To Art, or Not to Art?

Have to tell you about the Good, Bad and Ugly of method experimentation. I mention this poker game as a clue that I need to learn when to keep them, when to ditch them, when to walk or run. Of the 4 pieces that I did the flour resist, two are good, one is bad and one is downright ugly. Lot to learn on the process of painting on cloth. While they were drying I decoupaged this flimsy cover of a sketchbook I want to work in. I also made some prints on deli-wrap papers with my new Golden Digital Grounds for an upcoming experiment. Next Friday is my workshop at Desert Art Supply but just couldn't wait! Also painted some of same papers black and stamped them with some foam art stamps I made. More on that later.

So now we come to the painted, flour resist pieces - where to go from here? I pinned them to my design wall and thought the wavy one looked like my pool and thought of embellishing it with some photos of said pool I had taken last summer. The 'ugly' one reminded me of a tree on the bank of a lake, so I pinned up this deli-paper print of a tree to think about it. Have no idea how much you will be able to see through the deli when I glue it down, so maybe organza? My favorite, the one that looks like window panes (because I spread the flour mix on my counter top which left the impressions of the tile) has a b&w photo of yours truly which works, but I may decide on another figure of some sort. The Power of Women I plan on quilting and painting after that and ideas are floating in as to embellishments.

Flour Paste Resist

Wish I could give credit to whomever it was that I read about this method but I am the Senior Executive of the CRS Club. If you don't know what that means, then you are too young to ask.

I knew of only the wax method for making batiks on fabric but in gathering info to start a project learned of three other possibly easier methods to do the trick! Flour resists really caught my eye since I had a 5 lb. bag sitting unused in my pantry. Will be trying the gouache and gel method next. What I thought was cool was that you could make marks in the drying flour and get designs as well as cracks. You can see in the photo I used stamps, my fingers and the end of a brush to make designs. Although some cracks have formed, this was before the actual cracking process. I believe the mix was 2 water to 1 flour but it was like a pancake batter that I used a spatula to apply to pre-washed muslin. It is best if you can stretch it on something (like the back of a canvas) or pin onto felt covered foam board. After it dries completely, go crazy scrunching it up to make your cracks! Once done, you can use India ink, fabric paint or acrylic to cover and let dry 24 hours.
Try to remove as much flour as you can before taking to the sink - the less to remove by water is best. Let it soak a bit at first and then rinse till all flour removed.
So now what will I do with them? For sure I want to add color so here is my start. I used Lumiere fabric paint and Fabric Mate pens.
There are 4 pieces and my favorite is not shown. They have been drying all night so today I get to continue which I will post details tomorrow.


Nothing like fresh-picked lemons. Thanks Linda! Can't wait till my tree produces like that!