Found Object

8/8/2019 Found Object

1/8

The Found Object in Embroidery 1

The Found Objectin Textile Art Cas Holmes


2/8


3/8

Printing with found materials

There are many ways to print using found objects. Here are just a few.

Relief PrintA relief print is a print taken from a raised surface. Print blocks are usuallymade from materials such as lino or wood, but try making your own simple

versions with the following materials:

Polystyrene food trays: these can be can be drawn into or carved for

fine relief.

Pencil erasers, either as they are or cut and carved.

Balsa wood, with shapes cut out or scratched in with a scalpel.

Textured wallpaper and fabrics.

Natural materials such as pine cones or pebbles.

MonoprintingA monoprint is usually a print taken from a flat surface, such as plastic or

glass, which has had a design painted onto it. Good surfaces for monoprinting

made from found materials include plastic bags or bin liners cut and taped

down onto a layer of cardboard, old plasticfoldercovers or overhead projector

plastic. You can make marks on the surface using found drawing media such as

sticks and sponges, paintbrushes, or your fingers.

StencilsCut letter stencils or shapes from card, glossy magazine paper, or plastic. Use

torn edges from paper and fabric. Natural materials, leaves, and plants make

good stencils when used directly or with monoprint as a mask.

The Found Object in Textile Art 3

Left: The same piece of wallpaper inked

up (right) and the resulting print.

Opposite: Detail of Remnants from notso Ordinary Lives showing rubbing froman old wallpaper remnant, done with waxcrayons and then stitched on fine buttermuslin. The block printing was done withold Indian blocks. Cas Holmes.


4/8


5/8


Sun printing with silk dyes

and plant materialsSun printing, or heliographic art, is a process in which heat-fixed silk fabric

paints are applied to fabric and, while it is still wet, found objects such asstencils, leaves, or feathers are placed on top. The fabric is then placed in thesun, and the outlines of the objects are transferred to the fabric. A range ofphotosensitive heat-fixed silk paints can be used for this process, includingSetacolour silk paints, Soleil paints, and Colourcraft transparent silk paints.

Materials and equipment Found objects for printing: natural materials such as leaves, flowers, or

feathers or household objects such as keys or tools or simply pieces of paper

cut or torn into shapes and patterns

Cotton fabricold sheets work well as they will not need pre-washing.

A smooth waterproof background board that will take pins. A piece of card

board or a polystyrene tile covered in plastic sheeting will do the job. Pins

Foam brush or spray bottle for wetting fabric

Paintbrushes

Heat-fixed silk paints in various colors

Iron

Method1. If your fabric is new, machine wash to remove sizing, then thoroughly dry

and iron smooth. Skip this step if you are using pre-washed fabric such as

old sheets.

2. Spread the fabric over the board. Wet it with clean water using a foam

brush or spray bottle.

3. Using a paintbrush, apply colors with long, smooth strokes.

4. Once the entire piece of fabric is painted, quickly arrange your objects onto

it, carefully pressing them tight against the fabric. Since the fabric is wet,

they should stick fairly well to the surface, but you may need pins to hold

them in place.

5. Place the fabric-covered board in a sunny spot and watch as the sun dries

the fabric and magically prints a negative image of your objects on the

surface. Depending on light levels, this step can take anywhere from 15

minutes to an hour. Carefully lift the corner of one of the pinned pieces to

check progress.

6. When the fabric is dry, remove all the object, and fix the colors by ironingfor 2 to 3 minutes on the cotton setting.

Opposite: Sun prints from plants pinned ontop of cotton sheeting fabric. The plants are

the whiter negative space. You can even seedelicate marks on the foliage.


6/8


7/8

Transferring images to fabric

Transferred images can be a marvelous addition to the mark-making process.

You can transfer found images, text, or your own photographs to fabric, and

these can lend an atmospheric feel to a piece.Images can be transferred using a variety of acrylic-based mediums, from

household acrylic varnish to artists acrylic paints or even household emulsion

or acrylic wood paint. White craft glue and acrylic gel mediums, usually used

to build up surfaces in paintings, are particularly good. You can also use

products especially developed for image transfer, such as Dylon Image Maker

or other proprietary transfer gels for fabrics. For these products, follow the

manufacturers instructions.

The methods described here are useful for transferring either photocopied

images (those made on a black-and-white photocopier, not a laser copier)

or ink-jet prints on matte-coated printing paper, with which best results can

be achieved if the image has a resolution of 1,4402,880 dpi. You can also

experiment with pages from newspapers (normal newsprint, not the glossykind). Remember you need to consider copyright law when using images not

originated by yourself or copyright-free.

Materials and equipment Large paintbrush

Small sponge

Plastic sheeting


Left: Images of sacred cows transferredonto a found canvas frame measuring8 x 8 in (20 x 20 cm). The cow poster in thebackground was transferred to the canvasusing a print from ink-jet printing paper.The black-and-white toned photographicimage in the foreground came from aphotocopy. The resulting image was thenoverlaid with machine stitch. From theDiary Studies series (Cas Holmes).

Far Left: Machine-stitched image of acrow onto conservation paper, before itwas overlaid onto another surface.


8/8

Beyond the SurfaceCreating wonderful new textilesurfaces from found materials.

Use of the FoundFinding, collecting, and using

found objects in your work.Magpie of the MindDeveloping an artists outlookon everyday objects and experiences.

SharingCollaborative andcommunity-based approaches.

Suppliers

Bibliography

Websites and Groups

Explore the elements and popular practice of using found objects in mixed media

and textile art with Cas Holmes. When applied both for decoration and meaning,

found objects can add texture and special accents to your art pieces. Let textile

artist Cas Holmes, renowned for her use of the found and her many-layered,

atmospheric pieces, show you a wealth of tips and ideas for this technique.

Inside youll discover:

Where to search for found objects and how to recycle previously used materials

Techniques to conceive and build a piece around a found object

The range of found objectsfrom natural materials such as driftwood

to manufactured pieces of machinery to even mundane objects like CD cases

How found objects can be used to create stunning pieces and lend deep

meaning to a work

The Found Object in Textile Artshowcases how to combine mixed-media and

fiber-arts techniques to create art with personal, narrative qualities.

Search, Find, and Infuse

Paperback, 8 1078, 128 pages

ISBN 978-1-59668-332-7, $26.95

Available September 2010

CAS HOLMES is one of theUnited Kingdoms mostrenowned textile artists.She exhibits widely and runscourses at West Dean College.She has written for magazines

including The Quilterand hascontributed to Workshopon the Web. She lives inMaidstone, Kent.

Contents

Documents

Found Object