Fabric Tags for Tag Tuesday

At Tag Tuesday, this fortnight Sandie is hosting the Steampunk/Mechanical challenge. Although this isn't a theme I usually tackle, Sandie's tags are so fantastic and inspirational that I was motivated to create a tag this afternoon.

I had some fabrics on my desk which I discharge dyed last week.and this piece with the addition of a few copper cogs reminded me of " industrial and mechanical" .

The way the background fabric was created was by applying bleach gel with a roller over the top of a plastic stencil. The fabric was originally a bluish dark grey cotton, When the bleach had removed the colour, the process was halted with a commercial neutralizing solution called AntiChlor. I have been told that a vinegar solution will also stop the discharge of colour and act as a neutraliser.

The metal cogs were stitched on to the fabric by hand.
Here are a couple of great resource sites for discharging colour with bleach.
- Threads Magazine article
- All about Dyeing FAQ

Similarly, I used another piece of fabric which had been prepared using the same process seemed to fir very well for the previous Tag Tuesday theme "Black , white and spot of colour" This tag was not only inspired by the great tags created by Valerie. It was also by a sunset we experienced last week, just before a severe but spectacular April storm. The technique is the same as above, but instead of using a stencil, I sponged bleach around plastic template of a stylised tree.

I machine stitched around the shape and across the piece . I also highlighted some of the colour remaining with coloured pencil.

I have recently been finding it hard to keep up with Tag Tuesday, but I am trying to continue because I enjoy the challenges, and I have received such great support and encouragement from the Tag Tuesday team.
Thanks, Tag Tuesday.

Discharge dye samples - Wilma Simmons

Too Precious to Waste

Stitched tea bags/ old doily "tea lights" - Wilma Simmons More than a year ago, a decision was made. The annual exhibition of NCEATA ( Newcastle Creative Embroiderers and Textile Artists) 2015-2016 will have the theme "Mottainai". Mottainai in Japanese refers to more than just physical waste (resources). It is even used to refer to thought patterns that give rise to wasteful action. Grammatically, it can be used in Japanese as an exclamation ("mottainai!") or as an adjective phrase ("it feels mottainai"). There is no plural form. The collection of mottainai things could be called mottainai koto ( もったいない事 ? ). As an exclamation ("mottainai!") it means roughly "what a waste!" or "Don't waste." [2] A simple English equivalent is the saying "waste not, want not." A more elaborate meaning conveys a sense of value and worthiness and may be translated as "do not destroy (or lay waste to) that

'Anything Goes" and It Does Matter.

When 'anything goes", does it follow that "nothing matters" ? .... I think not. When I interpret "anything goes", I think it means taking a few risks and experiment, but also care about what you are doing and finding a purpose in the process. Currently, the Tag Tuesday theme is "Anything Goes" ... This describes my daily art practice at the moment. I am doing #the100dayproject and each day I am responding to weekly published colour prompts #coloricombo, curated by artist, Este McLeod. During the last week, the suggested colours were jade green, primrose, vermillion and purple grey. Each day, I've been trying to experiment with colour and technique with the goal of developing and learning. Here are some of the tags I created using these colours, or at least as close as I could manage with stuff from my stash... I have titled these "Fragments from Afar" as all of them feature an image or a postage stamp from somewhere far from

Fish and Sticks : Art Dolls

This week I've been working on fish and sticks .... The sticks are the message stick art dolls which were very popular, attracting some attention and a few orders at the Wise Women exhibition. Each of the message stick dolls are from the Wise Women series, each with her own personality and message of wisdom, handwritten on a handmade timber tag. I gather the sticks during my walks around my neighbourhood and the tags are made from special bits of timber, some collected by me or my husband or from off cuts gifted to us from another doll making friend whose husband makes bagpipes. These dolls start off very simply with a wrap around a stick, in the general shape of a body. 'Naked" message stick dolls - strips of wadding wrapped around found sticks. Then I usually wrap other layers of fabric, wool, and/or fibres, over which I do some simple embroidery. I sculpt or mould small face masks for these dolls. I really like using "sari ribbon" as wrapping str

Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

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