A World of Appliqué

Appliqué is a technique shared by many needle workers around the world. A challenging skill to learn, many stay away from it, or at least from the hand-worked version. There are plenty of short cuts out there to help give a similar effect through use of adhesives and the sewing machine. I happen to enjoy the process of feeling the fabric take shape under my needle.

The basic technique involves securing a top layer of fabric on to a bottom one using tiny stitches. This little video on YouTube deomonstrates it quite well:


I actually stitch in the opposite direction from what is shown in this video. I take the needle down through the top layer and come up through the bottom. We each have to find what works best for us, but I feel like I have more control this way.

Hawaiian quilts are a much loved expression of this technique. They normally involve two huge pieces of whole cloth that are attached together, with the top one being the appliquéd design. They are challenging because of their immense size. The design is cut much like a snowflake pattern would be out of paper. Fabric is folded into four or more folds, with the shape drawn out so that it is consistent throughout the piece. One way to control the piece is to cut and secure down as you go. Australian blogger, Anna Spiro, documented some Hawaiian quilts she saw in a trip she took in 2007. Her blog, Absolutely Beautiful Things, is absolutely beautiful and a must visit! She is an interior designer with an eye for the truly lovely in life. Here are a couple of her Hawaiian quilt photos:


The Hmong of Laos and Vietnam have long used appliqué in their garments and textiles. Thousands came to the United States as refugees after the Vietnam war and their needle work soon became visible at festivals, church bazaars and quilt shows. The pandau is a gorgeous example of appliqué at its best:

Nebraska Folk Life

When the Hmong first began selling their needlework here in the West, many found their colors garish and loud. The above example is the result of their understanding of the American preference for a softer palette. I have a vintage baby carrier that has faded with age, but which shows the intensity of work in their traditional pieces:

Available for sale on Etsy, $58

I saw a booth similar to this one by Hmong Needlework at the quilt show.

I desperately wanted to buy from them as their work was top quality with great colors. The American taste for bland colors is changing. The pieces I saw were vibrant and absolutely gorgeous. They were made locally by Hmong living in Michigan. Unfortunately, buying from local artists for re-sale is not feasible as the market would not bear the prices. Those of us who carry these textiles for sale need to make our profit margin, so we still depend on sources overseas for our supply. Most local vendors don't have the computer skills to get their wares to larger audiences and show fees have increased yearly, making it harder for them, too. A Catch-22.

Another Australian blogger, Melanie Gray Augustin, lives in Japan and documents her life there with her excellent blog, Kimono Reincarnate. Those Australians sure are a creative bunch! Melanie visited North Vietnam in 2007. She has a nice piece on indigo work done by the Hmong there:

The indigo fabric is hand spun, dyed and decorated with appliqué. Visit her blog for more photos and the description of her trip.

The Learning Support Services of the University of Wisconsin/Madison has a nice section on Hmong Textile Arts. This illustration shows some of the symbolism in their needlework:

Many other needle workers around the world use their skills to make products that cater to the Western market. I buy these pillows from a friend who imports from India:

Available in my eBay store for $15

These pillows are made by cutting into the top layer of fabric and stitching it down. This is often referred to as cutwork appliqué. Buying from these artisans helps them continue to maintain their traditional village life, working at home or in groups with other women.

When thinking of appliqué, we refer to the design being added on as fabric on fabric. Another appliqué technique involves revealing the fabric underneath as the design. This is called reverse appliqué. Molas from the Kuna People of the San Blas Islands off the coast of Panama are the best example of this technique.

In this example, the top layer of fabric is the orange:

The green is the bottom fabric. The other colors are appliqued on top as accents. Molas are wild in color and theme. I love them and have a bunch listed in my Etsy store and will have many more there soon.


They are often humorous:

Appliqué is definitely time consuming and labor intensive. But, if the stitches are done well (close together and tightly), the textile becomes durable, able to wear and wash well. I have seen poorly stitched pieces from Pakistan that fall apart if washed. I learned that many of the ones I saw were made by elderly widows with poor eye sight.

Just be informed of what you purchase and what you will use it for. And, if you sew, do not be intimidated by appliqué! It goes quickly once you get the rhythm.

A World of Appliqué

Mother and Child, Mirrors of Love

Today is Mother's Day here in the United States. I would like to dedicate today's post to my mother, Donna Biel, and to all mothers around the world.

My mother grew up in Western Minnesota in a tiny town called Minneota. She is a Gislason, a descendant of Icelander farmers who settled the area. Mom went to St. Olaf College in Northfield, became a nurse, met my Dad and after six months, married him. I was born a year after they married and when I was six months old, they took off to Brazil for twenty years of service as Lutheran missionaries. My brother and sister were both born there.

