AlterEgo Dyes & Devoré Velvet

At the International Silk Painting Festival [in Chambon-sur-Lignon, France - June 2007], I attended several workshops and tried lots of techniques - I was in heaven :-)
One of the techniques I'd heard about for years but never got around to trying is the use of two types of dyes on the one fabric which has 'piles' or 'tufts'. The velvet pile has shapes cut out of it, and the backing fabric is different to the velvet pile, which means you can paint each with a different colour.

What is it?

The brand is called AlterEgo, and is a dye which only colors silk - it is is combined in a single dyebath [or painted direct onto fabric] with another type of dye, Procion, which colors both silk and rayon. The results are amazing - you can see one colour on the silk backing and another colour on the rayon pile/plush. You can see this in wonderful combos when used on silk/rayon velvet scarves, especially if the devoré technique has been used to create a pattern on the velvet.

An arty friend of mine regularly makes winter scarves using this technique, but instead of painting by hand [like I do] she puts the velvet in a saucepan and pours the two colours in.

Now I know you'll find this hard to believe - but the colours DO NOT mix together. When she removes the velvet, the backing takes on one colour and the velevet pile has taken on the second colour. How cool is that?

Back to France ...

The workshop I attended was a lot of fun - our Tutor is a well-known French textile designer and silk artist, who designs for some of the most well-known fashion houses and designers in France. We experimented and played with multiple layers using hot wax on the velvet after each applicaion of colour [from the two types of dyes - AlterEgo & Dupont Silk Dyes].

Above: Applying the hot wax. You can see the bright white of the velvet, and the grey areas are the devoré bits where the velvet has been 'eaten away'.
The yellowish areas are the hot wax.

Above: Applying AlterEgo dye and Dupont Silk Dye.
You can see the yellowish wax areas quite clearly, with the green background and the orange second layer. You can do as many layers as you like, using the wax.

Above: Adding final highlights with a bronze liquid [called Nacre - Bronze in French]

The velvet is a thirsty fabric - it soaks up a LOT of dye, so be prepared for that. The cost of the AlterEgo dyes is quite high when compared to the usual silk dyes, but the results are well worth it.

Final note - it was faaabulous attending classes in FRENCH and discovering that my understanding was much better than I thought :)

Ciao for now


PS: Watch the silk videos [below] : Sign up @ Blogarithm for updates [at right]

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History of Silk, Lyon, France

While I was in Lyon visiting friends, I was thrilled to be taken on an impromptu walking tour along the silk history trail.

I was so impressed by this, I've arranged for the same tour for my students who will visit France with me in June 2008.

We started at the top of one of the hills of Lyon, and walked downhill along the well-worn silk paths taken by many of the silk workers of Lyon - up to 450 years ago. Such a sense of history!

The silk manufacturing industry started in Lyon, and housed the countries best silk artisans. The silk was created and placed on long rolls, which were then carried from one part of the city to another, down stairs made specifically for this reason. There had to be plenty of room for the 'runners' to carry the long rolls of silk [see the stairs in this photo below].



We came across a plaque commemorating the silk workers:


Stay tuned for more photos of my wonderful silken adventure in Lyon.

Cheers
Teena

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The Car Rally & Procion Dye Guy

Above: What a beauty I spotted at the Car Rally at the Chateau! Yes, I'm wearing one of my handpainted silk chiffon coats painted with Procion dyes. Perfect for travelling in!

After my week in Chambon-sur-Lignon at the International Silk Painting Festival, I was visiting a Chateau in the surrounding area and stopped to chat with some people also visiting at the same time.

When they asked me what I was up to in this district, I told them about the Festival.

Imagine my surprise when one of the husbands asked me if I'd ever heard of PROCION dyes.

Well of course I said, "Yes!" - and then he totally blew me away by saying,, "My father invented Procion dyes!"

He went on to tell me fascinating little stories about his Dad and his life living with a chemical engineer as a kid. Wow! What a serendipitous meeting! I was ever so pleased - there may be no such thing as a coincidence, but there are certainly things in the universe which make exciting adventures happen :-)

Above: That's Mr. 'Procion' second from left, and me in the middle.

Cheers
Teena!

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Home from Paris

Oooohhhh la la!!!!

I have just had the BEST holiday for years!!! My oh my, where to start?? Just a quick overview and I'll post photos etc soon :-)

Above you can see my 'tumble of silk' - all my handpainted silk scarves tumbled together - aren't they gorgeous? Or am I biased? Travelling with silk scarves and coats is the best decision to make, trust me :-)

10 days in Paris
5 days in Chambon-sur-Lignon [south west of Paris]
3 days in Lyon [100km north east of Chambon]
3 days in Paris

The silk painting festival in Chambon-sur-Lignon was faaabulous! I have started to write an article for the Silk Painters International website, which you can view here:

http://silkpainters.org/silk-painting-in-france.html

Silk Painting in Chambon-sur-Lignon

France - June 2007

I attended four workshops and have lots of photos - here's one photo to whet your appetite! 

This is Pierre Willocq, famous French silk artist, who actually designed the scarves for the Arty company for many years! 

What a delightful character he is, such a great sense of humour, and he speaks English fluently.


More later - I'm desperate for a home made strong Italian latte!

Ciao ciao
Teena!

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