Color Studies for Surface Design

SUPPLY LIST (Please label your own supplies.)

Mx Dyes; in eight key colors: Mixing Blue, Turquoise, Strongest Red, Mixing Red, Golden Yellow, Sun Yellow, Hot Chocolate and Deep Black.

Various Chemicals; for making chemical water and print paste, and salt and soda ash.

Tyvek labels.

Tools: a selection of tools will be supplied for general class use including; foam and bristle brushes, scrapers, rollers (textured & plain), monoprinting plates, sponges, needle-nosed bottles, and mixing pots.

Resists: I will supply Soy Wax but would request that someone brings a Soy Wax pot – please advise me if this is something you can do. There will also be cover film, freezer paper and masking tape available for class use.

Cloth


Please stay with a single type of high-quality, natural fiber cloth as you will develop a greater understanding of how colors and values perform. By high quality, we mean a cotton such as Pimatex or a medium-weight silk (nothing light and flimsy). Please buy your cloth in advance and bring it with you as you will not be able to source back-up at the barn/locally. PLEASE DO NOT BRING MUSLIN.

In total, you’ll need at least 13 to 15 yards (and a breakdown of how it will be used is shown below) and if it’s not PFD, please scour it by washing at 60C, with 3 tbsp of soda ash and a tsp of rinsing agent (e.g. Synthrpol/ Metapex), then dry it.

Your cloth will be utilized as follows (roughly!):

• For color sampling: 3 yards in total, pre-scoured, soda-soaked and dried.

• For one solid (immersion) Color Family: 4 yards if working in fat quarters, or 8 yards if working in half yards, pre-scoured. You will need more if you anticipate adding more immersion families. On average students do 2-3 during the 5 days, with plenty of time for surface design.

• For surface design: 6 to 10 yards in total, pre-scoured, soda-soaked and dried (although soda-soaking tubs will be available throughout the class). 

I prefer to work on soda-soaked cloth rather than putting soda ash into the dyes (the benefits of this approach will be explained). To soda soak scoured cloth:

• Create a soda vat large enough for your needs; the basic recipe is 3 tablespoons of soda ash to 1 litre of water. Dissolve sufficient soda ash for your needs in warm (not cold or hot) water and top up with the appropriate amount of cold water.

• Place the scoured, dry (or spun-dried) cloth in to the soda vat and leave it to soak for 15 minutes.

• Dry by drip-drying or spin the soda-soaked cloth before line drying (if you have a spin dryer, recycle the run off back into the soda vat). DO NOT TUMBLE DRY.

• Once dry, stuff it into a bag (don’t fold or iron).
  
  

General Supplies & Tools

While the supplies fee will include the use of media and various tools, you’ll still need to bring some stuff of your own:

• INSPIRATION! Choose a color source that excites you that has 4 or more major colors in it - monochromatic does not work for this workshop! The source can be a photograph, postcard, a tear-out from a magazine etc. – keep your references simple.
  • Silkscreens: one screen no larger than 18” in any direction (it doesn’t matter if the screen is rectangular or square).

• Squeegees: one squeegee suitable for use with your silkscreen (such as a plastic 9” Speedball type) and a squeegee suitable for use with thermofaxes. Please, no heavy wooden ones!

• Various tools; you’ll see that a good supply of tools will be provided but if you have specific tools you wish to use, then bring them.

• Personal thermofaxes; up to 6 should be sufficient so try not to bring your entire collection! I will endeavour to have a Thermofax machine available for use at class, but don’t rely on this facility. If you can provide a thermofax machine, please advise me and I will organise mesh and frames for people to make thermofaxes at cost.

• One pair of scissors

• One box of ball or T-headed pins

• One small cutting mat

• One craft knife

• Three 3-gallon buckets

• One 1.5 - 3m drop cloth of cotton twill or something similarly sturdy. Please pre-wash it and write your name on all four corners. DO NOT use plastic-backed decorators’ cloth, or a coarse-weave.

• Rubber gloves (suggest 2 pairs), well fitting

• Cloth apron (or wear the equivalent of gardening/decorating clothes)

• Comfortable, rubber-soled shoes (you’ll be standing a great deal)

• Notebook; handouts on recipes and some process will be provided, but be ready to take notes

• A folder or ring binder to record your color studies and findings

• A glue stick or double sided tape

• Pen and pencil

• A Sharpie

• An iPod if you like to work to music

• Your camera

If you have any questions about the materials list or the course in general, please > email Leslie

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