Fiber Fun #3

Ready for some more wonderful fibers? Me too! But before we get to that I first want to talk about using color pencils on fabric. I have Faber Castell Albrecht Durer pencils and I found that they were easy to use and reacted immediately to water. The control was easy because you add as much color as you need where you need it. The colors stay true and of course, there are tons of them so you have a great variety with which to experiment. The real plus was this medium left the holes in the Aida cloth wonderfully visible and easy to stitch on. The only problem is due to their very nature of being a water medium, they are not permanent. This isn't the end of the story because I am going to find out more about working with these pencils and the possibilities (especially since I already have them). In the meantime, I discovered that Derwent Inktense color pencils are permanent on fabric. I thought I would try them to see how they would work on my cloth, so I ordered a few of them from Blick Art Supply and am awaiting their arrival. Here is a picture of the Faber Castell cloth sample and the pencils I used:

Too yellow for my purposes but still a very nice effect.
Want to change it? Just add water!

Could not believe how great these pencils reacted
to water, dissolving into wonderful muted colors.

I also ordered the new Faber Castell Gelato set of Translucents and am eager to see how they will work. As soon as I get them I'll have an update.

Now it may seem that all of this information is all over the map, but here is the thing. I would rather do this experimenting to find out what I can and cannot use on the front side rather than wait until I need the information quickly on the back side. This enables me to know how to proceed on my projects quickly. For instance, on some of my sweeter projects with pastels, I know that the Twinkling H2O's will provide a wonderful backdrop if needed. For some of the other work, the Gelatos will be my main pick, and for some experimental pieces, maybe the Tattered Angels. My being a mixed media fiber artist means various approaches can be used, while the basics of cross stitch, glass beads (Oh yes, glass beads will be something we will be talking about in the future too!), paint or markers, and of course wonderful fibers, will always be part and parcel of the work.

Even if your piece contains various mixed media, it can still be identified by the elements you put into it. If they are consistent, then that will define the ingredients of your creations. Art and artists evolve over time because of the amount of work they do. They come to a place where they realize that this is where they need to be and how to do it, so works like Picasso and van Gogh are easily recognized. But remember their work didn't always look like that. They had to experiment and explore too and make modifications to their styles. Then VOILA!

Don't ever be afraid to experiment with your art, wonderful discoveries await you!

FABULOUS FIBERS #3

So now we come to Kreinik Holographic blending filaments. These are amazing. Most of us are already familiar with the name Kreinik and the wonderful fibers they produce, which is quite a variety and in lots of beautiful colors. When added to floss as blending filament or using the thicker fibers alone, they lend a wonderful sparkle that is relatively easy to obtain.

The Holographics look different and act differently by giving a 3D effect to stitching. The colors are nothing short of gorgeous and come in a nice variety of them.

Now I don't remember how many strands I used (can't believe I didn't write it down on here), but it looks like maybe one strand on top and two on the bottom. You can see how dimensional it looks on the bottom example.

Above are the two colors I used. What a great accent for any project.

Lots of awesomeness in a small package. Love this fiber!

Now these come in a variety of sizes too, such as extra fine braid, fine braid, on up, so you can customize it to your size needed. Personally, I use the blending filament, extra fine and fine braid. Again, you have to work with this a little more as they tend to fray and stretch. Just use shorter lengths to solve that problem. There is also a particular way you have to thread the metallic so they will stay in the needle and instructions are included on the Kreinik website under How-to, see link below and check out their other amazing products while you are there:
http://www.kreinik.com/

Also note, the website states that these fibers can be used in a lot of other techniques, including knitting and crochet. How cool is that!

So I hope you will give a spool of these a try to see how you like it, I think you will be impressed.

Until next week, here is your thought nugget:

"You like it, that's all, whether it's a landscape or abstract. You like it. It hits you. You don't have to read it. The work of art-sculpture or painting-forces your eye."
~Clement Greenberg, American art critic and essayist who did much to promote the Abstract Expressionists.