beautiful photos & love the rustiness but "Rust Never Sleeps" as Neil Young sang so I am asking everyone who uses rust in their art how they feel about the fugitive nature of the colour and possibility of deterioration in the long term. Alice Fox responded over on Debbie Weaver's blog http://debbie-weaver.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/workshop-with-alice-fox.html with this considered reply- "Using rust to dye and print with will change the nature of the fabric. Heavily rusted fabrics become brittle and difficult to stitch into, taking on some of the metallic qualities of the rusty metal they have been in contact with. Anyone using heavily rusted marks should neutralise their fabrics in washing soda or baking soda, but even if you do this the fibres will have been weakened. I find that using tea with rust gives subtle and gentle marks and tones. These greys are developing because the tannins in the tea are reacting with the iron (effectively a mordant) and are dyeing the cloth or paper. My pieces are not necessarily expected to be archival for hundreds of years. I don't need to wash my items as I'm not wearing them and the folds and ripples that are formed during the wrapping and dyeing process are as much part of the piece as the marks on the cloth. I can get away with this because I'm not using vinegar. There is a very experimental nature to these techniques and this is what excites me: if it changes over time that isn't a problem for me, although I always advise people not to hang artwork in direct sunlight as this will affect many things, even considered 'archival'. The definition of archival seems to be a bit of a moveable feast anyway! If I sell things I makes sure people are aware of the possibilities for change. Hope that helps... Alice "
wonderful images Jane, the metal has a gorgeous surface and the fragmented edges are amazing
ReplyDeletePicked it up on a bush walk, and loved the contrasts, and even strange similarities with the buds etc
Deletebeautiful photos & love the rustiness but "Rust Never Sleeps" as Neil Young sang so I am asking everyone who uses rust in their art how they feel about the fugitive nature of the colour and possibility of deterioration in the long term.
ReplyDeleteAlice Fox responded over on Debbie Weaver's blog
http://debbie-weaver.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/workshop-with-alice-fox.html
with this considered reply-
"Using rust to dye and print with will change the nature of the fabric. Heavily rusted fabrics become brittle and difficult to stitch into, taking on some of the metallic qualities of the rusty metal they have been in contact with. Anyone using heavily rusted marks should neutralise their fabrics in washing soda or baking soda, but even if you do this the fibres will have been weakened. I find that using tea with rust gives subtle and gentle marks and tones. These greys are developing because the tannins in the tea are reacting with the iron (effectively a mordant) and are dyeing the cloth or paper. My pieces are not necessarily expected to be archival for hundreds of years. I don't need to wash my items as I'm not wearing them and the folds and ripples that are formed during the wrapping and dyeing process are as much part of the piece as the marks on the cloth. I can get away with this because I'm not using vinegar. There is a very experimental nature to these techniques and this is what excites me: if it changes over time that isn't a problem for me, although I always advise people not to hang artwork in direct sunlight as this will affect many things, even considered 'archival'. The definition of archival seems to be a bit of a moveable feast anyway! If I sell things I makes sure people are aware of the possibilities for change. Hope that helps... Alice "
wow, Mo, now there is food for thought - I'll need to consider my response!
Delete