Some fun with painting.

I'm taking an art class at the theatre department and we're working with gouache. I'd never worked with the medium before, so it's been a new experience. What's nice about gouache is that it has a higher pigment than watercolor, but you can layer it like watercolor.

We're recreating a painting for our project, the theme being "Orientalism." I chose one by Jose Gallegos y Arnosa, a painting called "The Yellow Shawl" painted in 1881.

photo from www.orientalist-art.org.

 Here are some progress pics thus far.
 ** the flash makes everything washed out, the pigments are far brighter in person**

A new life for my couch!

After being married and moving into a new place, we took in a lot of free stuff. Everyone seems to have stuff they don't need in their home so many people gave us their old things to furnish our house with. This is great! Especially for an extremely frugal me, who hates to spend money on anything unless it's a necessity.... well unless it's fabric or yarn or antique.

*This is how it looks so far...

One of these freebies was a couch. A very comfy couch. And I recovered it! Same comfort, Better style. For $100 I transformed my blah couch into a pseudo-antique looking one!

This particular couch came from my in-laws and happens to be one of Devin's favorites. It's seriously one of the most comfortable couches I've had the pleasure of sitting on. It was just so, well, ugly. I wanted to recover the couch but I do not have the money to put out for upholstery fabric because of course, I only want the most prettiest, expensive, light tone-on-tone upholstery fabrics that cost a gazillion dollars per yard. So I had conceded that I would have to put that idea out of my mind. But, having found a brand new addiction for Pinterest (if you would like to follow my boards, click the link!), I started seeing all these pictures of people using drop cloth as a sofa cover! What a wonderful idea! I thought, but I realized... making a slipcover is a LOT of work and I greatly dislike working with piping. Blech. Luckily though, another pinner had posted her own adventures in upholstering with a drop cloth and the results were great! I read her post, watched a couple of videos and decided to attempt it on my own.

With the help of my mom, we decided on what was gonna happen with the couch and we bought our supplies:

12'x15' Canvas Drop Cloth
1 roll King size Quilt Batting
2 rolls Upholstery/cushion foam
1 bag Polyester Stuffing
Couch
Heavy Duty Staple Gun/Ammo (Long staples)
2 pkg Cut Tacks
1-2 Cans Scotch-Guard

The biggest drop cloth I could find

First, I washed the drop cloth 3 times and dried it with softener... it took FOREVER. But I'm glad I decided to soften it, because boy it was not comfy before. After that I analyzed my couch and figured out what I wanted to do with it. I wanted a "camel back" or "hump back" to my couch, so I used a lump of the polyester stuffing material and stapled it in place with some quilt batting. This part was interesting because we had to pack the stuffing so tightly. Also, finding the wood support beams took a little trial and error.... and frustration.

We trimmed the excess batting, just fyi

After the hump was made, we then stapled the upholstery foam to the back of the couch to smooth everything out and to make the back a little cushier. More quilt batting was added atop this and cut to size, then we laid the batting out to use as a pattern to cut the canvas (being extra sure to add lots of seam allowance to the sides) Then the batting was stapled into place.

Again, excess was cut off

After the back had been padded with foam, we added the canvas, stretched, stapled and pleated to fit.

^We used the cut batting as a pattern for the canvas^

Notice the HUGE blotch on the back? I didn't notice it until I had
taken a picture of the couch. If you choose to do a project with
drop cloth, be sure to inspect your fabric and cut accordingly,
to avoid my mistake!

 The front lip of the sofa proved to be far more challenging than I anticipated. All of the support beams were covered in springs and knots, leaving me completely helpless as to what to do next. I had figured I would just staple the fabric to the support beams and be done with that process, but ended up taking another route. I laid batting on the "decorative fabric" of the lip, so as to cover up the weird pattern, then laid a strip of the canvas atop; stapled and tacked the fabric to the bottom, then whip-stitched the canvas to the original upholstery. This took me 2 hours and my pointer finger is still somewhat numb after 2 weeks.

I used 6 fibers from the canvas for the thread and a giant tapestry needle.

Finished sewing. Phew

 A similar process as the back was used for the arms of the sofa, apart from adding "stuffing" to the arms. Foam was added directly to the top of the arms and the process followed how we went about the back.

Upholstery Foam added and stapled...

Batting to the right arm, so you can see the difference.

Next step I did the underside of the arms. Using batting for a pattern, then cutting the canvas. The hardest part of this was making sure the staples and cut tacks wouldn't be seen. I stapled the fabric and batting, right side to couch, underneath the crest of the armrest then folded the piece down, to cover the staples and tacks. The fabric was then stretched and attached to the underside, back and front of the armrests.

The last, and hardest non-sewing part, was the final back piece. Like the under-sides for the armrest, the staples and tacks shouldn't be seen, but one also wants the line to be completely straight. The only way to achieve this ( the sturdiest, longest lasting way) is to make a tack strip with finishing nails and a cheap piece of trim, nail it to the back of the couch, then fold the fabric and batting over the strip to conceal it. Tacking and Stapling is done to the bottom of the couch like normal.

