kimberly ollis
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Major Eco-printing Fun!!

3/28/2013

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Eco-printing is Addictive!!

     I absolutely love exploring the new technique I'm learning called eco-printing!  In a nutshell it means using leaves, bark, blooms and anything else you fancy from nature to make a print onto fabric.  No dyes are used, but by combining the leaves and water along with a mordant (binders or fixatives) and heat, the natural dyes in the leaves themselves will imprint onto the fabric.  The muted colors are my absolute favorite colors, with the fabric looking worn, weathered and antique-- completely natural and organic--this technique is absolutely my favorite!!
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Birch Bark eco-print
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Birch Bark and leaf eco-print
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Oak leaf on muslin
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Rose leaves on Fuji silk
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Nandina leaves on Fuji silk
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Lorepetalum on Fuji Silk-love the positive and negative prints it makes!
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Laurel leaves found on a walk through the woods, printed on Fuji silk.
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Lorepetalum on silk noil.
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Eco-prints on Fuji silk pinned on my husband's reading lamp, I think it would make a great lamp shade!
   A sampling of prints that will likely be turning into art quilts of some kind eventually.  To learn more about this technique, see India Flint's book HERE.
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New Work

3/10/2013

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     I am enjoying my experimentation with the new Eco-printing techniques I am learning.  I am changing the variables, such as plant materials, fabrics, mordants, heating temperatures, and length of time involved, to name a few, and learning as I go.  So far, my favorite results are on Fuji silk broadcloth and silk noil, with some pleasing results on linen as well.  This is the most interesting turn in my work for a long time, and I am so enjoying the surprises along the way, in fact, each time I open a new bundle, I feel like it's Christmas morning!  I get so excited!  Here are some pictures of my latest pieces, with details of the eco-prints.
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Cascade, 8 1/2" x 23" linen and silk noil with burlap, antique book page pieces, buttons for accents. This art quilt is more mixed media than my artwork usually is...lots of pleasing changes taking place.
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Detail of rose leaves.
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Detail of rose leaves and balsam leaf
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Detail of oak print
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Side by Side, 10 1/2" x 18 1/2", eco-print of oak and rose leaves on linen with hand stitch and mother of pearl buttons for accent.
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Side by Side detail.
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First Impressions, 14" x 14", Eco-printed silk noil, and linen with citron button accents. Leaves used include camellias, cypress, magnolia and loropetalum.
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Detail of First Impressions, Loropetalum plant eco-print.
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"Farewell," to another Art Quilt :)

3/7/2013

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"Your Days of Sorrow Will End" was created on silk noil that was batiked first, then shibori dyed in a flag fold pattern, then flour paste was applied, followed by diluted paint, to achieve the crackled effect, then commercial squares were applied, followed by scroll work of painted fusible webbing, discharge paste applied with bubble wrap for texture, Isaiah 16:20 scripture on silk organza, machine stitched to branches and background machine quilted with variegated thread. A piece like this takes easily 60 hours of hands on time, which does not include the processing time for the various techniques used. A special piece for sure!
     A couple traveling from Hawaii purchased the art quilt, "Your Days of Sorrow Will End," for one of their friends back home, from the Valdese Heritage Art Center yesterday.  I am so happy for this piece to go to someone who is experiencing grief in their lives, and I hope that the scriptures will be a continued source of comfort and support for them.  I grow attached to my pieces when I am making them, but when I know someone else is going to be blessed by them, it's easy to let them go to their new homes, because that is the reason for which they are created.  May God bless them through this artwork.
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    Picture

    kimberly ollis

    Forty something artistic soul finding her way through life discovering new insights almost every day through the gift of "making."

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    Burke Arts Council
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    Valdese Heritage Arts Center

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