Digital Print Mixed Media

This piece was inspired by plants that I photographed while visiting New Zealand a couple of years ago. The digital print on the top has been maniputlated in Photoshop. Arial paper is coated with gel media and sand. When that is dry it is coated with inkAID white matte precoat. The paper is dried overnight and then printed using a matte paper printer profile. The print is then cut into squares, randomly. Each square is layered with burlap, dyed canvas, dyed cheesecloth and fiberglass screen. This assemblage is attached to the screen with large stitching for hanging.

Using Lutradur in Art Work

This is Kauri 22, which is part of a series created after my returning from a trip to New Zealand. My Kauri series is the first place lutradur was used for a digital printing surface in my art work. The piece is composed of a digital print on lutradur and twill. The twill was pleated after printing. Also included in Kauri 22 are canvas and burlap that has been dyed. The canvas is cut and pieced randomly. The burlap is pleated. All the components were then cut and sewn into an assemblage that is attached to canvas with large stitches for finishing. Kauri 22 appeared in an article in Quilting Arts Magazine-Winter 2006-Issue 24-"In the Spotlight" Section.


In the detail, you can see the printed lutradur at the top of the photograph.

Lutradur is one of my favorite surfaces for printing my digital images. When using this unique surface to run through your printer, first coat it with an ink aid. My choice is White matte precoat from inkAID. You can purchase this product from www.inkAID.com . The surface is brushed with the liquid, dried over night and then printed. Since lutradur is porous, 2 sheets can be stacked so some of the coating will seep to the bottom layer. This way less of the liquid product used will be wasted. When coating lutradur, be sure to use plastic underneath the textiles.

Lutradur has a parchment type look when printed. Soft and strong, lutradur is easily sewn into a composition, so using it in art quilts is no problem. For books and mixed media projects it is durable and can be painted. You can contact me with questions on this wonderful textile.


Kauri 22 and 2 other Kauri pieces have been juried into "Creative Force 2007". This Art Quilt Exhibit will open at the International Quilt Market and International Quilt Festival Houston Texas October 27-November 4, 2007. The show will travel from there.

Grand Canyon

While the next step of my current project has to wait for drying time, creating a post will keep me from rushing the process!

A couple of months ago we went to the Grand Canyon to hike. When walking around the rim, my obsession with lone trees became the subject of the day. This tree photograph was digitally maniputed and parts of the depiction were selected. Once these selections are made they are turned into patterns on my web site. The finished images are in the travel section under Grand Canyon.

This print was the one on the bottom the birdcage from my last posting.

FInished piece "Textures From Life"

This is the finished piece. All the elements have not been pictured in the blog. There are 16 compositions that make up the completed art work.

In starting this, the idea had been to do a textured board book. After creating enough of the pages on the board base, it was easy to see that the elements didn't work in that format. The dead trees in front of the studio became the hanging rods. A quick trip to an import store gave the base of the small bird houses.

The bird houses were repainted and filled with little textural pieces. A miniature yo-yo quilt, beaded pieces of bark, a couple of long tags with photographs and fabric assemblages attached, these are among a few of the items that found a new home inside the bird cages. The bottom surface of both cages have a pattern made from a tree at the Grand Canyon, printed and transfered to the surface of a piece of burlap. Placing these items in the bird cages tied everything together.

Depicted here is the finished piece along with a detail of the textured surfaces from the side.

"Textures From Life"

There is a layer of dyed burlap and a layer of painted cheesecloth on the board base. A digital image is printed on transfer paper, heat set to cheesecloth that has been pieced and attached to the base fibers. Microbeads attached with double faced tape are added to the composition.

"Textures From Life"

Hand made paper and hand dyed paper were stacked under a digital photograph printed on matte paper. Cut outs of various digital patterns, also printed on matte paper, were added to the surface of the photograph. The patchwork patterns are sewn by machine stitching through all the surfaces. This assemblaged is attached to the board page with gel media.

"Textures From Life"

In this configuration, several layers of fiber are used. Included are; hand dyed watercolor paper, dyed cheesecloth, dyed canvas and a digital print heat transfered to hand made paper. These surfaces are sewn together by machine stitching. Micro beads with double face tape adorn the surface. This entire assemblage is attached to the board base with gel media.

"Textures From Life"

The board base on this element has a stripe print on lutradur directly attached with gel media. There are then several layers of watercolor paper that are hand dyed and crumpled, with a top of dyed hand made paper. These layers of various papers are sewn together by hand, with beads and dyed thread. This assemblage of paper is attached to the board.

"Textures From Life"

A digital print on lutradur is attached with gel media to the top of the board, that is the base of this configuration. On the next layer is a piece of distressed burlap that has been dyed and crumpled. Small motifs made up of dyed hand made paper, dyed cheesecloth and smal pieces torn from a digital print on handmade paper, are crunched together then secured with wire and beads. These motifs are attached to the burlap with wire.

"Textures From Life"

The top piece in this post is a combination of: Dyed cheesecloth on board under a digital print on canvas, cut, knotted and attached to the top layer.

The image underneath, is a digital print of a wall on matte paper. The print is cut and pieced to the top of the board with gel media. Dyed cheesecloth is beaded and attached to the digital print. Double faced tape adheres micro beads on the surface of the print.

"Textures From Life"

Back to back pages in this book. Well actually now that the parts are all finished, this was finalized into another configuration completely. The book just didn't show all the detail easily. Once all the pages have been depicted, I will share the final look.

The base here is board. For the top page at the top--gel media is used to attach a digital print on hand made paper, the print is covered with a piece of fiberglass screen. On the screen lays a digitally manipulated picture printed on matte paper. The words ACHIEVE, DESIRE, ENLIVEN, CREATE, INSPIRE, PLAY, THRIVE and SURRENDER, have been printed on fabric, cut out and then attached with beading to the screen. Black leather cording holds the page to the branch at the top.

The second image is on the back side of the same board. Once again there is a digital print on the board attached with gel media. The next layer up is hand dyed cheesecloth and then fiberglass screen added on the top layer. A concert program cover has been cut and folded and machine stitched to the screen. Attached to that are rehearshal photos from the show. These photos have been printed on matte paper, rolled and attached to the top layer with wire.