I thought I would play around with making a mixed media paper quilt. I painted a piece of fabric to use as a base. The drawings were done on tea bags. I drink a lot of tea, and I love the patina that used tea bags get from the tanins as they dry. So I let a few bags dry out and carefully opened them up, pouring out the used tea. I drew on the bags with a fine tip permanent marker and used liquid matte medium to collage them on the fabric. I added a couple tags from the tea and those tags that come stapled to your dry cleaning. There is also some fabric that I had printed on with a xerox machine several years ago and a piece of a sewing pattern.
I love the piece Judy - you're an illustrator at heart. I'm having a bit of trouble figuring out why we need to add paper to a quilt. If you can do it all on cloth, why bother with the paper. It does add another dimension, but seems to be suited to small pieces you could frame, not roll up to send to a show. Just thinking out loud here. Anyway, it's beautiful.
ReplyDeletePaper is just another medium to try. I kind of like some of the things you can do with paper that are not so easy to do with fabric. I am going to keep working the surface of this piece more and keep experimenting with it.
ReplyDeleteSometimes it's so easy to be intimidated by fabric, whereas paper seems so freeing. I certainly would hesitate about some things on fabric that I wouldn't give a second thought to on paper. Why not take advantage of both; why be limited to fabric!?
ReplyDeleteNow I know what to do with those tags on pillows you aren't supposed to remove...that I find great pleasure in removing, of course. [Bethany Reynolds, of Stack'n'Whack fame, her husband made/makes paper-back-book-cover quilts.] How about dryer sheets? I look at those and just know they could be used for something else. [I leave them in the dryer for many loads, as I am cheap and just know they are good for more than one run]
ReplyDeleteI really like this. Thinking outside the quilt rules so to speak! A question, does the gel medium stiffen the piece? I have not tried any of this paper and fabric marriages, but am very interested.
ReplyDeleteThe matte medium and gel medium does make it a little stiffer, but so does the paper. It would probably not be good for some quilt work. I am going to use wool felt instead of batting for this so it will lie very flat and will not be noticeable.
ReplyDeleteI am really enjoying exploring combining fabric and paper. Paper is a great surface to work on with multiple mediums but it can tear and may not hold up to much manipulation. Combined with fabric it becomes strong, flexible and can be used for a lot of different kinds of projects.