Yay tack strips

Now.... THE hardest part was making the cushions. Ugh. I HATE making square cushions. So here's a good tutorial for those of you who would like to know :)

I made two more cushions for the back, using the original cushions as patterns and the original zippers for thriftiness. All in all, I think it turned out well and is just as comfortable as before!

Last step before using is Scotch-Gard-ing, make sure all your windows are open and do as much as you can outside. Our house got fumey really quickly.

Since the couch is practically done that ends this post. But know, that because I like to make everything harder than it should be so of course I have decided I'm going to do another, unnecessary step... adding wood to look like it is, or kind of is, an antique. But that shall be a post for another day!

Rebel Symbol Scarf

YAY! I finished something this break! A Rebel Symbol Scarf!!!!!!!

The scarf was a request made by Devin (above) because he got a wonderfully grey peacoat and needed a scarf to make it complete. In 6 hours I created and finished this scarf while watching the BBC's Wives and Daughters.

Awwww, isn't he adorable?!

Hoorah for accomplishments :) My next post shall be my hand-stitched petticoat, so STAY TUNED

Highschool Artwork: Paintings

Sometimes I feel like there is nothing to blog about. Then, while being in a completely random place I find something to blog about. Today's topic is going to be part of my highschool artwork, Paintings. There are a few different types of paintings, watercolor, acrylic, etc. These were all done 2005-2008. I thought I would share them with you.

First ever watercolor painting
Beginning Art Class

I'm certainly not a "gifted" painter but I paint better than I can sculpt. So, when working with my paint I prefer to have a bit more control. Watercolor just gave me anxiety. Since we were getting graded on it, I had to have my painting perfect. It didn't come out that way and isn't even close to the rain forest photo I used for inspiration.

3D Painting
Beginning Art Class

I really enjoyed working with acrylic paints because I had more control. The above painting was a completely original composition, the only direction given was 3D. I instantly thought of a beautiful neck with some huge jewelry decorating it. I loved working with the chocolate tones. So warm and comforting. I used wood for the larger pieces, beads for the smaller, and the circles are from an 80's bracelet with spiraling copper wire. For some weird reason my canvas was cardboard and is now extremely bowed. :-\ And still, although not anatomically correct and missing some beads, this remains one of my favorite pieces.

"Chicken Dumplings"
Favorite Foods Challenge
Advanced Art

Terrorized Chickens.

My mother's favorite composition, "Chicken Dumplings" is from my junior year Advanced Art Class. Each quarter we were given a challenge, this one being Favorite Foods. I remember one person did a sculpture of Tacos (from Taco Johns) at war with McDonald's foods (background being that on one of our roads, the two restaurants are across from eachother). Everyone came up with some good ones. But back to my piece, it took me an hour to think up, compose and finish, the night before it was due. Felt tip pen and crayola watercolor paints (thank God my mom had daycare art supplies) and viola! A!!!

Wacky Sun
Advanced Art

This piece was out of boredom, and you can tell. It's got a lack of composition and the black is far too much of a contrast with the very pale, creamy, yellow of the sun. Done with acrylic, I like the reds and oranges and the dark red dots emphasizing my brushstrokes.

"Dream Flower"
Advanced Art

The "Dream Flower" was just that. I had a dream with this form in it and promptly sketched out the shape on the nearest piece of paper I could find. It ended up being a really neat piece. Acrylic paint and 2 weeks of class to finish.

"Henna Kokopelli"
Advanced Art

My favorite piece I ever did is my Indian henna inspired kokopelli. He took a great deal of time to do and I had to wittle down brushes to get a really fine line. Done in acrylic. This is the only picture I have of him, which is really unfortunate. I sold the painting to a teacher who has since moved and I have no way of contacting her for more pictures. I hope to recreate this painting so I have my own copy.

"Henna Chair"
Advanced Art

The best detail shot I could get

 Although not a painting per se, but along the same lines, is my "Henna Chair". I was offered to use an old chair of my art teacher's for a project and was delighted. Done right after my Kokopelli I ran with the same designs. The original plan was to cover the chair entirely with the white details but the chair took 2 months to get as far as I did. My eyes were starting to go crossed by the end of the two months, so I decided to call it quits and hand 'er in. My teacher was pretty impressed (at least he seemed to be) and insisted that we enter the piece into an art competition and my chair went to finals! I didn't win anything, but saying that my piece made it to the state finals was pretty fun.

A New Dress Form

In an earlier post, I showed my Duct-Tape dress form I made of myself. The duct tape motif just isn't my style, so 2 days ago I decided I was going to cover it.

