Paperart Originals – Ready for a new home

Years in the making, and hundreds of tiny details in paper, but I’m pleased to have completed my Brighton inspired Seaside Arches.

In a big move forward for me I am, for the first time, offering three paperart originals for sale in my Folksy shop. (Act quick before I change my mind).

The British seaside inspired this piece. I tried to keep to a limited colour palette, which is tricky as I love colour so much. The steam train is arriving at the seaside where the arches are a tea and ice-cream cafe, a beach paraphernalia shop and a boutique with pretty dresses, hats and handbags. The picture captures a warm sunny day with brightly coloured bunting being tousled by the warm, salty sea breeze.

This time the small white dog Sam is joined by my new little four legged friend, thanks to www.BorrowMyDoggy.com, with both wearing neckerchiefs.

There’s a deckchair and beach towel available for anyone wanting to imagine themself into the pretty seaside scene. Hmmm memories of happy days by the sea.

This winter scene is influenced by gingerbread houses, ski trips to the Alps and Russia, my love of ice skating and a chocolatier selling from a street booth I spotted in Lisbon. There’s a shift in the scene from Autumn trees into winter and the cosyness of festive lights.

Going to the seaside is all about breaking away from the norms and city to race eagerly towards the seaside, the East coast of England in this picture, the shores of Lincolnshire and Norfolk. A pretty cottage awaits the family’s arrival with a fun big wheel and ice cream van to cool down after some sunny time on the beach.

People always ask how long the pictures take to make but I’m never counting the hours as I find a happy space in cutting and placing each piece of paper to build the picture. It can be almost meditative. I most like to do this work at the table in our garden but it’s rare for sunny days still enough to work with such tiny pieces of paper; they can so easily be carried by the wind, but those rare days are magical.

More images and detail about these artworks at my Folksy shop.

I’m going to be bringing my paper art skills together with the fabric design techniques I’ve been exploring to create some cut paper fabric designs. There, now I’ve said it here I’ll make it happen. Watch this space and see more at my Instagram feed.

Here’s more about the paper part of my story.

Related posts:

Paper Art Pictures

Animating Paper Pictures

My Life in Paper

Paper Art Time-Lapses

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Fabric Design Steps

This image shows the three key stages of fabric design that I’ll be demonstrating and sharing at my workshop on Sunday 2nd June in Sheffield.

Step One is a design worked out on paper.

Step Two is to create the design in heat sensitive dyes on paper.

You can apply the dyes to paper using paint brushes, or you can collage painted papers or you can stamp the dyes onto paper. No drawing skills are required but some thoughts on composition are worthwhile.

The colours in this stage of the process are very different from the final outcome, as demonstrated in this short colour sample video.

 

Like any art work you can spend as much or as little time on your design as you wish. You can print your design and then move the design and over print if you like.

You can print a number of times from the dyes, although each later print will be slightly unique from the previous one, but we experiment with time and colour during the workshop.

Step Three is to press the paper with the heat sensitive dyes together with your desired fabric at high heat for a few seconds. This will activate the dyes and make them turn into gas, to wrap around the fabrics fibres and thus transferring them.

In seconds you’ve got your designed fabric and it can become whatever your imagination will allow.

If you’d rather watch than read – See this process in less than 40 seconds in this video. https://youtu.be/xnt9NKFmhKo

A second example

As a recap on the process here’s an alternative design, a small coastal landscape design made by collaging torn papers which had been painted with transfers dyes.

Step One: I had a seaside composition in mind to fit into a greeting card window.

Step Two: I collaged torn paper to compose the picture. Note I have not drawn anything in this piece. For many people drawing skills, of their perception of their skills can be a barrier to them enjoying art. That’s a shame as there are many other ways to make marks and create. This is just one suggestion.

Step Three – I heat pressed the design onto one, then another piece of fabric.

I’ll be sewing into the design next before mounting it in into the greeting card for a unique, handmade, frameable gift.

If you’d like to try these techniques for yourself you can book at the Stitched Up and Fleeced website. Stitched Up and Fleeced is a lovely studio with great facilities which are ideal for our workshop.

The workshop will be from 10am to 4pm giving chance to learn techniques and enjoy exploring them and developing your ideas using these new possibilities.

Whether your a textile artist, crafter, designer, or just fancy trying something new you’ll be creating in no time and will have a number of fabric designs by the end of the day. Your fabric designs could be framed, appliqued, made into accessories such as zip bags, glasses cases, cushions, home decor, gifts and so on.

You can see more details of the workshop day at this post. When you’re ready to book you can do that here.

See more fabric design ideas to spark ideas of what you might like to create:

Fabric Design Highlights

Heat Press Inspiration

Don’t just take my word for it, want to hear how other people found my live workshop:

Workshop – Testimonials

And something cute to complete this post:

Fabric Design Doll

Hope to see you on 2nd June.

Bye for now x

#fabricdesign #sheffieldartist #surfacepatterndesign #textileart

Fabric Design Highlights

It’s a year this week since my Heat Press machine arrived and made it possible for me to press my painted designs from paper onto fabric.

I’ve been reflecting on the work and continue to enjoy exploring the potentials of this colourful science of heat sensitive dyes.

Here are the highlights of the work using these fabric design techniques.

Most recently this colourful doll. All the fabric was white when I began the work. I added colour and stitch inspired by my favourite things.

One of the first things I made with my machine was this miniature bunting.