Mom in college in the late 1950's

When I look back on our lives, I think of my mother going off into the unknown at the young age of 24 years. This is no small undertaking coming from a small Midwestern town in the 1960's. She met her first Black person in college and had no contact with Latinos growing up. I was an adult when she told me that she had been planning on going to Appalachia as a nurse if she hadn't met my father.

We struggled with each other when I was growing up. She was practical and determined while I was impulsive and conceptual. She wondered why I couldn't be "normal". But, some of the wildness in me had to come from her. When she was a teenager, she put eggs in one of my grandfather's hats. My grandfather cursed her, "May you have yourself as a child someday!" (Me, I think...)

The 70's were unattractive for most of us...

My mother worked hard all her life. In Brazil she kept life running smoothly for all of us. We had a maid, but they cooked, cleaned, and prevented chaos, side by side. She organized the church women, was the local "shot" lady (neighbors would have her give them their shots), had cookies and kool-aid as constant supplies for the scores of kids that constantly swarmed our house, mended my Dad's socks, patched up our clothes, read to us, and was just always there and always constant. When we moved back to the United States, she worked at horse radish factory for awhile until a position opened up at a nursing home for an RN. She finally used her academic training and continued her ministry with the elderly. She retired last year and now continues to serve as a hospice volunteer.

At the age of 70, my mother has more energy than I ever have had. She bought herself some snow shoes this winter and trudged around just for fun. As I age, I see how many good things she has instilled in me and how much of her determination I also have. My mother opened the world to me and let me go forth, finding my own path. We are different from each other, but we are also of the same stock. With all my heart, I thank her for her labor, her guidance, her persistence, and her purity.

Here is a little tribute to mothers around the world. Those of us who love textiles and fiber art need to keep in mind that someone, probably a woman, most likely a mother, made these things. They represent cultures that are quickly disappearing, giving way to technology or violence. They were made for a purpose that might no longer seem relevant to most of society. In admiring their work, we should also give credit to their origin, to their integrity.

Following are photos of mothers with a child, Madonnas of the world. The photo titles are linked to their site of origin and many are available for purchase, so visit the sites for more information. When a photographer was named, I included them in the title.

Basutoland, South Africa 1947

by George Rodger

Yanomami Mother and Child by Steve Cox for Survival

Meiji Era Japan

Andean Mother
by Beatrice Peltre

Nepal School Project



Afghan mother- Herat

Piute Woman and Papoose


Reang Tribal Mother and Child
by Mitchell Kanashkevich

We may seem so different from each other, yet these photos all show the love these mothers have for their children. If we can look beyond our cultural trappings, we will find common ground. I was once at a friend's house where three small girls sat at a table with my friend's daughter. They were working on an art project together. I knew all the mothers. As I watched them, I was shocked by how similar they each were to their mother. The way they spoke, their opinions, their method of reasoning, their body language- they were little xerox copies of my friends. If you are a mother, may blessings be showered on you. May your children grow healthy and strong. May they be leaders of peace and mirrors of your love.

Mary, mother of Jesus the Christ, most favored of women
Credited to Leonardo da Vinci

Mother and Child, Mirrors of Love

Guest Artist: Barry Singer of Fish Fanatic

Pennsylvania artist Barry Singer contacted me through my Etsy store, asking a question about my molas. I took a look at his store and was intrigued by his fish. I had not heard of Gyotaku before and really liked what I saw. The translucent result of imprinting the fish makes the image almost seem like an x-ray.

Barry was kind enough to submit an article for Fiber Focus, explaining the technique. He uses fabric paints or acrylics when printing on fabric, and both are permanent when heat set. I can see a fish quilt in the making! Barry is also an accomplished painter, showing off more of his fish in brilliant oils and watercolor. Visit his Etsy store for a whole range of fish products on fabric and paper. His website has a more extensive step-by-step illustrated guide on how to master the Gyotaku technique.

GYOTAKU on Fabric

GYOTAKU with its origins in Japan, is the process of rubbing the image of a real fish onto paper or fabric. Fabric is actually the easier of the two.

Can anyone do it? Of course, just like anyone can draw or paint. Some folks are better at it and everyone has their own style. I recently did a GYOTAKU class at the state park and 25 people attended. Ages ranged from 10 years to retired and everyone had a blast. The results were amazing. Some people just made fish-shaped blobs while others looked quite professional. One teen aged girl knocked out a dozen beauties, signed them all and proclaimed “I’ve got gifts for all my friends!”

"Barry Singer is an old man who truly enjoys life.
He has worked as an artist, teacher, and a printer." (Barry Singer)

Here’s a quick how-to:

• First you will need a fish. There are over 30,000 species in the world, so take your pick.

• Next rinse it off thoroughly with salt or mild detergent.

• You may want to prop up the fins with blocks of wood or the like.

• Use some fabric paint available at the craft store to paint the fish everywhere except the eye.

• Choose a tight knit fabric, dark fabric for light paint and light fabric for dark paint.

