Tuesday, January 01, 2008

Stamping the monoprints

I made these little stamps from foam meat trays. The designs are taken from Easter Island hieroglyphics, and are perfect for people like me who can't draw - just simple shapes and lines.
These are the monoprinted pieces of fabric that I decide to work with. They've had a plain colour washed over the monoprinted designs.
I was using mainly pearlescent and metallic paints for stamping. I was entranced at how lovely the stamps became as the colours mixed. Interestingly, the designs that I thought looked best did not necessarily make good stamps.

I stamped each piece of fabric with 3 to 5 stamps, quite randomly as to placement and colours. Then after heat fixing the paints, I drew sketches of how I would put together 16" x 18" pieces, using (finished size) 2", 4" and 6" squares. The 2 designs are different.
This one has 4 x 6" squares, 5 x 4" squares and 16 x 2" squares....
...while this one has 3 x 6" squares, 7 x 4" squares and 17 x 2' squares. I actually made this one to be taller than it is wide, as below. I like the nine-patch stamping to be in top left corner like so :
(same photo, turned around).

Which version you do think is best?

10 comments:

Annica said...

I love the colours in the second design! My favourite is the one with the nine-patch stamping in the top right corner but it looks great the other way as well.

Vicki W said...

I also like the second arrangement. Thanks for the mini-tutorial!

k baxter packwood said...

I love the first set of blocks, I think this might have to do with local colors and what you seen in your local environment! Lots of blues browns and yellow here.

Vicky said...

Love the pieces!!

Wanted to let you know I have tried several times to access your dyeing2design website and it seems to be having a problem. Please let me know when you get it fixed so I can check it out.

Joyce said...

Wonderful. I like the second one for some reason but I'm not sure why. You did a great job with the stamping.

Janet said...

I like the first one the best. I can't say WHY I do, but I do!

Anonymous said...

Hi Shirley I like the colour arrangement in the second one and Happy New Year I really hope it is your year. Rebecca S

Donald said...

The second design. I love orange, but that aside it leads my eye on a longer journey

Deb R said...

For some reason I like the second one better. I like seeing those strong red-toned colors in those particular corners.

Hope you have a wonderful new year, Shirley!

Emmy said...

I just love it all thanks for sharing