.



the next 3 pics are plate clean offs
 




 Below is some drawing into the last of the rolled out ink. We need to get 2 'perfect pieces' done over the next 4 weeks to hand in, having chosen 2 of the techniques - no thumb prints or blobs of ink, never mind which image to choose...it's that word perfect that gets me ;(


Had a go at some rust dyeing in fabric. I'd forgotten I had Cloth paper Scissors 'Surface Explorations' & it was an article in there. Sorry no link.


 24 hours was suggested but I didn't get back to my trays of fabric for 4 days! I know most people CAN'T WAIT to open their bundles. These are a little over cooked but I'm 'well pleased'!

 I couldn't waste the rusty juice in the trays but how do you neutralise just printed paper?

So, onto the hearts proper. I seem to have lost the ability to free machine stitch. I did a super quick 'sample' & made it into a card on Wednesday, having painted loads of hearts earlier that day. But from then on all my machine would let me do while free machining was sound like it was having a heart attack (hmmm)  or a car back firing, the gold thread would magically re thread itsself thru the needle twice - it's all I can do to see the eye to thread it the first time & leave me with a classic birds nest underneath. I changed the needle, I actually found a hoop....me! I changed the thread, then I looked under the plate, having decided to work step by step thru the manual, even tho  no where mentions fme, just darning. Oh boy, someone on line said a tiny bit of fluff might do it, well, I had a forrest of the stuff - nice & clean now, still birds nests. Could it be after all these years I may be winding the bobbin the wrong way round? Jury's out on that one ;)


 So the 4 hearts pic above the above are cards, well, will be.  about 2x2" The 6 here were meant to be a beautiful 21 or so heart wall hanging with lots of gold foil, see the burnt out bit top left, looks better on the card - lots of fme lots of layers.


So here's the rest to work on, Brusho ink painted white cotton ish stuff - I don't like the more insipid ones as much but there'll eventually be more cards, 15 more of the bigger  hearts, about 3 x 3" a cuff or 2, brooches & a book cover bottom middle there. It will still happen, one day, the darning foot facility works fine...generally. Maybe the neighbor up for the w/e using his chain saw next door  didn't help...

20 comments:

suziqu's thread works said...

Amazing works here Emma. Love your final Valentine's Card.
Especially love the rust dyeing experiments.
I always for some reason have trouble free machine quilting with metallic thread. Maye try a "jeans" needle with a bigger eye and check your bobbin.
Love all of your results!
x Suzy

suziqu's thread works said...

Amazing works here Emma. Love your final Valentine's Card.
Especially love the rust dyeing experiments.
I always for some reason have trouble free machine quilting with metallic thread. Maye try a "jeans" needle with a bigger eye and check your bobbin.
Love all of your results!
x Suzy

Cate Rose said...

Your hearts are just precious and your printmaking is fabulous. Love the colographs especially. xo

Heloise said...

You have been very busy. It's so maddening when the machine does that. Hope it feels happier next time you use it. Really like the rich blue used on the cool graph plate.

Heloise said...

Colograph.! I dislike predictive text and missed it.

Julie said...

Lovely busy post today. The collagraphs look exciting, lots of potential to follow up on. Have you tried using the metallic in the bobbin and working from the back? also are you using a good quality metallic or a cheapie one? Some of the cheapie ones behave really badly through the needle but are ok in the bobbin. You can get 'metallic' needles which have a bit of a groove in them for the thread to run in. Also they wear the needle very quickly and that can cause problems. Hope you can sort it out.

Anonymous said...

Love those collagraphs Emma, all the prints from the first to the wash offs...love leftovers and I know you do, always something to see and recreate with coming from your studio....Sounds like Julie can sort out your metallic issue. I have some thread issues with these new combo color threads, trial and error I guess. xox

Suztats said...

Your rusty bits fabric turned out wonderfully rusty! I love them! and your hearts are beautiful!

Robin Mac said...

Your hearts are lovely and the colour of your collograph plate is beautiful. As Julie said, the cheap metallic threads sometimes misbehave badly, but I always use a metallic needle with a larger eye, loosen my tension quite a bit, and often spray everything with silicone spray, which really helps. The other tip is to use a thread stand moved as far back from the machine as you can get it. When I still get bird's nests after that, I go off in a huff for the rest of the day!!! Cheers

Beverley Baird said...

The card you made for your hubby is gorgeous|! You have had a very creative week! Love all your pieces - but especially all the hearts! Love the colours.

ju-north said...

Lovely work Emma! The colours reflect your surroundings!

Katie said...

wow- I am loving your experiments with fabric! The dying intrigues me. And those hearts are great. good luck in CPS!

Jan said...

Your rust dyeing turned out great, I think it was a good idea to leave it longer. Always fun to see what you are up to and to be inspired by your creative energy. Sometimes the more insipid pieces are the easiest pieces to play with as you aren't as invested in them.

Chesterbrook Academy Elementary said...

I love the amazing colors and textures.

layers said...

All sorts of amazing works here.. such variety.. your are exploring I can see.. and having fun along the way.

Maggi said...

The valentines are lovely as are the hearts. I really like the effects you are getting with your printing and your rust dyeing is yummy. Hope you get your machine sorted although often removal of fluff is enough.

Laura said...

my goodness what fun you are having with explorations galore... I miss making art with my hands... but so love viewing what you've been up to:-)

Anonymous said...

A wonderful bright and cheerful load of hearts! The collagraph looks really interesting and the range of images you're getting from it is fantastic. And very envious of the rusting patterns!!

sweetypie said...

those cards are lovely, chainsaw? nice.....

Linda Vincent said...

Lovely to come back here and see your inspiring artwork.(So sorry I've been missing)
Your Valentine cards are beautiful and I really like all your experimental work.
Keep up the great work! XX