• Memorize the anatomy of the fish; because once you lay the cloth on top, you’ll be like a blind man touching all of the parts. If you miss an area, well, the image won’t transfer.

• Carefully peel back the fabric and reveal a mirror image.
  

• Now you must use a fine brush to paint the eye. Study the actual eye because if you don’t do it correctly, it just won’t look right.

• Finally you can set the image with a hot iron using no steam.

For more details and step by step pictures, visit my web site www.gyotakuartist.com

Or buy an actual original from www.fishfanatic.etsy.com

Barry Singer paints in the eye of a striped bass made on black fabric.
The small GYOTAKU in the background are also made on cloth.

Guest Artist: Barry Singer of Fish Fanatic

Those Versatile Textile Stamps

Rubber stamping and scrapbooking have become big business within the US craft industry. Fancy papers, inks, embossing supplies, and rubber and foam stamps command high prices. One can easily walk into a craft store for a couple of items and shell out a $100 bill, a far cry from the carved potato stamp days many of us played with as kids. The technique of stamping images on to a surface has been around for centuries all over the world, ranging from simple forms to highly stylized, multi-layered images that take a lifetime to perfect.


I carry wooden stamps from Afghanistan, Pakistan and the region in both my eBay and Etsy stores. Carved out of hard pear wood, they are considered seconds to the artisans who used them, but have continued use to us as artists, both in functionality and as ornaments or decorative objects.

Textile stamps have many uses. My customers buy them to imprint on fabric, paper, and clay. I even had an Italian customer buy several to use to apply henna on skin. I am also a henna artist and have not tried that yet. The paste I use is thick and it seems to me like it would blur when stamped, but she sent some photos and apparently it works. More conventional uses involve using either inks or wax to apply the design on fabric or paper.


When working with ink, thicker pasty mixes work best. It can be applied to the surface with a brayer or lightly dipped. Use a thick pad of newspaper or batting under the paper or fabric and press down firmly. Those felted table pads are excellent. Wax options for batik include paraffin mixed with beeswax, soy wax, and potato or rice starch. One of my customers, Ruth Garrison, sent a beautiful photo of fabric she stamped using soy wax:

Another customer, Justmare on Etsy, uses the stamps to imprint on clay:


As you can see, these stamps have endless uses! Here are some examples of textiles from different countries who also use stamps for printing or batiking on fabric:



This is a batiked piece of hemp which was then dyed in indigo by the Hmong, a hilltribe people from Laos, Thailand and the region. Indigo is a favorite dye in many cultures. Here is a batik textile by the Miao, the largest minority group of China:

This process used tie-dye and embroidery, but a similar effect could be done with textile blocks. Here is another Miao batiked piece that uses both free-hand painting with wax and stamps:

These fabrics are cotton batiks from Africa which have used batik stamps. Bold, bright and beautiful:


India and Indonesia have taken this cottage industry to the highest form of production in mass quantities, both for internal consumption and for export. Indian textiles often incorporate images of animals and birds. Here is an example of a cotton spread hand blocked with stamps and ink:


Indonesian batik textiles evolved into a technically challenging form of art. They developed copper stamps, tjaps, that can render superb intricacy in design. The island of Java is the center of this craft. I have been looking for a source for the tjaps, but haven't found one yet. Dharma Trading has a few available and is also a great source for batik and printing inks and supplies.


Here is an example of a Java batik:


Many fabric stores that cater to quilters now carry gorgeous cotton batik yardage. Here are a couple of pieces I made using Indonesian batiks that were stamped:



The golden fabric in these pillows I made is stamped fabric from Western Africa:


Once you own a couple of these stamps, you want more. It's just inevitable. Each one has it's own charm and function. There are border stamps, central motif stamps, running design stamps, and stamps that are just too beautiful to pass up. I've had several requests from customers for animal or bird stamps and then it recently occurred to me why I don't have any. These stamps come from Muslim artisan groups and Islam forbids portrayals of people or animals in their art. Therefore, we have floral or abstract motifs, all quite beautiful in their own right. A border stamp:


The ones I carry come in many different sizes and are priced accordingly. Some have chips or wear that can be repaired by using wood filler. The one below is an example of one which could benefit from a little filler. Carefully press in filler into the dents and sand when dry. Very easy.


Clean stamps with a stiff brush and soap. Oil them if they look dry. You should wash these thoroughly after purchasing as they have dye or ink from their previous use.

Not an artist, but like the stamps? Consider them as pieces of art in their own right. I have smaller ones on book shelves and large ones look great displayed on a plate stand or on the wall. I can ship several smaller ones in a flat rate envelope for $5 US, $9 Canada, or $11 everywhere else. A bunch fit in a flat rate box in the US for $9. I combine shipping between both stores and give free shipping to purchases over $100 in the US and cover the first $20 everywhere else. May you, too, become impassioned with these gorgeous stamps!

Those Versatile Textile Stamps