pirihirajames
  • about
  • home
  • sculpture
  • Listening to the Land
  • fibre works
    • Artworks & Exhibition 2020
    • Artworks & Exhibition 2019
    • Art Works & Exhibitions 2018
    • Art Works & Exhibitions 2017
    • Art Works 2016
  • photojournal
  • Blog
  • Contact

52 weeks of Botanicals : Monoprints on Muka Paper & Return to Kawakawa : December 2017

11/1/2018

 
This has been a fabulous year of explorations fuelled by the #our52weekproject on instagram, for which I chose #52weeksofbotanicals.

I deliberately chose this broad category as the umbrella to work under as most of my work revolves around botanicals simply because most of my world revolves around botanicals & I doubt that I'm going to leave the world of botanicals anytime soon.

My December explorations have looped back around to mono prints, but this time on muka paper. ha ! printing botanicals on botanicals & then stitching them seemed like the perfect experiment & it was.
Not all of the results are spectacular but that doesn't matter a tot as I've worked out a lot even with the limited work I have done.
​
I now know I can monoprint successfully using acrylic ink on muka paper.
The muka paper has a rough side & a smooth side & this affects the quality of the print with regards to line sharpness & detail.
I now know I can machine or hand stitch on the muka paper.
I successfully used both polyester thread & cotton thread for machine sewing & cotton embroidery thread for the hand sewing.

For the last week of the year I decided to do a little experiment with free motion embroidery/quilting on a reject kawakawa monoprint that I’ve had pinned to my wall for most of the year.
I have never done free motion embroidery before, nor quilting for that matter, so this was equal parts exciting & terrifying.
It was a lot of fun & now my mind is in hyper drive about the possibilities so I’m looking forward to coming back to this later this year.

It’s been a fantabulous year of botanical exploration & it has been absolutely amazing watching the other participants really hone their skills over the 12 months so if you’re on IG go check the hashtag #our52weekproject for everyone’s posts & specifcally #52weeksofbotanicals for mine.

New year calls for a new project & I'll let you know what that will be soon xx

Botanicals: Direct Printing & Embroidery of Kawakawa Leaves January 2017

30/1/2017

 
At the beginning of the year Kristin Axtman, from Brooklyn Haberdashery, proposed a year long, creative project Instagram challenge called #our52weekproject.
The rules are guidelines & extremely flexible; you choose your own project, choose a unique hashtag & post to IG once each week.
​That's it !
So simple & so attractive.  
Attractive to me because I like to experiment with different techniques & different media AND I like to have a point of focus & a deadline, albeit self imposed & arbitrary - basically it just helps me get shit done !
Kawakawa (piper excelsum)
Selecting a unique hashtag which relates to your project is a brilliant idea for posting to IG as it means all your own posts will be in one place. 
I've chosen the general theme of 'botanicals' which will allow me to experiment & explore many different things & I'll be using the hashtag #52weeksofbotanicals.
January has been an exploration of mono printing & embellishing the mono prints with embroidery.
I've been making direct prints of kawakawa leaves (piper excelsum) onto calico using water based fabric paint which is heat set by ironing before I add some embroidery stitches. 
kawakawa leaf
direct print on paper
direct print on fabric
On a side note, last year I started 'a thing', guidelines for me to work under, basically, to use readily available materials, which makes things accessible to me & it also keeps the cost down.
This month's project has been a great example of that.
The leaves grow in my back yard.
The fabric, fabric paints & embroidery cotton are sold in my local Spotlight store & are affordable.
The make up sponges I've used to apply the paint I bought in my local supermarket.
I found a superb resource book at my local library.
Below is a gallery of photos which show the process I've used.
​I think piccies are easier to flick through then wading through a sea of words.
materials
leaf front
leaf underside which is the side I'll print from
don't need much paint
dab the sponge into the paint to cover the end
dab the back of the leaf to get the coverage you want
getting an even layer on the leaf
test printing on paper & using a smaller piece of newsprint as cover
applying pressure with my fingers to get imprint detail of veins, holes & edges
ready to lift the leaf off
using the stem to lift it
test print on paper
assessing detail
ready to print onto fabric, having cleaned the left over paint off the underside of the leaf
inked up again using the same method
leaf on fabric
leaf, print on paper, print on fabric
residual paint post printing
hot iron to heat set, follow instructions for whichever paint you are using
using a cover cloth over the print
embroidery running stitch using a single gold thread
I am incredibly excited about this year long project as it will provide a year's worth of motivation & continual exploration.
Continual exploration ensures I will be able to approach my creative year with enthusiasm, excitement & energy.
I look forward to trying new things, learning new things & hell, I'll probably even take myself out & meet new people !
I've said it before & I'll say it again, I love Instagram & this is why.
'flawless'
'how do you mend a broken heart' 2
'tie the knot'
'a little rough round the edges'
 Embroidered Kawakawa Monoprints 
January 2017
Of course the added bonus is that I will end the year with at least 52 new art works.
Forward>>
    About
    ​
    Picture
    Hi, I'm Sally
    I'm a fibre artist who loves botanicals - especially NZ native plants
    you can find me on 
    ​instagram & ravelry 

    Categories

    All
    2017 IG Challenge
    2018 Challenge
    #52weeksofbotanicals
    #64millionartists
    #anotheryearofbotanicals
    Autumn
    Biblio Art Awards
    Birthday Sale
    Botanical Dyes
    Botanicals
    Chestnut Springs
    Clothes
    Collaboration
    Covid 19
    Daily Practice
    Diary
    Distractions
    Diy
    Drafting Sewing Patterns
    Embroidery
    Embroidery Artworks
    Exhibition
    Feathers
    Holiday
    Listening To The Land
    Making Ink
    Making Your Own Clothes
    Market
    Matariki
    Melbourne
    Monoprints
    Natural Dyes
    Natural World
    New Works
    Origin Stories
    #our52weekproject
    Paru
    Personal Map Making
    Plant Dyes
    Poetry
    Puanga
    Purses
    Recipes
    #recipesforRuchita
    Resources
    Sculpture
    Seamount Series
    Sewing
    Sewing Garments
    Shades Of Place
    Spring
    Summertime
    Thoughts
    Thread Work
    Toys
    Weaving
    Wheest Creative Assignments
    Wild Writing
    Wintertime
    W I P

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.