February 2009

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Jean Bair
Petawawa, Ontario
Al's Jacket

We were thrilled to see Jean's very special jacket for her very special guy.

For years, I intended to weave something special for Al. When his 75th birthday was approaching, it seemed urgent to begin. The autumn of our lives, and an October birth date, suggested a colour scheme that seemed appropriate. In the midst of planning, we made a trip to Africa; the Kente cloth of Ghana, woven in narrow strips was the inspiration for the twill block design in the back of the finished jacket. Colour was the most challenging aspect of the designing process, but also the most satisfying when finally the many colours came together.

Al's jacket became a group project as my weaving friends offered advice at each and every decision-making stage. There were so many gorgeous colours from which to choose. When I added a touch of indigo and purple to the russet, gold, orange and red mix, with a deep red shiny 20/2 silk weft, everything worked. The yarns were all from Treenway. Most were silk noil, the rest 20/2 and 30/2 spun silks chosen for colours.

Weaving was a pleasure after all the agonizing and decision-making that came before the weaving. Turned twill, or two twill blocks on 8 harnesses made broad horizontal stripes in the back, to suggest that there were three strips with borders joined together, although it was woven as one.

Finding the perfect wooden buttons and silk satin lining was important. Sewing the jacket after many years of NOT sewing in order to weave was another challenge. Thank goodness I found my old Vogue Sewing Book to refresh my memory, as I attempted to incorporate all the couturier details!

All in all it was a satisfying and enjoyable project.

Lorraine Cockle
Calgary, Alberta
Silk Fusion

Wormworks: An Introduction to Silk
An "Altered States" Playshop by Lorraine Cockle and Sandra Niedermier

Playshops is the name of a small paper arts company, an informal partnership between two long-time friends and teaching colleagues who apparently were able to leave the classroom behind at retirement time but couldn't quite give up the teaching bug. We began by offering a couple of greeting card workshops a year but the multi-talents and adventurous spirit of many of our regulars soon allowed us to evolve a second type of workshop which we refer to as "Altered States." These sessions are geared more to experimenting with new materials and processes rather than to the making of specific end products. Over the years we have added copper and mica, polymer and self-hardening clays, metallic foils, shrink plastics, stuffed fabrics and sun prints to our repertoire of the more usual paper-making and decorating techniques. And in 2002, we "discovered" silk fusion in a Somerset Studio article by Karen Selk.

Our first adventure with tussah silk roving was pretty basic. We followed Karen's instructions and made several sheets of variegated fusions. The result was the workshop "Wormworks: an Introduction to Silk" in which we incorporated tussah silk rovings by Treetops Colour Harmonies, natural tussah silk roving, bombyx throwsters silk and cocoons, as well as some recycled silk blouses and pieces of silk charmeuse."

The day was planned so that people could see a few demos and examine sample projects before making their own fusions in the morning. In the afternoon, they could choose to make cards or a neck pouch from fusions that we prepared ahead of time for them. Before getting down to work, we engaged in a little idea-generating by sharing some of the following experimental pieces and discussing how they were made.

1. Single Layered Silk Fusion - Lorraine Cockle
Variegated fusions often seem to invite a structural approach as in this simple card. A single layer of "claret ash" silk fusion was backed with Heat and Bond Light and then adhered first to a copper paper mat and then to dark maroon card stock. An inexpensive charm was embellished with a copper leafing pen, backed with matching card stock and copper paper and mounted on top of the fusion. Narrow bugle beads and a mounted sequin help to balance the composition. When silk is featured, "simple" works just fine!
Also shown in the photo is a rubbing made by wrapping a piece of recycled silk blouse around a Christine Adolph stamp and then rubbing the surface with iridescent and metallic Shiva Paintstiks. The image was embellished with beads and a few lines of stitchery.