First I drew where I wanted the Seams to be

Then I patterned out the pieces

I got a little ambitious, and added a decorative stitch to all my seams :)

My sewing machine has a bunch of pretty stitches. So I decorated my dress form. Unfortunately it took FOREVER and had I skipped it, the project would've been done in a day. Sigh, my ambitious self couldn't help it. The extra stitching added a bunch of time and headache, but..... It's pretty stitching!

Sprayed with Adhesive and covered in batting

I used old quilt batting for the kushiness under the cover. I figured it would be much smoother than just polyester stuffing. Smooth? Yes. My size? No. :( 

Finally I covered it

There she is.

 To finish, I sewn all but the right side seam and I ended up whipstitching. Boy was that hard! I was constantly tugging at the fabric to make sure it was as snug as possible, but it ended up alright afterall

 YAY!!!! I'm happy that I now have a  working/useful dress form. There are, however, some things I would have done differently in hindsight;
 1) I should have used a more heavy duty fabric
 2) A slightly thinner batting would have been perfect.
3) The neck would be better in general
4) For the open parts (the armholes and neck opening) I would have instead of sewing the circles OVER the princess seam cover, I should have placed them under. It would have been a much prettier look.
5)The dress form is a size too big. I don't know how I could possibly fix it other than being extremely thin when you tape yourself.

Overall I'm happy that I got it done (on a whim even!)  I also had my first real run-thru with Princess Seams. (yay me). Of the whole project,  my favorite part was and is the redwork. It made me happy.

Now, after all my hard work, I have to name her. I have no clue. I was thinking perhaps Betsy or something along those lines? What do you think suits her?

Finished Batik Project

Woo! The final boiling process is done, and now I can submit my Batik for a grade. I'm not completely happy with how it turned out, but it's my first one so I guess I shouldn't be so picky. (if you've not seen the first part of this process and want to, click here )

While is was boiling, I was happy because the color was still dark

It ended up much lighter than I expected

I was hoping for a really rich, dark navy tone. I added peacock blue and a lot of black to the normal blue dyes, and it somehow ended up this light color. :(

The lines are far from perfect

 But I'm really pleased with the brushstrokes and the scarf part. woo!

Cloning Oneself

Another project I have been working on is a clone-dress form. I think I made it a wee bit too complicated, but I can show you what I did.

Materials so far:
2 rolls of duct tape
1 Cheap segmented floor lamp ( I got mine for $10 at Oddlots)
6 canisters of insulation foam (buying a bunch of polyurethane foam would probably be cheaper)
1 old shirt
2 pieces of wood
1 empty toilet paper roll (jut the cardboard middle)

To start, I covered myself in duct tape, with the help of this tutorial.

This is an earlier dress form of me in a corset.

After my mom cut the duct tape off me, we made an internal structure to support the dress form's shoulders and to help it stand straight. The T is two pieces of wood drilled in a T. The tall part was drilled out in the center and a segment from the lamp is glued into the hole. The T went inside the duct tape shell with the top of the T in the shoulders and the insulation foam is sprayed in to keep it secure. It was really hard to make sure that the T didn't stray from the center. Since the T is meant to screw onto the stand it needs to be as straight as you can make it.

The foam had to be done in sections to fill everything out. Before I did the final foaming, I added the TP roll (picture below). After the foam finally dried I traced the bottom of the form onto some cardboard, cut a hole for the toilet paper roll then duct taped it all in place.

I taped the TP roll to the lamp segment then filled it the rest of the way with foam.

The form is slightly bigger than I am b/c I've lost a little weight since the taping. But a little extra room can't hurt! lol

That's what I've done so far. I plan to cover it with some batting and muslin when I get a chance. But until classes are over, it must be put on hold.

Batiking process

I'm working on a batik wall-tapestry thing for my Painting and Dyeing Fabrics class. We were allowed to choose really anything we think we could accomplish. I chose a wall-hanging in shades of blue.

For those of you who are not familiar with Batik, it is a process of layer-dyeing fabric with a "resist" that prevents the dye from getting to the fabric. For Batik the resist is a wax that is applied to the fabric with a brush or tjanting. I used a mix of paraffin and bee's wax that's available at Dharma Trading Company.

To start I sketched my picture onto the fabric then treated it with a soda ash/water solution (to help the fabric take the dye) and is stretched onto a frame after it has dried. Next, I added the wax to the places that need to be white. I used the tjanting (a heated pen-like tool that enables for smaller, finer lines of resist)

Now that there is ample resist, the first light layer of dye is added. Another layer of wax is added once the dye is dry.

The last dyeing is a very dark indigo. In order to make sure that the color stays dark, we were told to cover the wet-dyed fabric with plastic wrap. All I could find was a trashbag, so that's what I used.

When I finally got to this point I realized I was covered in blue dye. I have blue splashes on my shoulder, stripes on my arm and my fingertips were completely blue. I guess it's good to I look like I was doing something artsy, eh?

There are a few more steps yet to get this project to it's final stage. I will keep ya posted on what's to come!