The fiber artists I have been meeting lately are a bit like bees. The scout bees navigate the scene for new techniques. When close to a promising technique, they study and practice this technique. When the bee returns to the hive, it shares the discovery and experience of this technique and tells the other bees where they can learn this technique and find the supplies for it. Dancing like a bee ensures the surival of the hive.
Today I danced with the Fiber Art Bee from our local guild. We did some discharge dyeing in the studio at Fiber on a Whim. It was great fun and some of the work produced was fabulous. My favorite piece today was Melinda's black which discharged RED. Melinda buys all kinds of black, so she didn't know who made it! The effect was achieved with a Clorox bleach pen. One must-have -- a sponge roller to apply thickened bleach.
Here is Melinda with her incredible piece.
I played with velvet today. This is a Bengal Tiger stamp. I went in later and painted the orange in with Dyna Flo.
If you read quilart.com you will know there is a lot of discussion about the safety of discharge dyeing. Be smart about it. Do your homework! Don't try and economize on neutralizers. Buy a bit of Anti-Chlor. Don't use pure bleach (we mixed ours 50/50 with sodium alginate). Work in a well ventilated room. Wear gloves. Do your homework, and then play. Invite a few friends over to play with you and encourage the creativity to multiply.
1 comment:
I have seen black discharge red, too. I have heard that even the same brand of black on different bolts will discharge different colors. It is an adventure every time.
I love using the clorox bleah pens for discharge. I am pretty sure I have never used them for their intended purpose...
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