2. Throwsters Silk - Lorraine Cockle
Artists who like to begin with a vision in mind and want their art mediums to do as they're told in order to articulate that vision may find throwsters silk a somewhat frustrating material. Since the fibres are naturally curly and unpredictable rather than long and glossy as in a roving, it is much more difficult to control and can be very challenging to remove from a screen since its natural tendency is to direct its kinky little fibres into the screen openings and hold on for dear life. We alternated rows of throwsters with the rows of Silverback silk roving on the screens used for the basic fusion process. In laying down the silk, we started with the silk roving as usual but rather than overlapping the long edges we left spaces that were later filled with the throwsters. Not only did the kinky fibres do a great job of fusing the strands together but they also produced some stunning effects where the white strands spilled out onto the darker areas of the variegated silk. In the finished card shown here, blocks of less interesting color were simply broken up with the addition of a coordinating, decorative yarn before adding the little piece of encaustic embossing to this Wildcard design. The unfinished samples show some of the more exciting textures that frequently happened.

3. Natural Tussah Silk Roving - Lorraine Cockle
Originally we ordered natural tussah rovings for making undyed centre layers for reversible fusions. However, the rich, honey-coloured surface proved to be a great background for embellishing in its own right. Yarns, threads, pressed leaves and other fairly flat objects could be added while the fusion was in the formative stages. Finished fusions could be stamped, wrapped with silk ribbons or decorative yarns, or have openings cut to allow a decorative backing to show through.

4. Crushed Silk Fusions - Lorraine Cockle
Crushed silk forms can be used for making soft jewelry, matted/framed art for small spaces, book-cover embellishments or cards. Silk tops were arranged in the usual way for making single sheets of silk fusion. After wetting out the silk and adding the adhesive, the top screen was removed and the fusion was gently manipulated into crushed, irregular shapes. After checking to see that the negative shapes around the silk were varied and interesting, the pieces were left to dry without the top screen being replaced.

5. Cocoons
White bombyx cocoons proved to be a novel addition to the playshop. Participants had the option of coloring them with pearlized acrylics, adding filigree gold stickers and sealing them with acrylic medium before piercing them to string on cords, ribbons or tassles. Two halves of a sliced cocoon have been painted inside and out with acrylics. The openings have then been covered with inexpensive charms to create a cage effect for a pair of earrings.

6. Silk Purses "Petite Purses with Pizzaz" - Sandra Niedermier
In the afternoon, participants could use their prepared fusions either to make several cards or one of these small neck purses that Sandra designed, the larger one made in two parts and the smaller one made in a single, folded piece. People needed to think about adding any embellishments such as stamped textures, beads, or couched fibres before sewing the front and back sections together as it is difficult to do these things once the purse is assembled.

7. Silk Fusion Purse and Felted Scarf - Fran Sayles
This scarf was a whole lot of work! I added the floral and geometric shapes by cutting them out of the fusion paper and set them aside. Next I laid out a long piece of the large-sized bubble wrap and arranged three layers of wool fibres on it in the same way as for making silk fusion. The cut- out silk shapes were then arranged on top of the wool and everything was thoroughly wetted with warm, soapy water. Beginning at one end, the sandwich of wool/silk and bubble wrap was rolled up and then rolled back and forth on the table top using full arm extensions for hours. Often the piece was unrolled, rewetted, edges tucked into line again and re-rolled from the opposite end. This process was repeated for several hours. Finally I had had enough so I unrolled the piece, rinsed the soap all out of it and left it to dry. When I returned to look at the scarf with "fresh" eyes after a week or so, it did not seem to have shrunk and condensed as much as it should have so, as a last resort, I threw it in a washing machine filled with hot soapy water. Presto! Instant felting. However, when you resort to this speedier route, you lose control over the shaping of the edges. Anyway, it's warm and great to wear on chilly days.

8. Roxanne Morley-Anderson - Crushed Silk Fusion Jewelry
At the Playshop, we followed the basic steps to felt the beautiful silk threads. While the silk was wet on the screen I scrunched it with my fingers, and manipulated the silk into a half circle shape. I added a few squiggles of metallic fabric paint along the curves and left it to dry for a few days.
The colours and shape reminded me of some alabaster seashells so I was inspired to follow a sea theme. I took some mauve pearls and threaded then on silk cord with a clasp. The ends of the silks were pulled through silver cones and attached with a few stitches into the silk. Then I sewed small beads and pearls into the ridges. The necklace is a little stiff when you first put it on but soon warms to your skin and softens. I feel as pretty as a mermaid when I wear it!

Thanks to everyone at Treenway for their respective contributions to a fun-filled day. Special thanks to Sue who patiently fielded many questions over the phone and had to make several additions to our original order.

