Month: March 2009

Egret Stencil

above, Egret/Heron katazome stencil © Kit Eastman | shibugami paper, hand-cut

Today I finished cutting another new stencil. I just can’t get the Heron and Great White Egret out of my system. It’s one of the most dramatic birds I see frequently during the spring and summer months here. Here’s a photo of a Blue Heron I snapped last summer. The Great White Egret especially likes feeding in Lake Como. The open areas of the stencil allow the rice paste to flow through. The brown paper masks the fabric, so these areas will eventually be dyed with a variety of pigments.

I like to look for inspiration before starting a new design. Green Chair Press recently highlighted a piece by Japanese/French artist Aoyama Hina who works in the medium of paper cutting. Her work is stunning. She uses a small scissors to create these works. I found this image in the set called Sentences on her Flickr Photostream.

above – Paper Cutting by Aoyama Hina

I also find the work of the Cape Dorset Inuit printmakers inspiring. The artists work in stonecut, stencil, litho and etching. This print (image found on Glenbow Museum of Calgary, Alberta Website), is included in the book, Cape Dorset Prints by Leslie Boyd Ryan. The book tells the tale of this amazing printmaking community, which started in 1959.

above: Pot Spirits by Sheouak Petaulassie, 1960, stencil print

Blue Heron Stencil

Today I finished cutting another new stencil. I just can’t get the Heron and Great White Egret out of my system. It’s one of the most dramatic birds I see frequently during the spring and summer months here. Here’s a photo of a Blue Heron I snapped last summer. The Great White Egret especially likes feeding in Lake Como. The open areas of the stencil allow the rice paste to flow through. The brown paper masks the fabric, so these areas will eventually be dyed with a variety of pigments. I will go for more simplicity in the next design!

heronstencil1.jpg
heron stencil © Kit Eastman

I like to look for inspiration before starting a new design. Green Chair Press recently highlighted a piece by Japanese/French artist Aoyama Hina who works in the medium of paper cutting. Her work is stunning. She uses a small scissors to create these works. I found this image in the set called Sentences on her Flickr Photostream.

Paper Cutting by Aoyama Hina
Paper Cutting by Aoyama Hina

I also find the work of the Cape Dorset Inuit printmakers inspiring. The artists work in stonecut, stencil, litho and etching. This print (image found on Glenbow Museum of Calgary, Alberta Website), is included in the book, Cape Dorset Prints by Leslie Boyd Ryan. The book tells the tale of this amazing printmaking community, which started in 1959.

Pot Spirits by Sheouak Petaulassie, 1960, Stencil
Pot Spirits by Sheouak Petaulassie, 1960, Stencil

Katazome Samples

I washed the rice paste out of my sample, and here are the results, along with a couple of photos from my Sunday walk through Reservoir Woods. With this process, there is virtually no pigment wash out. Amazing. I will go ahead and use this fabric for my next project. The soy milk, used before dyeing as a sizing and then as a binder with the (pigment) dyes, gives the fabric more body and makes it easier to iron when it wrinkles.