SUE BENNER
Sue Benner was born in Iron River, Michigan, and was raised in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. While attending the University of Wisconsin - Madison and majoring in molecular biology, she took two electives, fabric design and art history, that would point her in a different direction. Many more art and science classes followed that led to a masters in Biomedical Illustration. Since then she has worked as a self-employed studio artist for more than twenty years, creating works of dyed and painted textiles. Her work is shown internationally and is in many corporate, private, and institutional collections. She has designed installations for architectural spaces in fabric and other media. Her work has appeared in numerous juried shows, such as QUILT NATIONAL, VISIONS, and QUILT NIHON. Sue paints, draws, and sews in her custom-built studio behind her home in Dallas, Texas, where she lives with her husband and two sons.
Sue's web site: www.suebenner.com
Sue Benner with her work, teaching at the Crow Timber Frame Barn and one of her students.
EXPRESSIVE DYE-PAINTING & PRINTING with PROCION DYES
• Dates: June 2-6, 2008
• Level: Intermediate to Advanced
• Zig Zag Sewing Machine: No
• Tuition & Meal Plan: $750
• Materials Fee: $90
• Dye Facility Usage Fee: $25
> Accommodations and meal information
DESCRIPTION
Learn to paint with Procion MX and H dyes with bold expression and experimentation. This workshop will concentrate on direct application of dyes to the fabric surface using various tools and techniques including mono-printing. Emphasis is also placed on developing sophisticated color combinations, personal marks, and layered surfaces, along with touching on the use of opaque fabric paints. Sue will share helpful hints, technical information, and her own variations.
Please note: If you have a dye color-mixing reference (like some of the sample/formula notebooks produced in workshops) for Procion dyes, you might enjoy bringing it for this class.
SUPPLY LIST
• 3-6 paint brushes, 1”-3” wide (Sue uses brushes for acrylic paint and inexpensive natural bristle house painting brushes.)
• 2-4 plastic spray bottles (recycled ones from home products), 2-4 squeeze tubes (if you have them already), about 20 (16 oz.) plastic cups (the frosty, translucent ones work well because you can see the color), recycled yogurt or cottage cheese cups with lids if you have some.
• About 20 plastic spoons
• Roll of plastic drop cloth. This is used to place under and over your fabric. The thin plastic works OK, but a little thicker is better.
• 5-10 one-gallon plastic bags easy closure and good seal.
• 10-15 yards or more of white cotton, silk, or rayon, prepared for printing, i.e., no fabric finishes and pre-washed. You can buy such fabrics from Testfabrics (570-603-0432), PRO Chemical and Dye (www.prochemical.com), Dharma Trading Co. (www.dharmatrading.com), or Exotic Silks (800-845-7455). Good quality fabric will give the best results. Cotton that is mercerized is treated to accept dyes more readily and will dye more brightly (this is very important for bright and deep color!). Fabrics can be cut into 1 or 2 yard lengths and labeled with your name.
• Clothing to wear while painting (stains will be permanent), rubber gloves, such as Playtex, or waterproof gloves of your choice.
• Dust masks (required) or respirator (only if you already have one).
• Stamps, tools, clamps, blocks, clothespins, etc. that you may have in your studio already.
• Five slides of your work, a portfolio if you have one, a small work if possible.
• Camera and film or digital camera, optional.
• Notebook or sketchbook for recording formulas and colors.
• Scissors.
• Rotary cutter and mat if you just can’t wait until you get home to cut up your fabric.
• Iron (unless provided by facility).
• Roll of paper towels.
• Roll of masking tape.
• Sharpie, fine point.
Note: approximately two months before the workshop, Sue will contact participants about their fabric choices and fabric preparation.
If you want to prepare some fabric in advance for MX dye-painting, here is the soda-soak method:
• Remember to use fabrics suggested in supply list. You could prepare up to 10 yards.
• Pre-wash fabric to remove sizing and allow to dry. I machine dry cottons and drip dry silks.
• Cut fabrics in 1 yard lengths and label (in a corner) with your initials using Sharpie pen.
• Dissolve 9 T. soda ash (also called Pro Dye Activator by ProChemical and Dye, www.prochemical.com) in one gallon of water.
• Immerse fabric in solution, about 15 minutes, wring out (can use washing machine if no extra water is added in spin), and hang to dry. You can save the left-over soda solution for later use. Just be sure to cover it.
• Iron low temperature only to prevent scorching, NO steam, store in plastic bag and bring to class. Remember to wash ironing board cover afterward to remove soda.
• If you can’t do this at home or studio, don’t worry, you can do it at the CROW BARN when you get there.
You can also look this up on Pro Chemical and Dye’s website, www.prochemical.com, or look in Ann Johnston’s wonderful book, Color By Design: Paint and Print with Dye, page 28.
MATERIALS FEE PROVIDES:
• All dyes, chemicals, paints, etc.
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