I’ve been messing around in my studio way longer than I’d like to admit, probably since March. That makes it about 4 months, which I consider to be a bit overindulgent. However, I’m excited about the possibilities of how I might use what I’ve learned to create a new body of work for two upcoming shows in 2020. Many small samples have come out of my exploration of process and materials. Honestly, I could do this forever, but it’s time to start focusing on finished work.
Metal Leaf
Inspired by the work of Olga de Amaral and El Anatsui I began experimenting with metal leaf on fabric. Using imitation silver and gold leaf, and using layers of gesso and leaf adhesive. On top of the leaf I tried layering oil stick and acrylic paint. More experiments included gold leaf on top of earth pigments painted onto woven/pleated fabric. Here are some pictures from this journey.
Forms
I’ve been exploring forms on a few fronts: using handwoven, pleated cloth, using machine stitching on interfacing and/or buckram for geometric form, and using free machine embroidery on solvy.
Encaustic
I’ve been curious about encaustic and how it might be used with textiles to create interesting surfaces as well as support for dimensional textiles. So when I saw that Kelly Milukas would be teaching an introductory workshop on encaustic painting at the local Jamestown Arts Center I signed up. I loved the sexiness of wax as a medium for pigment, and really enjoyed using the blow torch! So far haven’t done much beyond what I learned in the workshop, but here are a few pictures, including a little knitted piece I brought along to dip into the beeswax and resin.
