In his book The View From The Studio Door (ISBN 978.0.9614547.5.3) Ted Orland’s last paragraph includes these three sentences:
Our highest moments are those in which, by word or deed, we engage important things – and for that task there is no better tool than art. Making art, like having children, is one way of making life worth living. And artworks, like children, are assays of our lives and a measure of the things we hold important.
While I was researching today’s post I came across these profound words and why would I couple these with today’s images? Often art is perceived as something difficult, something you “need to be educated in.” I am trying to remind everybody that we all engaged in art activities while we were children and what training did we have during our pre-school and kindergarten days? Start to shift your thinking today. Here is a great activity to get you started:
So often I overhear quilters lament the fact that they got carried away with their fabric purchases. The accumulated “stash” includes colors that are no longer considered current. What is one to do? We can sort through the stacks of fat quarters, sell them off at a garage sale and incur a significant financial loss. Over-dyeing is one solution to alter the color and move it into a more current color palette. Another way to create designer fabrics is with printing. No need to rush out and purchase specific stamps. From potato stamps (remember these?) to using a potato masher for an interesting grid pattern or re-purposing a meat tray – the opportunities are endless!
Darker fabrics are also great for discharge with a diluted bleach solution or dish washing liquid. To use up ordinary acrylic paints and make these pliable and permanent on fabrics add up to 25 % of textile medium.
Set up your table, cover it with plastic and start stamping! Have fun!!!
Anna Hergert, Art & Design 
Great idea Anna ! I do have quite a stash and let’s just say some of it has been with me for quite a while . I love printing /stamping and it might even be the time to play with some other mark making medium as well , such as paint sticks , discharge paste etc. Now , all I need is the free time to make it happen . Older fabrics are great to collage with as well because the layering process leaves some areas visible but others as a base underneath stamping , stitching , printing, embroidery etc. I made some leaves this way a while back and some of them are hanging out in the trees in my yard . They looked neat against the snow !
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Glad the post generated so many great ideas! Thanks for sharing!
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Great idea to think of your stash as raw material for making “new” fabrics.
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It works! And just think, if the back of patterned fabrics is a solid color you could print on the back for versatility! The possibilities are endless…
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Looks like lots of fun, Anna! Although I don’t have an abundance of fabrics, those ideas would work well on some hand-painted papers. I’ll have to try some of them out.
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