Friday 11 October 2013

Process Day 2



I started by making my moon more moon like, by adding some rubs.



Then out with the drawings. I'm certainly getting some mileage from these.


I have a wide bondaweb that I get from Art and Stitch, ideal for backing large pieces. I gently peel the backing away from the gluey side and use this as my tracing paper.


I place this over my drawings and trace with pencil the element I want.


 I then make a sandwich with my fabric on the bottom, (in this case a synthetic florist wrap ) then a layer of bondaweb and the tracing on top. I cut everything to size to avoid wasting too many materials.


Then the most important part, parchment paper or any other non stick paper under and over the tracing. Hot iron - no steam.


Then it is ready to cut out, with a combination of scissors and scalpel. This is the most tedious part it can take up to an hour to cut a complex element out. I think there will be about a dozen parts in this piece so this part I will spread it out over the weekend.


I try to cut as elegantly as possible to capture the feeling of each plant stem. The art of pivoting the scissors to create curves takes a lot of practice and time. 


Then on to the next one ( just another ten or so to go).


I can't help but lay some of the 'stems' over my moon to see how they are going to look, a lot of cutting needs to be done before I start laying out properly. I'm using a mixture of silks, sheers, chiffon and synthetics to make up the plant life.
 I envisage the overall size being about 36" x 60" so quite a big piece of work. The decision I have yet to make is whether to use batting on the back or just another layer of black linen, I'll decide when I have everything bondawebbed in place.
I experimented with bleach discharging the background with some of my stem shapes but didn't like the colour achieved so discarded this idea.
I will post again on Monday.





7 comments:

  1. This is coming on wonderfully. I just love your drawings. They so beautifully capture the shape and structure of the plants. They are stylised yet utterly believable - can't wait to see what happens next.

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  2. Golly- this is really feeling pretty fab already. I love the look of the moon behind the plant.

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  3. ooh my goodness... think Il just go back to bed...thanks for the help...

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  4. So much gorgeousness (if there is such a word,)

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  5. You must have so much patience to cut those intricate shapes. It is well worth the effort, I too can't wait to see this develop. The moon looks wonderful behind the seedhead/flowers.

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  6. Great tip about the bondaweb. I love the effect of the shapes in front of the moon.

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