Being Frenchified at Sydney French Film Festival

The French Film Festival is on in Sydney at the moment, so I'll be immersing myself in film and Frenchiness at the Norton St Cinema over the next week ...

I might not do as much painting as I'd like while I practice my Franglais ;-)

A bientot!

Madamoiselle Teena



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Using wallpaper paste as antifusant for silk painting

After my less-than successful wallpaper paste experiment the other day, I decided to give it another try.

Read about Project 2 - wallpaper paste experiment >>
Read about Project 1 - silk dyes, cold wax, wallpaper paste >>

Let's call this PROJECT 3.

My plan the other day was to mix it with fiber-reactive dyes and paint direct, like a dye-thickener.

This time I had the bright idea to use a lot LESS wallpaper paste powder, and simply paint that onto the silk.

This is known as 'antifusant' - a French word - and basically means that when the silk has been painted with a solution like this, and allowed to dry, it becomes crisp like paper so you can paint on it without the dyes spreading like they normally do. Some people like to create paintings this way,, others simply cover parts of the silk with an antifusant, to block out certain areas.

In a plastic cup I put approx 5% of a teaspoon (20-30 grains) into a half cup of water and stirred. Took a while for the grain to dissolve, so I left it about 15-20 minutes then stirred a bit more.

Above: Wallpaper paste sachet, "polypaper" brand, cost about $A3.00.

The wallpaper paste solution was very weak, and did not go thick at all, which was just what I wanted.

I painted onto the stretched silk habotai, and dried with a hairdryer (I was impatient to try this out):

Above: using a hairdryer to dry the wallpaper paste after it is painted onto the silk.

Above: the antifused area is the top part of this photo. As you can see, there is no clear difference between the dye painted onto the antifused surface, and the normal silk.

Second Experiment

Hmm, this makes me think the solution isn't strong enough, so I decided to add some more of the wallpaper paste to the solution, and try again.
Above: In this photo, you can see the wet antifused area (I have written "double dose" to the right".


Above: I quickly painted 3 lines on the silk - the top half of each line is on the dry antifusant (wallpaper paste weak solution).

You can see clearly how the top half of each line maintains its shape quite well, and the bottom half of the lines the silk dye is spreading, as per normal application.

Success!

Next I decided to try some small silk dye 'dots' with the brush - some on the antifusant area and some on untreated silk:



See the blue arrow and dots on the silk above? That's where the wallpaper paste solution ends.

You can see above that the purple dots on the solution are of one size, and stopped spreading, and the dots below the line continued to spread on the untreated silk.

Next I created several swirls with the dye to see how they would react with the antifusant of wallpaper paste:


You can see where the dye has spread further on the swirl below the blue dotted line, than the sharper lines of the swirls above the line on the antifusant.

Next step: I will wash the silk and see what the results are on the antifusant section. I'm aware the dyes are quite old (had been prepared over 6 months ago) so I expect the colour to leach out a fair bit.

Dyes used: fiber-reactive dyes, over 6 months old, kept on a shelf
Antifusant: Wallpaper paste solution, consistency of milk
Fixing: no fixing, left to dry for several days

Please note: The fiber-reactive dyes I use (Drimarene K in Australia) don't need steam-fixing. If wrapped in black plastic for 24 hrs the colours remain vibrant, if not wrapped and simply left out in the air, the colours will become pastel when washed.

More soon,
Teena!

Join me for a Silk Painting Adventure in Paris France in June 2008!
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Visit to North Sydney Markets

I haven't been to North Sydney Markets for quite a few years, so it was great to have a reason to go.

Beautiful sunny day, I got there about 9am with my friend Nina, and we moseyed around all the stalls before it got too hot.

The Batik Oetoro stall was at the back, in full sun, and it reminded me of when I used to sell my art at this market years ago. Being on the cement in full sun was eventually the reason I stopped having a stall - 9:00am to 4:00pm in the summer's heat was unbearable for me, even with a canopy.

Still, Lynne comes to the market once a month (second Sunday of the month) to keep in touch with the Sydney clients of Batik Oetoro, to deliver orders etc, and it works well.

