Just when I think I’m starting to catch up on all the mixed-media fabric art projects I want to make, I get the new issue of Cloth Paper Scissors magazine, and I discover yet another project I just have to do.
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| Mixed-media paper and fabric art by Rebekah Meier. |
My latest fascination is with Rebekah Meier’s oh-so-gorgeous needle-felted silk and paper art, from the November/December 2012 issue.
I loved Rebekah’s Fragile Fusion technique with ephemera and fusible web. Now she has ensnared me with this mixed-media fiber art technique.
These ethereal wonders come together after applying diluted textile paint to habotai silk, 1-ply paper towels, printed napkins, cheesecloth, and batting. It’s important to use a lightweight paint, such as Dye-na-Flow® by Jacquard, that won’t change the hand (or feel) of the fibers. They will stay soft so the felting needles can easily pierce them.
When the fibers are dry, Rebekah melds the layers of her piece, adding stamping and loose fibers along the way.
Here is her basic process.
1. Cut or tear the paper towels and napkins to the preferred size.
2. Stamp designs onto the napkins and paper towels, if desired.
3. Arrange the paper pieces onto a piece of acrylic felt with some open areas of felt in between the papers.
4. Cut the silk 1″ larger than the felt piece (approximately 10″ x 13″). Lay the silk over the felt with the paper, and carefully pin through all layers (silk, paper, and felt).
5. Starting in the middle of the pinned stack, machine felt through the silk, trapping the papers between the felt and the silk. Be careful to remove the pins as you go along.
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| Printed fabric sheets, stamped images, and loose fibers can all be used in the fiber art technique. |
6. Pull apart the pieces of the cheesecloth and needle felt some pieces onto the stack. If you are using batting, with or without paint, needle felt the batting onto the stack now.
7. Continue to build up layers as desired. Add lace, used tea bags, or loose wool or silk fibers, if you like.
8. When you have finished layering, you can stitch or embroider designs onto the work.
So, as soon as I finish my table runners and fabric circle topiaries for the holidays, these fiber art concoctions will be my obsession in the new year.
Of course, I’ve had a sneak peek at what’s coming in the future issues of Cloth Paper Scissors, so I can tell you Rebekah’s technique won’t be my only obsession. If you want to learn all the new and exciting mixed-media techniques from the most talented artists in 2013, be sure to subscribe to Cloth Paper Scissors today.
P.S. What ways do you like to mash-up paper and fabric? Tell me your favorites in the space below.