Alaska Fiber Festival March 2010

From March 7 thru March 12, 2010, I will be at the Alaska Fiber Festival teaching a series of workshops. Starting on March 7th with Beginning Digital Printing then onto March 8th and 9th will be Extreme Textural Surfaces.  Next March 10th, Mixed Media Fiber Journal, March 11th,  Limbs: Abstract and Figurative and finishing with March 12, Abstract and Textural Surfaces with Canvas.

The Alaska Fiber Festival started in 2004 and is bi annual event hosted by a group of volunteers who bring exhibits from across the globe, along with workshop instructors for a week long festival.  The festival takes place in Anchorage, Alaska.

These 5 workshops in 6 days will be the subject of my next few blogs.  You can go to the Alaska Fiber Festival Site to see all the class descriptions.  What I will focus on is the idea behind the workshops and how I developed the original work each workshop is based on.

Limbs:Abstract and Figurative is scheduled for Thursday March 11, 2010.  The visuals enclosed show both pictures of my work and photographs that inspired my Limbs Series.

At one point on my artistic journey, the forms of trees from the southwest were my sole inspiration.  Trees have always influenced my work in different ways.  The forms and shapes in nature are a wonderful way to be inspired and look to creating what you feel and see.

The possibilities that are created with spontaneity, a rotary cutter and nature's inspiration are incredible.  Using a cutter and matte along with a variety of hand dyed fabrics, the cutter becomes a drawing tool.  During this workshop students will learn free hand cutting techniques to cut and piece their composition.  If students are already familiar with these types of techniques it will be an opportunity to pursue fabulous results and increase their skills.

Magic happens as each students work
will be uniquely their own.  Everyone will
show their own style evident as they cut and sew.  By the end of this workshop all will have an idea how to successfully create compositions to build on as they work on this process later.  And they will always be able to contact me with questions on the process.

Supplies for the workshop will include a sewing machine, rotary cutter, mat for cutting, fabric, thread and a few straight pins.  I will teach my easy way to sew curves without clipping.  You will be amazed what interesting shapes will occur in your work that you couldn't imagine before you start.  Join us!

If you have any questions on this or any of my workshops contact me.  For more workshop details see these posts:

 Alaska Fiber Workshops Continued  December 22, 2009

 Beginning Digital Printing, December 24, 2009

 Alaska Fiber Festival, Textural Surfaces, December 27, 2009

 Alaska Fiber Festival - Mixed Media Fiber Journal, January 3, 2010

Digital Printing on Amate Bark Paper

Still experimenting with the amate process for making bark paper to print.  It is hard to see from the pictures, but this substrate is incredible when printed.  The textures and subtle peaks and valleys in the paper itself, do wonderful things to the print.  Here I will show you what I did to print the paper that I made a month or so ago.  I have a new pound of kozo from Japan, which is a little different then the kozo from Thailand that I used for this printing.  In the next month I will be back to boiling, pounding and using the amate process to create more paper.  The prints you see here will end up in an art book.  I will be printing other surfaces to go along with the bark. 

2010 is right around the corner, I would like to make great strides in further expanding my substrates for digital images.  Since learning curves are sometimes steep, it could be awhile.  Making this paper, I got a little carried away and ended up with some raised parts that were too high for the printer.  The Epson 4800 shut off each time I got to those high points in one of my longer, wider sheets of paper.  I couldn't get the printer to resume printing.  I turned the sheet around to print from the other end.  The printer shut off in the exact same spot of the image.  Then wondering if I was going to have a real problem, I set up another carrier sheet and was able to print the whole length which was 17" x 45", with no problems.

Before I started printing I needed an image.  Looking to combine photographs to get a extreme textural look, I found a picture of bark from Yosemite's Mariposa Grove.  This photo as you will see is very out of focus. It"s in the middle below.  It was around 8am in the morning and still pretty dark in the grove.  That morning we spent over 5 hours hiking the grove for pictures, and I sometimes get too hurried.  Well I didn't hold the camera steady enough and got a crudy picture.  I used that blurry picture, separated it into 8 layers from selections of the image.  I filled these selections with other images that were photographs of some of my textural art books.  From there I made patterns and added them to my pattern palette in Photoshop and used those patterns to texture the layers.  

Rectangle on the left is one version of the altered image from the center.  The rectangle on the right is another version with one or 2 of the layers changed. The middle is the original blurry image.

I combined the images in a file to print.  I merged the image on the right for printing, but could not merge the layers of the image on the left.  The image changed when I merged it, so I had to print a larger file, but I didn't want to alter what I had.

Here below is a detail of the panel right below that.  If you look closely or you click on the detail image, to make it bigger, you will be able to see the print going to the carrier sheet between pieces of the bark.  Several pieces are taped to the carrier sheet before printing.

