Workshop & Instructor Information

Carol Soderlund

Layers Upon Layers

August 11 - 17, 2013

Advanced Beginner and Up

Distressed surfaces are endlessly fascinating to artists.  Weathered doorways, crumbling walls, eroding hillsides, peeling paint, and rusted metal grab our attention as they partially reveal and partially conceal.  These surfaces speak of time and of process.  They open the door to our inner thoughts and invite us in.....

In this class we will develop experimental approaches to the layering of color and visual texture on cloth. Students will choose to develop either 
• 20-30 smaller (fat quarter sized) pieces displaying a range of techniques, but visually related in color themes
• 4-6 larger pieces (1 or 2 yards each) that focus on one or two aspects of the processes presented and use related imagery

We will use natural fibers, primarily cotton and silk,  both opaque and sheer.  We will build layers on the cloth, considering the effects of:

layering translucent dye and opaque paint
layering value and hue
layering textures in low water immersion
layering textures created by resists
layering stitch and patch

To develop the vision, we will brush and screen, mask, spray, and monoprint onto white pfd OR onto previously dyed, patched, and stitched cloth, using any or all of the following:

Procion MX fiber reactive dyes
soy wax and corn dextrin as water-soluble resists
acrylic-based paints and mediums
discharge paste