Margaret Humphries
Dallas, Texas
Split Decision

We were delighted to see this piece of Margaret's, as we most often see scarves.

A passion for texture drew me to weaving fourteen years ago. This began a journey that has taken me into the world of color and dyeing. I have always gravitated toward fibres that catch the light to create another dimension to the woven cloth and Bombyx silk is the perfect fibre for this. Most of the time I weave scarves and shawls, but as I am sitting at my loom, my mind is wandering to other forms. Weaving for sculptural forms is a natural extension of the appeal of light and shadow on colour and texture.

Split Decision is created from two pyramids that are hinged together to show the opening between the two parts. Each facet of each pyramid is cut from styrofoam and covered with hand-dyed, handwoven Bombyx silk in a variety of weave structures. It is 10" x 11" x 8" and sits on a wooden post.

Bobbie Kelsten
Asheville, North Carolina
Tallitot

We really liked what Bobbie had to say about her work. As she weaves her Tallitot (Jewish Prayer shawls) she hopes the wearer will feel "wrapped in the light of prayer."

Bobbie explains her work:

I like to use a combination of several types of yarn: Bombyx 60/2, cashmere/silk, wool/silk and angora/silk. I use a sectional beaming method and wind spools of each type and then rack them in a semi-random order. The body of the shawls is woven in plain weave. After washing the fabric, I get a wonderful crepe effect. The stripe designs are 8 shaft twills.

She is happy to answer questions or do custom orders. You can reach her at bobbiekelsten@bellsouth.net

Jean Korus
Moscow, Idaho
Bombyx & Muga Silk Scarf

We think a sigh of wow will leave your lips when you see Jean's exquisite scarf as it did for everyone around here.

Jean tells us:

My favorite material to weave with is silk. Both the 20/2 and Muga silk were very easy to weave with. I was inspired to weave with the Muga after taking a trip to Assam, India with Karen Selk and Michele Wipplinger to see where the silkworms live and how the cocoons are processed into yarn. The yarn has a wonderful shiny golden color that is a joy to watch emerge as I weave. I feel I am weaving with gold threads!

The warp is 20/2 natural silk, sett at 28 epi. The weft is the Muga silk. Both were very easy to work with. The pattern is a 24 shaft point twill. I think the Muga makes a very elegant scarf, which is why I ordered more!

Nancy McElroy
Calgary, Alberta
M'lady's Corset

Nancy had fun with her first piece of silk fusion:

A few years ago a dear Australian friend sent me a piece of silk paper. It was large enough to make two projects. I thought that a corset would be an attractive addition to my studio so I embellished it with laces, trims, a hand-dyed and beaded floral appliqué, hand-dyed flowers and a tiny petit point brooch that is fastened at the top centre. It may be the first piece of silk paper that I have worked with but it definitely isn't the last! I have since introduced my grandson to the pleasures of making silk fusion and he is as smitten with it as I.

Journal

An unusually shaped piece left over from the corset became this journal. I fused a piece of floral fabric to the back for more stability. There was enough of the floral fabric left that I could cut a flower and appliqué it to the front. I added beads to the flower and spine. I chose paper that coordinated with the fabric to become the signatures. It was satisfying to create and use both of these pieces.

Haydee McFarland
Brampton, Ontario
Faerie Light

Haydee is submitting this piece for the juried show World of Thread Festival in Oakville, ON.

Haydee tells us, Faerie Light is a soft sculptural piece in silk fusion and cobweb felt. Each tier in the base is constructed from four perpendicular layers of silk fibre. I used Bombyx silk for the first tier, tussah silk for the second tier and a combination of Bombyx and tussah for the bottom tier. To dry and shape the base, I draped the three layers over a wire wastepaper basket, with separators between each layer – all three layers are joined at the base. I applied one final coat of Jo Sonja's Gloss Varnish to harden just the bottom of the piece.

The felt vessel was made using the resist technique. I wanted to achieve a fine ethereal look and decided that cobweb felt would work best for the look but, because cobweb felt is so fine, the vessel would not have held its shape. When I saw how well Jo Sonja's textile medium works for silk fusion, I experimented and found that it worked just as well on felt, without altering the look and feel of the felt.