I was pleased to collect my goodies, and can't wait wait to test the thickener Sodium Alginate (also called MANUTEX RS) with my fibre-reactive dyes, and also the DR33 Guar Gum with my French silk dyes.

Once I've tested these products I'll know whether or not they're what I'm looking for in my elusive search for just the right style in my silk painting adventure which started in 1980 in Paris, France :-)

Have a good one!
Teena


Join me for a Silk Painting Adventure in Paris France - June 2008 + 2009! http://www.a-night-in-paris.com/silk-painting-france.html Click COMMENTS below to send a message : View the SILK PAINTING VIDEOS shown below.

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Using Guar Gum as a dye thickener for textiles

Ever since I was offered Guar Gum as an alginate replacement earlier this week, I've read more online to try and understand exactly what it is and whether or not I should buy it -- Paula Burch always gives the best advice:

"Guar gum is another thickener that is commonly used (in more purified form) in foods. It is used to thicken the caustic paste used to make devoré patterns on mixed fibers. It is not used with fiber reactive dyes such as Procion MX because it reacts with them, competing with the fiber that is being dyed, but it is used to thicken vat dyes and acid dyes. See ProChem's recipe for Colored Discharge Printing using PRO Vat Dyes. Guar gum is superior to alginate in thickening Lanaset dyes."

http://www.pburch.net/dyeing/FAQ/alginate.shtml

As I'm experimenting at the moment, I've chosen not to go with Guar Gum as I am using fibre reactive dyes here in Australia.

I'm meeting with Lynne Britten of DyeMan.com on Saturday at the North Sydney markets, and will collect my first packet of sodium alginate - can't wait!

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13 weeks to the silk painting adventure in Paris!

Not that I'm watching the calendar, but I've just counted and there are 13 more Wednesdays before my trip to Paris - woohoo! Can't wait! I've been madly sketching all the new clothing designs in my head - all those things I'd like to make before the trip so I'll have fabulous new sumptuous silk to wear every day :-)

Whenever I'm in a fabric store or anywhere patterns are sold I always do sketches for ideas for later on. As I'm a textile designer rather than a seamstress, I don't do a lot of sewing but I love patterns :-)



Visiting friends can also inspire me and if I keep a tapemeasure in my handbag I'll be able to take measurements on the spot!


Now ... I just need to schedule some time to make patterns and then cut out some fabric!!

Ciao ciao
Teena

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Handpainted silk chiffon haori coat

I was just going through some of my digital photos on my computer this afternoon, and came across this one:

In November last year, I was contacted by a delightful Scottish woman named Jan who was visiting her sister in Sydney. She was only in Sydney for a short time, which didn't coincide with any classes or workshops I was doing, so we met at my local cafe (Cafe Next in Rozelle).

I had my little wheelie suitcase with me and when I opened the Pandora's box and all the silk tumbled out, Jan was very surprised. In the photo above, Jan is modelling my handpainted silk Haori jacket, ankle-length, in silk chiffon.

I always paint on white silk, with a small artist's brush, with silk dyes.

When I lived north of Cairns at the top of Australia a couple of years ago, I was greatly inspired by the Great Barrier Reef and the amazing colours of the coral and the tropical fish and sea life. I painted the silk with splashes and dashes of kaleidoscopic colours whilst in the heat and humidity of my tropical location, just south of the equator.

On this gorgeous day that I was meeting Jan in Sydney, I'd brought along some Fredrix artist stretcher bars -- 2 x 14" ones and 2 x 10" ones for each frame. I also had a jar of coloured thumbtacks to use to attach the silk to the frame. The silk we used is white habotai 8mm.

Here are the other photos I took that day:

Above: Jan using Cold Wax for the first time. I showed her how to make an outline just inside the frame so the dyes wouldn't stain the wooden frame. The next was letting her imagination run wild as she doodled on the silk with the Cold Wax (which dries quickly on a summer's day).

