Saturday 23 February 2008

That Egyptian curse again

Today it was too dull to take any photographs so while my GS was busy building a ski resort on his computer which is based in our workroom I decided to work on the book I planned using one of the stencilled pieces of Nefertiti.
I found an old ring binder which had a very strange arrangement for the rings - they didn't fit any hole system I have come across so with some force and manipulation I eventually managed to remove the ring system and secure another more conventional one in its place. (I keep old ring systems from old files for making books.)
Next I cut a piece of rayon velvet and marked out where the stencil would go. Then the curse set in.
I wanted to use transfer foil so I began with Misty fuse. It worked OK on my tiny sample but... I laid it onto the velvet under the stencil - the idea being to have a weblike stencil of Nefertiti on the velvet. The idea is OK - that will work but the webbing stuck itself to the stencil and pulled off the velvet too which I didn't think it would do so I had all that to remove. I think it would work really well if I had made the stencil from either Teflon sheet or baking parchment. Something to try in the future!!!! or not after this.
I had another go and made the classic mistake of placing the transfer foil the wrong way up. Had all that to clean up. Tried again and guess what??? Yes - can you believe it - I did the same again. Cleaned up and gave up. Back to GS and a jigsaw puzzle.

I had a recovery job to do which is now ongoing and it is looking OK. I have used some bronzing powder paint sponged over the velvet and I did with trepidation use the transfer foil over it and yes - I did it correctly this time. Then I sprinkled some patina bronze mica flakes over this followed by a layer of bronze sheer which will keep walking over the velvet at the slightest touch. Frustrating!
It is all pinned ready for the stitching and maybe heat blasted. The stencilled panel was gently rubbed with bronze wax to tone down the yellow card which didn't quite tone in. This is covered with some Japanese tissue paper containing silver and gold flecks and swirls of fibre. It will be stitched in place with some braid around the edges.
I took a couple of quick photos which are not too sharp but give an idea of what I am doing. The reflection from the tissue shiny surface cuts down the effect but the stencilled Nefertiti shows up better than in the photo.

















I have to decide how I am going to stitch over the surface but must eat first and then finish processing yesterdays photos and some of my OH's photos from the motor show last month.

2 comments:

Purple Missus said...

So pleased that I am not the only one who makes the same mistake not once, but twice in a row :))
What amazes me though Shirley is that you have the patience to do a 'recovery job' which isn't looking too bad either. I would have just dumped the whole lot and probably given up on the idea altogether. Hats off to you :)

sharon young said...

Hi Shirley
You certainly had a fight with this one!! If it's any consolation I have put the foil face down so many times it's painful, and yes I had exactly the same struggle with the foil on the CF PC, it just wouldn't stick this time and yet the time before using the same fabric, same technique it worked like a dream.
I can only think it was because I was trying to fuse very small pieces in specific areas. I too had to do a major recovery job and it was in the bin at one point!!!
I'm sure it'll work in the end as it looks very promising so far.
Thanks for your comments on blog post, glad you decided to take part in the CF exhibition.