I really, really wanted to like the Serti technique, (outlining with gutta and painting within the lines) as shown here in my daughter's requested butterfly scarf, but I really don't. I suppose my hands are somewhat tied by the fact that I refuse to use anything but water-based resists, as I do not want to add regular trips to the drycleaner to remove gutta. As a result, my gutta lines tend to get flooded or washed away by my painting.I did batik (using wax as a resist medium) back in college, so I may have to give that a go again. Boiling or ironing out the wax sounds like a complete pain in the tuckus, but I KNOW that painting won't wash that away.
Unfortunately, the better guttas that don't wash away as readily make my paintings look like a kindergartener got into mommy's wardrobe with a magic marker. I don't mind the "human touch" in my artwork, but I don't like it looking like I used a fine-tip Sharpie when I painstakingly squeezed the lines from a bottle with a teeny tiny point on it.
My abstract items look better, and I think that's the way for me to go until I get more practice or get my wax.I *really* like the effects of salt and alcohol on the dye. Those techniques are staying in my arsenal for sure.
The Shibori will look better when I take the time to do it right, instead of hurriedly trying to slap something together. But isn't that true of most art?This shibori scarf reminds me of the "Magic Eye" posters that were prevalent when I was in High School. I took the 17" square scarf and twisted it into a rope. Then I over-twisted it until it wanted to wind back on itself, which I let it do. I then clipped the end together so it wouldn't untwist, and placed it in a small bowl of dye. I then unclipped it (my clip was metal) and nuked it in the bowl of dye for a few minutes. A rinse and ironing later, and it was as you see here.
I look forward to experimenting more.
