How I see

Husb and I went to Balboa Park this week, and visited the San Diego Museum of Art. When I go places, these are the kinds of photos I take:




As I was preparing this post, I thought the photos would be one post, and my latest stitched monotype would be another post. Then I realized how similar my inspiration photos are to my work. Funny how something that should be obvious occurs to you, isn't it?


Orange Sherbet ~9x9 inches

I've stitched on this for weeks and it just didn't seem finished till I added these tiny cut out appliques.





It's going to my JaneVille Etsy shop now.

Teabags in artwork

detail from "Industrial Aged" by Jane LaFazio

Judy Coates Perez is a friend of mine, and an incredibly talented and innovative artist. I've been inspired by her use of teabags and thought I'd ask her about how she got started using them in her artworkl

Me: How and when did you think to use teabags in your art?
Judy Coates Perez: The first time I used tea bags was when I made Illustrated Document No. 1 for the Quilting Arts true colors paper quilt challenge. All the illustrated imagery was drawn on individual tea bags, adhered to the fabric.


Illustrated Document No. 1 by Judy Coates Perez

Me: How do you use teabags?
JCP: I have drawn on them with a permanent marker, then added color with paints and colored pencils, put them through my toner printer and printed illustrations and vintage photos on them and I have adhered plain tea stained ones to fabric to make a textured background that I have painted on top of.

Take These Broken Wings by Judy Coates Perez

Me: How do you adhere them?
JCP: I use acrylic matte medium and gel medium to glue them to the fabric, but they could also be attached to fabric with fusible web.
Me: Any other pearls you want to add.
JCP: I like using tea bags because they are a thin, strong fibrous paper and they have a lovely stained patina from the tea. When tea bags are glued to fabric they do not add the bulk and stiffness of regular paper making them ideal for combining with fabric. I have also discovered that abaca paper, which can be bought in large sheets, is often used to make tea bags. That's pretty cool because I can put a sheet of abaca in my printer with less likelihood of loosing it, like occasionally happens with a tea bag, lol. I have recently used abaca in a few projects and see some nice potential for more exploration.

Here are my teabag works:

detail from "Industrial Aged" by Jane LaFazio

and detail shots of my work:



Jazzed? inspired? ready to drink tea 24/7 and then make art with the bags? Use the process below and you'll have a supply of teabags to print on, glue on, draw on and some lovely tea dyed fabric too.
   
I just get the big box of iced tea bags (they're larger) and brew them all at once.
 
Tie them together and stick them in a big heat resistant bowl. Add boiling water and steep.

You'll what to have two pieces of fabric. (I use white muslin.) One piece I put in a container and put the used teabags on the fabric to dry. The teabags will stain the fabric and the fabric will soak up some of the moisture left in the used teabags. The teabags can take a couple of days to dry.

The other piece, you'll put in the brewed tea, after you remove the teabags (previous step). Let the fabric sit in the tea for an hour or two. Wring out, and put in the clothes dryer. Iron for lovely tea-stained fabric.

Once the teabags are dry (they don't need to be bone dry) disassemble them. Use a staple remover, or Xacto or fingers to remove the staple.

Unwrap carefully, discard tea grounds or put them in your garden.

Flatten the teabag paper. Each will be softly and uniquely stained.

Iron the teabags.

Now you've got your stash of teabags prepared, look at Judy's tutorial on how she applied them to cloth and painted on them.

from sketchbook to art quilt ~ work in progress

"Nostalgia Series: Zinnia" in progress by Jane LaFazio 

I'm finally getting the hang of free motion stitching (it truly just takes practice, lots of practice) and I love the idea of using the imagery from my sketchbook in my art quilts.

from my sketchbook (5x7Inches) by Jane LaFazio

On the left was the journal page from awhile back.  

in progress by Jane LaFazio 

Then, I printed the image onto sandwich/deli wrap (you could use tracing paper, or any light-weight paper) and pinned it to the BACK of my quilt (fabric and batting.) I free motion machine stitched the outline of my drawing. (I used green thread in the bobbin, in part because I'm not yet confident in bobbin tension and frankly, I was playing it safe.)

 in progress by Jane LaFazio 

 in progress by Jane LaFazio 

And the front of the fabric (soy wax mono-printed fabric by yours truly in a workshop a while back.) You can't see the green thread very well, but I'm okay with that, because now I'm going to stitch from the top, using black thread.

"Nostalgia Series: Zinnia" in progress by Jane LaFazio 

Below is the work in progress, I'm hand stitching now.

"Nostalgia Series: Zinnia" in progress by Jane LaFazio 

"Nostalgia Series: Zinnia" in progress by Jane LaFazio 

The white linen cocktail napkin is a transfer from another of my drawings using Susie's Monday's technique

"Nostalgia Series: Zinnia" by Jane LaFazio (sold)

Make a box for your 5x7 inch sketchbook pages

 
I created a box pattern that would hold my 5x7" watercolor pages. (email me and I'll send you the pdf of the pattern.) I used rosin paper for the box, gessoed it and painted it with acrylics.


I used a couple of stencils and spray gesso 

One of my hand carved stamps, and added some color.


I collaged the other side of the paper, and added color and then spray gesso again.
Cut and fold to assemble

I glued the sides with heavy gel medium and paper clipped them to hold in place while drying.


I reinforced the lid by using an awl to punch holes, and used hemp string.


Stitched up the four sides on the lid.




Then, I made some little accordion fold books, using my unfinished artwork as covers and painted watercolor paper as pages. 


Everything fits in my journal page box!

Interiors of the little books, painted with watercolor.

My 5x7 inch watercolor paper fits just fine!