Pages

Thursday 13 June 2013

Discharging…………

……..is a verb that can have several meanings.  At Morley this week and last, we were working with this fabric, and removing the colour with..
NewImage
This was astonishingly effective in removing the colour, literally working in front of our eyes.  Using various stamping, dribbling, painting and folding techniques, this gave a grand series of marks on the cloth
P1010322
P1010326
P1010328
P1010330
P1010323
which were then over dyed with Procion p dye paste this week, to colour the areas where the dye had been removed.  The dye was applied in several ways :
  • by scraping it on with a credit card - a strangely compelling and satisfying technique that makes a great sound on the cloth
  • by painting it on with a paint brush
  • by squeezing it on to the cloth with a plastic needle-nosed bottle
P1010324
P1010325
P1010327
P1010329
P1010331
Then we used another discharging agent, Formusol, which can be added to Indulca paste to allow the formusol to be used like a print paste.  This is a bit more fiddly as the cloth has to be steamed to activate the pete, but it seems even more magical as the discharged print is not revealed until the cloth is unrolled after steaming.
P1010332
Discharged circles, made using discs of acrylic, smeared with the paste ( using a foam brush) and then stamped on the cloth.
P1010333
The words again - probably their last outing as I only have one more week in the studio.
The dyeing technique is also called illuminating discharge, and it is possible to do it in one step, but the college has a limited range of colours available so this method gives more scope for mixing our own colours.
These will both be over-dyed next week.  I'll also try this on some of my own dyed cloth - so many possibilities.

3 comments:

  1. Almost making me run down to the cupboard under the sink to see if I have any Milton left over from the girl's younger years! What interesting things you are doing / producing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I remember Milton when the girls were babies, and a tablet in a paddling pool stops the water turning green quickly, but this is a much more fun use! I especially like the vertical / horizontal squares, and the moons are brilliant

    ReplyDelete
  3. That looks like so much fun - with so many possibilities. I did a discharge workshop with Bob Adams at FOQ many years ago but haven't really followed it up, because of getting thiox - Milton looks like a good alternative. Have you tried liquid dishwasher detergent for discharge?

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for your comment. I love to read them, but can't always respond.