Balzer Designs

#PrintInktober: Days 8 - 15

This is week two of #Printinktober! 

As you know, I've been printing on fabric.  Most of what I've been printing on is fat-quarter sized fabric. I've managed to post a process video every day so far -- even though we are moving yesterday and today.  Yay!  What you'll see is the process video, embedded from instagram (if you get this blog via e-mail you may need to click on the title of the post to view the videos online) and a photo of the finished fabric:

The last two prints were both made using my Balzer Designs Art Foamies!

I am deeply disappointed to tell you that when I washed this fabric, the purple and pink stars turned kind of white-ish.  Sigh.

I'm really enjoying printing on fabric.  It's a much larger surface than most of my paper prints and so my brain is having to think differently about it.  Details seem to get lost and simpler more graphic images seem to work better.  For someone who loooooves fussy tiny details, this is kind of a revelation!  I'm hoping to keep learning more and more about pattern scale as the month goes on!

It's not too late to join in on all the fun!  Remember, it's easy to participate using what you already have on hand:

• Use the hashtag #printinktober when you post.
• Any stamp can be used – foam, wood, silicone, rubber, hand carved, lino, whatever you want!  (And you don't even have to use a stamp.)
• Any ink can be used – screenprinting ink, marker ink, stamping ink, printing ink, etc.
• You can use the official inktober prompts, if you'd like.  Or not.
• Have fun and don’t worry if you miss a day (or more). The point of the challenge is to get those stamps out of storage and into use!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Palm Leaf Quilt: Finished! (Part 3)

I finally finished my Palm Leaf Quilt!

I did some very simple matchstick quilting and used a traditional binding to finish the quilt.

For the back of the quilt, I used a novelty print I've had hanging around my fabric stash forever:

This is definitely the most traditional quilt I've ever made.  I seem to be in a phase where that's what's interesting to me and I'm okay with that.  I think it's important to listen to yourself and follow what's interesting at the moment rather than what you think you "ought" to make.  And maybe also to have a little fun with the things you make!

Thanks for stopping by!

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Palm Leaf Quilt: Part 1

Palm Leaf Quilt: Part 2

August Livestream Recap!

Today I  thought I'd share a quick recap of the August Livestream for YouTube Channel Members.

As always, I started off the hour-long livestream by answering questions from members.  Question included a number about painting on fabric. I shared my favorite fabric painting products and techniques on this scrap of fabric:

After the livestream, I couldn't help myself from finishing up the painting on this piece of fabric, using all of the techniques and supplies I shared in the livestream:

It's so delicious!  I can't wait to stitch it up into something fun!  PS: I used my Fantastical and Stone Increase stencils in the decoration of this fabric.

After answering questions and doing some fabric demos, I shared how non-quilters can take this quilt...

...and use it for inspiration for paper!  I shared how to make these paper trees and paper "flying geese."

It was a super fun hour packed with art lessons!

If you'd like to become a YouTube Channel Member, it's just $4.99/month.  There's no commitment beyond the month, so for about the price of a cup of Starbucks coffee, you can give it a try and see if it's a good fit for you.  Remember, even though it's a livestream, you can watch it any time you want -- pause it, rewind it, fast forward, etc.

Our September livestream is coming up on Saturday, September 28 at 5:30pm EST.  I hope you'll join us!

Thanks for stopping by!

Artistic Serendipity

On Friday night, I got an idea -- one of those ideas that's like a gnat that won't stop buzzing in your ear.  Buzz buzz buzz!  I just *had* to drop everything and chase that idea!  I started cutting up fabric and piecing it back together in strips and blocks of all kinds. 

Saturday morning I got out of bed and asked myself, "Should I do the work that I ought to do or should I continue last night's experiments?"  Well, as you can guess, that was a short conversation with myself.  Of course, I wanted to continue cutting and sewing and chasing that darn idea.

I was so pleased with my progress that I snapped a photo of the bits and bobs up on my design wall in my studio before I left the house.

And then I walked into the ICA (Institute of Contemporary Art) and stumbled into a room of paintings by Helga Roht Poznanski that made me do a double take.

(These watercolor pieces were behind glass, so there are some weird reflections in these photos.)

Magical artistic serendipity, right?  These watercolor paintings are so much of what was buzzing around in my brain.  I feel like I was meant to see this exhibit on this day!  I literally could not stop smiling as I walked through this particular gallery.

Have you ever had a moment of magical artistic serendipity?  It's so exhilarating!

Thanks for stopping by!

4 New Shibori Shirts

My brother, who doesn't generally like anything crafty, saw a faux shibori t-shirt I made for Make It Artsy a few weeks ago and asked for one of his own.  I was delighted to say, "Of course!"  

He gave me two shirts -- a heavy-weight long-sleeve t-shirt with a stain and a plain white t-shirt.  Not one to miss out on the action, my Mom gave me an old t-shirt with an image of a samurai on it.  And I threw in a t-shirt I had already dyed, but not yet "fixed."

I used RIT dye -- one quarter denim blue and three quarters navy blue -- to dye my shirts.  I followed the instructions on the dye bottles for adding water, salt, and dish liquid.  And I did follow-up the dyeing process with RIT fixative and a good long wash in the washing machine.  As a side note, I threw a Color Catcher into the washing machine, just to make sure I didn't end up with a blue washing machine and I was glad I did because it came out practically purple!

I ran an empty load with another Color Catcher afterwards just to make sure the machine was clean, and I was impressed when it came out as white as it went in!

And now, for the shirts!  The long-sleeve shirt with the stain:

The stain was red and I'm pretty sure it has vanished into the shibori!

The t-shirt:

You can see that I folded this one on the diagonal for a slightly different look.

The t-shirt with the samurai on it:

And finally, the shirt that had been dyed and not fixed:

You can see that the first dyeing ran a bit turning the white "background" blue.  Here it is compared to one of the other shirts:

And some detail photos:

I love how all of these shirts turned out.  I'd like to try a bunch of other shibori techniques and patterns next time around!  That's one of the many things to love about shibori -- there are so many possibilities!

Thanks for stopping by!