I first felted the vessel around a resist and then continued to felt it into its three-dimensional form around a balloon. Once the vessel had formed to my satisfaction, I applied Jo Sonja's textile medium and allowed the vessel to dry on the balloon so it would hold its shape. I used a combination of fine merino and Masham fibres with various yarns interspersed between the layers and embellished the whole piece with trilobal fibre for a delicate sheen.

I'm still experimenting with silk fusion, especially different ways of incorporating it into my felting and ove all the creative possibilities it offers.

Debbie Caseburg Tyson
Edmonton, Alberta

sleepwalking

Silk Fusion chapbook jackets for sleepwalking, a long poem by Sharon Caseburg published by JackPine Press.

This project was a collaboration with my sister, poet Sharon Caseburg. JackPine Press of Saskatchewan promotes multidisciplinary projects that open dialogues between written and artistic work, engaging in tactile experiences for the reader. In responding to her elegy, designing and producing these chapbooks presented me with an opportunity to explore silk fusion techniques in a combination with stitch and embellishment. These silk fusion covers were produced using textile medium, then hand and machine stitched and embellished. The interior book block, produced in two signatures, was then sewn in with wax-coated linen thread. Deckle edges top and bottom were purposefully left to reflect the ethereal quality of the poetry inside.

sleepwalking will be available in a limited edition of 75 copies through JackPine Press. The book will launched in Saskatoon on May 28, 2009 as one of four limited-edition chapbooks in JackPine Press's 2009 publishing year.

Seahorse

I really enjoy playing with the silk fibre in this way. I love exploring new techniques and am fascinated by the endless ways fibre can be manipulated. My current work focuses on creating and manipulating silk fusion both as a substrate for stitching as well as a mouldable medium for creating texture, three dimensional objects and vessels. I incorporate traditional and contemporary stitch, beading, quilting and painting to add colour and texture to my work.

When I use silk fibre and acrylic mediums to create three dimensional moulds, I then like to integrate those three dimensional shapes into the rest of the work with stitch . My favourite moulds are children's plastic sandbox toys as they release well. I highlighted the seahorse with Shiva Paintsticks and stitched it onto a background of Easy-Felt layered with silk fusion and hand painted throwsters silk. Stitching ties everything together and the mirrors draw you into the piece.

Els van Dam
Mill Bay, British Columbia
Natural Dyed Silk Scarves

Els is one of the special people that we are fortunate enough to see in person every so often. She is extremely creative as you will see.

She explains about the scarves:

I dyed the silk in Brazil wood and gave one to my oldest daughter, Peggy and one to my ex-daughter-in-law. The shawl is 18 inches wide using skeins of deep purple, mauve and lighter lilac fine silk. The weft was silk, naturally dyed in an indigo bath done in the eighties with a group of Toronto spinners and weavers. I used a big shuttle that holds two bobbins and wove it in a 12 shaft undulating twill.

When I lived in Toronto, a group of guild members would meet once a year at Karl Khomeyer's cottage. Karl would have all the dye baths going in big copper pots, old fashioned tin washing pots as well as one huge cast iron soup pot so we could start work when we arrived at 9am. The cast iron pot was so big you could have a bath in it. Around 2 we would break for a huge wonderful home cooked lunch, prepared with great care by Gordon, Karl's partner. The dessert was always a delicious trifle, laced with brandy and topped with dollops of whipped cream. While sipping our wine, Gordon would give an organ recital, putting us all to sleep. Those were the good old days, in the mid eighties. Phil, who is in her nineties now and still going strong, would drive us home again while I sat next to her and just talked non stop so she would not fall asleep on the 401, while the other girls in the back would be peacefully sleeping away; those were the days indeed.

I have continued this tradition of having an outdoor fun day during the summer months at our house. The Fermanbuk (Caesalpinia) or Brazilwood dyeing is a recipe I use out of a Dutch dyeing book written by Let van de Vrande in 1980. You will find the same recipes in Trudy van Stralen's book Indigo, Madder and Marigold. We get 18 different shades, by pre-mordanting, and mordanting after the dye bath. In addition, we use rinses with vinegar and ammonia. It is a wonderful way of getting different colours from one dye plant and one dye pot.