As I wanted flowers to always be at our Juliet balcony I created this tulip box draught excluder.

To help me relax and snooze whilst travelling I made this pretty eye mask, printing the fabric and the bias binding with my hand painted designs.

In a campaign to raise awareness of bell pepper allergies and intolerances I created this piece by painting then free motion embroidery.

I collaged pieces of painted paper to create this portrait.

Blue Hair Tulip Lady

My latest make was tennis themed bunting, joined with heat pressed ribbon, as part of promotion work for a tennis club.

In February I created samples to show different techniques and shared these at a half day workshop. Thanks so much to the workshop attendees, it was wonderful to see how you enjoyed putting your designs onto fabric. I can’t wait to see your creations with the fabrics you designed and made.

One of my favourite creations was the miniature cheese plant. Using hand painted leaves I pressed them onto satin, and using wire I stitched them and arranged them into this pretty home decor gem which doesn’t need watering or tending.

There’s the opportunity to play with these techniques and design your fabric for a craft, fashion or home decor project at my next workshop.

I’ll be demonstrating and teaching these techniques at a one day workshop in Sheffield on Sunday June 2nd. The workshop is at Stitched Up and Fleeced studio from 10 – 4pm, £60.

The one day workshop will bring stitch techniques into the process to explore how stitch can be used before and/or after pressing the designs onto fabric, to achieve some beautiful effects.

The workshop can be booked at the venue website. Just complete the contact form to ask any questions or to book. You can of course ask me any queries at inspirebykim@outlook.com

We’ll be exploring how we can reuse and upcycle existing fabrics that you already have, to breathe new life into them.

Here are testimonials from workshop attendees.

Can’t make that date? I also offer Fabric Design one to ones. Just message me for more details and dates.

So here’s to another year. I’ve some new ideas I’m developing, so watch this space. You can see my work in progress through my Instagram and Facebook.

These are related posts, enjoy. Thanks for being here.

Fabric Design Workshop – 2nd June, Sheffield

Fabric Design Project – Window Box Tulips

Workshop – Testimonials

Satin Cheese Plant…

Fabric Design Doll

Fabric Design Doll

With an idea to create doll I drew sketches then began assembling pieces of fabric that I had created through exploration with free machine embroidery techniques and heat sensitive fabric paints.

I’ll be demonstrating how to design and colour fabric in this way at a workshop on Sunday 2nd June. More details here and to follow.

I arranged the fabric pieces I’d created and stitched them together on my beloved Bernina before free motion embroidering further details of my favourite things, swimming fish, tulips, spiral shapes, hearts and flowers.

Fish and clams inspired by exploring the coral reefs of Egypt

Once I had the assembled and embroidered a length of fabric I drew pattern shapes and then cut them from the fabric thinking carefully about the placement of the different designs, details and colours, so as to create a striking bright design and balance where the colours popped against each other.

I stitched the legs and arms front to backs and she started to take shape.

My optician had asked me to capture my colourful Johann Von Goisern frames with my artwork so this seemed a good opportunity for a shot for this. The optician called it ‘frames and threads’ and shared it on their social media.

As the doll has two facial expressions one eyes open and one in calm restful bliss I needed only a little hair. I had a small piece of the bias binding leftover that I had pressed with magenta coloured heat sensitive paints, and wax relief of Passion flower tendrils, for the draught excluder project.

Turns out she’s a sun lover, I spotted her relaxing in the sunshine as I rethreaded my needle.

This work gave rise to the idea of placing supportive words and phrases on a doll to reassure and inspire the owner when life feels its most challenging, I’m going to develop that idea further.

Try it yourself:

All of these pieces of fabric were plain white when I began this project. Using heat sensitive paints I added colour and design to the fabrics to create something unique and original.

You can learn and explore these wonderful dye and stitch techniques, creating with colours and designs that you love to make something beyoutiful and uniquely you.

Join me on Sunday 2nd June at Stitched Up and Fleeced in Sheffield. 10 – 4 pm, £60. A wonderful day, no experience necessary.

You can book now by messaging your interest at this link.

Thanks for reading and I hope you’ve enjoyed this work.

I’m off to draw the doll now in different poses and develop a story around her.

If you’ve enjoyed this post these are other projects that you may enjoy seeing…

Bird and Flowers Cushion Design

Fabric Design Workshop – 2nd June, Sheffield

Fabric Design Project – Window Box Tulips

The Inspire Bear

Heat Press Inspiration

Tennis Club Promotion Part Two

I’ve been doing further tennis club promotional work. Here are the key illustrations and work.

If you’ve not seen the previous post here it is…

I did some line drawings, coloured them in with intense pencils and then brushed water over them to activate the inks.

I used shadow and still images as backgrounds for club member testimonials…

Echoed a champagne cork popping with a tennis ball tube as a poster design for display and social media promotion.

I hand painted tennis balls in heat sensitive dyes and printed them onto fabric and ribbon, repurposing a bed sheet, to make bunting to use at the event on Sunday.

I’ll be demonstrating these fabric design techniques, showing how to press designs onto fabric at my workshop on 2nd June 2019 at Stitched Up and Fleeced textile studio in Sheffield 10 – 4pm. £60. Book or enquire at this link.

See similar projects and work at these links:

Tennis Club Illustration and Design Work

Fabric Design Project – Window Box Tulips

Bell Pepper Allergy Campaign

Satin Cheese Plant…