Friday 31 January 2014

Extraordinary Prints from Ordinary Objects - L

You can print with just about anything! L is for Leaves!


Leaf printing is simple and effective.
When choosing your leaves, pick some that have good
veins, since this is what will be most apparent in your print.
If you're living in the northern hemisphere, leaves can be 
hard to get at this time of year. No Worries! House plants 
can be very good candidates. Just check their veins.
In the summer you can also preserve your leaves by freezing  
for printing later on a snowy day. Visit my website
www.colourvie.com and click on DIY Projects/Tutorials
for instructions on how to preserve leaves by freezing.




Paint the back side (the side that shows the leaf veins) using a brush
or foam applicator. You only need a thin coat of pigment. Practice
a few times first until you get an even print without blobs

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Place the leaf on your fabric painted side down. Cover with
a paper towel and press evenly without moving the leaf.
Carefully lift up the leaf  by the stem.


First I painted the bag and then printed the leaves
in metallic gold pigment with a dark blue outline.
Colour Vie pigments of course!
In this print I used Colour Vie metallic gold and silver. In the top right
hand  corner I placed the leaf on the fabric and brushed over the edge of
the leaf to create the outline.






Ferns can be a bit of a challenge, but well worth it!
Student work. Colour Vie pigments were used both for painting
the background and for the leaf printing.
A tooth pick was used to print the branches. 

Starting Feb. 15, I am offering a variety of fun and colourful 
workshops in my studio in Toronto. 

"Irresistible Resists" kicks off the spring line-up, closely 
followed by "Just Print!" on Feb. 22. On March 15 you can
learn just about all there is to know about "Photographic
Images on Fabric".

For information and pictures of all the workshops please visit 
www.colourvie.com and click on Workshops.

AND I've opened an online shop on Etsy: Please take a look at
http://www.etsy.com/shop/Colourvie
There you will find, just in time for Valentine's Day,
elegant screen-printed men's silk neckties!