Above: I had a few Dupont silk dyes with me, so we added some splashes of brilliance to the small sample pieces of silk. To do this we dipped our paintbrush into the dye, wiped off the excess on the lip of the dye bottle, and carefully placed the first colour. If you've never witnessed the way the dyes flow and merge, then you're in for a lovely surprise. We dabbed and painted the same colour in a few different places on the silk -- the colour was flowing across the white expanse until it reached the wax (barrier, or 'resist' in French) where it stopped.

We quickly picked up a new clean paintbrush, dipped it in a new colour, and then added that to the silk. Where these first 2 colours met, they flowed into each other and merged, creating a new third colour and at the same time, wonderful new patterns. We continued with the other colours.

I never tire of watching the silk dyes merge and sway, slip and slide into each other, to create a stunning mini painting at every turn. :-)

Above: Jan's really got the hang of it :-) Prior to today, her experience has been with silk paints (which lay on top of the silk) rather than silk dyes (which penetrate the silk and look the same on the front and back of the silk).

Above: And here's one of the finished pieces - very simple, and good taste of what one can do with a small piece of silk and some dyes. The Cold Wax does look grey at this point (sort of silvery like Gutta), and once the silk is steamed and the wax soaked out, the silk will show up as white again.

Dyes used: French Dupont silk dyes

Outliner used: Batik Cold Wax

Colour fixing: The French silk dyes will need to be steam set.

Removing wax: After steam setting, the silk can be soaked in Batik Wax Out - a very easy process.

Frames: Fredrix artist stretcher bars, available worldwide in art stores, sold in pairs.

How to use silk: Oh gosh - so many choices! This amount of silk, approx 7x11", could be used as follows:

• made into about 50 silk cards
• made into silk bookmarks
  
• it could be framed
• could be attached to a small stretched canvas
• could be sewn onto a cushion cover as an attractive centre design
• could be sewn onto a t-shirt or other piece of clothing
• made into silk jewellery - earrings, brooches etc
• made into hair scrunchies
• and the list goes on :-)
  

So, if you've got 5 minutes to fill in, why not dabble in a spot of handpainted silk?


Hope you enjoy my student Jan's work!

Ciao ciao
Teena


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Sodium alginate, guar gum and antifuse on silk

Had lots of feedback on my recent project photos (Project 1 and Project 2), and my next step is to also check out Sodium alginate, guar gum and antifusant.



I've placed my order this afternoon, and if I'm lucky I'll receive a little parcel tomorrow - woohoo!

It's been years and years since I painted with antifuse, antifusant (the French name).

My recollection is that if silk habotai or jap silk is painted with antifuse and allowed to dry, it becomes slightly stiff and feels like parchment paper.

You are then able to paint straight onto the dried antifuse and have total control of your brushstrokes. The only drawback is the the silk dyes will NOT flow - the lay exactly where you painted them. This is perfect for precise paintings which do not need colours to merge and blend which will happen on untreated silk.

A good thing to try is a mixture of antifuse on the silk untreated areas on the same piece of silk, so total control as well as the merging of colours - best of both worlds.

You do not mix the dyes with antifuse.

For the sodium alginate/guar gum you can paint the silk, but it is more often used as an additive - mix it with dye to control the brush strokes. I've been told that I won't be able to get a sharp edge with this technique, so I'll certainly be checking that out soon enough.

Pop back in a few days to see the new experiment!

I just checked online again to read about Guar Gum as I am not sure this is the same as Sodium Alginate. Paula Birch's site clarified it for me:

"Guar gum is not ideal, because it reacts with fiber reactive dyes, reducing the amount of dye that actually reaches your fabric. Most people who thicken their Procion MX dyes use either sodium alginate or Superclear. There are two types of alginate, F and SH. Alginate F is used for silk, and alginate SH is used for cotton ....You can use guar gum for thickening acid dyes, when dyeing animal fibers (wool or silk) or nylon. Acid dyes cannot be used on cotton."

OK just rang my supplier and asked them to cancel the order for Guar Gum.

Now I'll order the Sodium Alginate (which I've been searching for) from a different supplier, as that is the product I wish to test.

The second supplier's website says:

Manutex RS 230 (sodium alginate) - $A7.95 for 100gm

It should arrive in a day or two.

