One piece of fabric - different outcomes

Using a large piece of fabric and one of my paper designs as inspiration I set about printing with my gridy thermofax. I created a number of layers of colour in the hope of creating 'complex' cloth.  It didn't quite turn out as I imagined but then working with paper and acrylics is different to working with fabric and dyes. I am (slowly) training myself to think of my inspiration or design as a starting point rather than something that can and should be replicated.

I go to the Committed to Cloth studio 8 or 9 times a year. They have a wonderful studio and it is always good to get advice and guidance from Lesley Morgan and Claire Benn. I also really value the input and inspiration I get from the others in the group. Here is Lesley with my gridy piece, my paper inspiration and the back of another piece of cloth. 

I received two very useful pieces of feedback from the group. Firstly, it was all the same scale and it could benefit from introducing a different scale. Secondly, the size of the paper is very different to the size of the cloth paper and yet the grids were roughly the same size. No wonder the effect was different! Pinning up your work, stepping back and getting feedback from others is hugely beneficial.

I decided to cut off a section of the fabric to see what would happen if I over printed the piece with discharge paste and I quite liked the outcome on the sample.

So I set about printing with discharge paste and at the same time changing the scale. I tore up paper to use as a mask on my screen and to create new grids. I discharged one side of the fabric more than the other to give the piece some 'structure'. Or at least that was the idea.

The piece looks better in the photograph than in reality and the left hand side looked was too discharged and similar in colour. I just hadn't achieved the variation of colour I had on the sample. But I've learnt from this and I know what I would do differently next time. Here is what the back looked liked, which from a distance looked better but it was very definitely the back and would need more work if I was going to use this side.

Although the torn paper stencil had worked, I wished that I had used the same grid but increased the scale. I think one of the reasons that I liked the back was that the torn paper design wasn't quite so noticeable.

As I hadn't (yet!) created the masterpiece I was hoping for, it gave me the freedom to do something more drastic and I cut the piece in two and gave each piece a separate treatment. More on that in the another post.