The 2 pieces above are from the carrier sheet.  The 2 below are details of the print.

Art Unraveled Workshop 2010

Eclectic Digital Journal Elements

August 9, 2010

This one day workshop will feature a funky stuffed cover, watercolor pages and digital collage.

Got an idea of what is covered in this jam packed workshop?

Here's more:
*We will use my 4" x 6" mini printer for each student to print 5 digital images to use in their journal.  This printer is a great one for journalling on the road.
*Students will bring the paper for the journal all ready to go already colored.  Once a student signs up,
I will give them step by step instructions on how I color my watercolor paper for these journals.
*We will use the digital images in uncommon ways and each book will be different and individual.
*The cover is quick and easy.  The basic cover can be assembled in a little over an hour.  After that it
can be embellished further with beads and other items each student will bring.
*I will have cover material, so that there will be fabric there for everyone's use.
*All students will go home with written instructions on how to prepare fabrics to print on any inkjet printer.  The only requirement for the printer is that it has a straight paper path.
*More information is available on the Art Unraveled Website

Pictures of one of the sample journals from this workshop.

Hudson River Valley Art Workshops

Journals are wonderful creation tools.  To me journals embrace a special essence.  They are individual visions of the person constructing them.  Journals come in infinite styles and can be in the art category or the journal writing category. 

In April from the 18th to the 24th, I will be teaching an informative, inspiring workshop in “Digital Mixed Media Fiber Journals”  The workshop will take place at Hudson River Valley Art Workshops in Greenville, New York.  Class description and workshop information is available on the FiberArts Workshops Site.

When I approach journal making, one of the first choices to be made is the type of journal to be created.  The 2 types of journals we will explore for this workshop, will

be either an art journal, or a personal type journal.  Art journals are a way to create a mixed media piece on a subject.  Each page becomes a mini composition.  These journals, or art books are a wonderful way for an artist to express ideas.   Personal journals will be built to be writable so they can evolve over a period of time with written and drawn entries. 

During the 5 day workshop we will create the base for the journal from fabric and/or paper and everything else that will be included.  Each student will print digital images that they can alter and use in the journals as collage or another element.  Complete instructions will be given on how to prepare and print different types of fabric and paper, so printing skills can be used once the workshop is complete.

For questions contact Kathyanne

Journal Examples follow:

Design Intriguing Surfaces Ebook

Intended to inspire and spark artist’s creativity, “Designing Intriguing Surfaces” is the first ebook in a series that will combine digital printing with alternative surfaces.  Silk, canvas, lutradur, organdy, pimatex cotton, tyvek and several types of paper are included in this ebook, to highlight surfaces that can be printed on any straight path inkjet printer.  This enables the artist to work with regular non art type printers. Of course the surfaces are also wonderful when printed on archival art printers also. The techniques can be used by anyone that wants to experiment and create this type of work.

“Design Intriguing Surfaces” includes precoating surface instructions, helpful hints and a complete supplier list.  Each page is filled with visual eye candy that encompasses prints on the various surfaces discussed and also details of completed art work.

Since my work is influenced by forests, textures are evident in the process of my digital prints. I believe there are unlimited possibilities to use digital prints in all sorts of manners in art.  This book will open a series on that path.  The second book, already in the works “Assemble Intriguing Surfaces” will take the reader into the ways I construct some of these prints into art books and other art work.  From there I will be doing one on: texture, printing with a mini printer, skins with added elements, recycled beverage cans and metal mesh.  These subjects will in turn create other ideas to take this series of books further. 

You can purchase your copy of “Designing Intriguing Surfaces”  by download or on a cd.

Members of KathyAnneArt  receive 20% off the price of 9.99 for the download and $25.00 for the CD version.  Members be sure to sign in to get your discount, once the item is in the cart your discount will appear.

OR-

For more information contact me at KathyAnneArt

Digital Prints on Recycled Beverage Cans

  The first of these pieces is one I have been working on and it seems slowly indeed to get it to this point.  At this point there are over 200 cans in it and the size is 120" in height and 24" in width.  This is the first panel and I am working on at least 3 more. I thank all my friends for their can donations:)  The start of this piece is posted on July 10th this year.  The prints for this piece are and will continue to be patterns from Yosemite National Park's Mariposa Grove and the Waipoua Forest in Northern New Zealand.

                                                                      

Detail of piece

Now we have another piece I am working on.  This piece is also beverage cans that have been printed.

I am not sure this piece will continue on the way it is or change.  Not sure it is working for me and I have made several changes since I started it.  This would be another large piece.  My goal with these 2 pieces is to do an installation where the viewer could walk around these pieces that have prints based on the surfaces in a forest.  My vision is to build a walking forest from recycled printed cans.