Cheers
Teena


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Silk dyes, cold wax and wallpaper paste #2

To view Project #1 blogger page, click here.

PROJECT #2 - SILK DYE WITH WALLPAPER PASTE



Above: For this project I wanted to experiment with wallpaper paste as a thickener for silk dyes. The wallpaper paste is the little yellow packet shown above, I bought it at the hardware store for about $3.00. I first mixed up about a quarter of a teaspoon of wallpaper paste in a plastic cup. Once stirred it became thick and gelatinous.

In an icecube tray I added about a teaspoon of this mixture into one icecube, then dropped on one drop of pink silk dye.

I decided to use my Frenchgirl, change her hair, and leave the balloon out.

I started the painting by outlining the face, hair and beret with clear (white) cold wax.

When I tried the first colour, it was weird to paint with this thick gluggy substance. It was lumpy and didn't look good at all. I mixed up a couple of other colours and tried those out. What I ended up with was the silk shown below.

When the thickened dye mix was brushed onto the silk, it was like painting with something akin to baby food, I guess - rather an unusual experience :-)

At this point I really didn't expect to end up with a silk painting worth keeping.



Above: Well this certainly doesn't look very attractive, does it?

The poor Frenchgirl looks like she's been left in the sun too long!

Her pink face is blotchy and thick and very weird, don't you think?

On the blue dye used for the coat, I added swirls of purple while the dye was still wet, so they merged nicely together.

I left the silk to dry.

Above: When the silk was dry - and it didn't take too long - I used the black marker to outline the whole painting. I've always loved this look. Ahhhhh now she's looking a lot better than before :-)



Above: Here you can see my original sketch and the current silk painting side-by-side.



Above: You can see the icecube tray with the coloured dyes mixed in.

The silk is still stretched taut as there wasn't enough wet dye to weigh it down.


Above: I painted a cold wax outline outside the black border with a normal sized paintbrush; you can see thinner wax lines on the shoulder in the left bottom corner where I used a thin paintbrush.

Main Background: When the cold wax dried I painted the purple background - there was no paste in this dye, and it spread across the silk beautifully. In the photo above the purple background is DARK because the silk dye is still wet. The purple of the beret is exactly the same, except it is mixed with wallpaper paste and has dried to a lighter shade.

Inner Background: Next I painted the pink background - again, there was no paste mixed with the pink dye, and it flowed easily on the silk habotai.





Setting the colours

While the silk background was still wet, I rolled it in a dark garbage bag (trash can liner) and left it overnight. The fiber-reactive dyes will continue to work on the silk until they are dry.

The next morning I unwrapped the plastic and the silk had dried.

Removing the wax

When I purchased the Cold Wax, I also purchased the Wax Out - a great little product! After the colours are 'fixed', simply add one tablespoon to 2 litres of hotwater, soak for 10 minutes, then wash. (Full instructions are on the bottle.) I handwashed it several times with a mild soap until all the excess dye ran out.

No, I didn't steam it, and no, I didn't iron-set it. I simply washed and dried it, then ironed while ever-so-slightly damp.

Fiber-reactive dyes for handpainted silk

I used fibre-reactive dyes which I had mixed up about 6 months ago. The instructions say the dye lasts a couple of weeks, but I wanted to experiment and see what happened.

After washing, the colours became less vibrant, softer, muted - very pretty in fact. Not my usual outrageous colours but attractive nonetheless.

Now I really don't like to admit this, but I forgot to photograph the end result BEFORE I wrapped it and sent it off in the post :-(

I will however insert the final photo from Experiment #1, to show you how the purple, orange and blue became rather muted, faded if you like, but still quite pretty:



This was a lot of fun, it's soooooo important to experiment and document what you did, whether it's with photos, a blog, or a notebook.

Ciao for now,
Teena!

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Problems with blogger images

Hi there,

I've been having lots of problems with blogger not displaying my images this past week, and I've just spent several hours re-uploading, only to have my blog disappear totally.

Let's see if this posts ... fingers' crossed!



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