Detail

The prints for this piece is a photograph from the Mariposa Grove in Yosemite National Park.

Journals with Digital Elements Workshop

Have you ever considered using digital elements in your journals or art books?  In this workshop you will design and construct your own original journal from cover to cover.  Exploring the numerable possibilities for using digital prints, patterns and textures in journals, art journals or art books.  Experiment with images and create surfaces that can be printed on ink jet printers.

You will:
Dye, paint and/or overprint the base pages
Work with inkAID digital grounds to coat surfaces for printing
Create transparent or textural skins
Print on fabric using carrier sheets
Design your pages in the journal
Create a cover
Put it all together

Questions are welcome at anytime.  This is an online workshop and can be accessed at any time.

The accompanying video has the following segments:
A chat about the workshop
Making a cheesecloth skin
Create painted pages
Overprint painted pages
Melt tyvek and lutradur
Take a look at how journals are created
Covers
A complete look at an art journal from start to finish

This workshop is $50.00 and can be purchased with the buy now button below.
For members log in to the KathyAnne Art site, purchase the workshop on the site and save 20%.

Book of Forests 5 - Grand Canyon

Book of Forests 5 - Grand Canyon

Each page of the book is approximately 12" high and 8" wide.

It is an accordion style book that stretches to about 27"

Book back

Book front

4 page detail

Page Detail- Digital print on canvas, dyed watercolor paper overprinted, print on melted tyvec, crocheted hemp

Dyed canvas, lutradur heat distressed, dyed cheesecloth, wire wrapped pieces of hemp, printed organdy and printed canvas

Dyed canvas, lutradur heat distressed, dyed cheesecloth, wire wrapped pieces of hemp, printed organdy and printed canvas

Digital print on tyvec with printed watercolor paper cut out and wrapped with heat distressed lutradur and wire

Strip pieces cut from digitally printed cheesecloth skins, printed canvas, printed metalic crinkle paper, along with pieces of dyed canvas and cheesecloth

Detail of 4 pages

Book of Forests 5 is based on images from the Grand Canyon. The piece is for a show at Tohono Chul Park in Tucson Arizona. The show "Canyons of the Southwest", will be on display from November 12, 2009 until January 10, 2010. If you haven't been to Tohono Chul and you are near Tucson, the part is a treat to visit. Check it out!

Digital Prints on Alternative Surfaces

Back in my studio today after spending a week traveling. First I went to Denver to participate in a seminar from the National Association of Photoshop Professionals. Imagine my disappointment when I arrived at the convention center in Denver and the instructor for the seminar didn’t show up. The organization didn’t even email anyone that morning to save them the drive into the city and the parking bill. My business trip was planned to install the piece pictured in this post, adding a couple of days early to do the NAPP seminar. NAPP rescheduled, but I am not returning to Denver to take this one.

Then the fun began installing my commission. This piece was commissioned by Mack Web Solutions in Ft. Collins, Colorado. The company wanted a piece to be installed in their new offices that was printed on my choice of alternative surfaces. The images used from the website are printed on both aluminum mesh and recycled beverage cans. I printed doubles of everything and then once in the space considered how the pieces would be used.

Here are some items that had to be considered:

The images for the piece were in 72 dpi and had to be enlarged without making the images blurry. I used a technique from Scott Kelby in one of his digital photography books. I had to change parts of how his instructions enlarged the image because mine was blurry. With a couple of adjustments to his instructions, my images were enlarged and printed at 150 dpi to keep them in focus.

The images to print on the cans are a little over 3". The beverage cans I used were only around that width, so I had to reprint many of the images that were hard to center on the cans. No amount of marking got the cans in the right place each time, but I did get enough to have them end up right.

Then, since I was not looking for the images to just be a copy of the website, I started to cut and play with the images to get the piece together. The globe is printed on aluminum mesh as well as the mack letters of the logo. There are 2 of each image stacked and cut then wired back together with beads in between the layers to separate the images. The images printed on cans are clips from websites the firm has designed. The cans were cut and wired together in 2 layers with beads in between to separate the layers.

Amate Bark Digital Print

Several projects have been going at one time and some of them were finished this past week. The subject of today's post is a piece that started when I made bark paper (featured in the previous post) using the Amate process. The finished piece is composed of 3 layers: the bottom is a piece of black hardware cloth with a 1/4" grid, above that is a piece of copper mesh that has been digitally printed, above that is a piece of the bark paper I printed with the same image on the copper mesh.

The photograph was taken in the Mariposa Grove in Yosemite National Park this June. Photoshop was used to manipulate and combine the original photograph with another image. This piece is around 37" in height and 17" in width. The layers have been assembled using waxed linen tied through the three surfaces. The pictures show a few details and the actual piece.