Etching or Devoré, is a method that uses an etching liquid on a mixed-fibre material, especially for velvet. The etching liquid dissolves the cellulose, leaving the protein part behind, creating a semi-transparent pattern on the material. While looking for existing works using this technique, I chanced upon an amazing artist by the name of Lesley Richmond, who has been working with this method to create intricate Devoré pieces that resemble forested environments. You can find out more about her work here!! : https://www.textileartist.org/lesley-richmond-interview. Etching has been used to in fashion, home furnishing, material experimentations and to create artworks. A similar method (though not with the same processes) can be applied to decorating eggs too!
Materials Required:
Velvet, Silkscreen board with template, Squeegee, Fibre Etching Liquid.
Steps:
01 Cover table with a fabric/plastic sheet.
02 Lay a piece of velvet fabric on the table.
03 Align and place the silkscreen board over the velvet piece.
04 Pour a good amount of fibre etching liquid at the top of the silkscreen board.
05 Use the squeegee to pull the liquid across the board.
06 Repeat the above step 2-3 times.
07 Leave the material to dry for 24 hours.
08 Use a brush to scrub off all the excess cellulose fibres.
Reflections:
I find it really interesting that etching is one of the few methods that plays with reduction of the material itself instead of adding on other ingredients to create patterns. I was really intrigued by the science behind the process, whereby the designer/artist has to be clear about the specific type of fabric they are using in order to achieve the intended effect. I also wonder if it is possible to silkscreen in reverse, whereby majority of the material is eaten away instead of it being left behind.
I really love the translucency and transparency that can be achieved with this technique. I would like to see if it would be possible to control how much of the material gets eaten up so that I can create varying translucencies on the velvet material, and perhaps not leave not much of the actual material at all.
Bleaching is a technique that is rather similar to etching, but the process dissolves the dyes instead of the material itself. It works most effectively on materials that contain cellulose, such as cotton and linen. The technique can be used in kitchen towels, clothing and upholstery. Leaves have also been used as part of the bleaching process, much like the transfer printing method that we have seen in the first lesson!
Materials Required:
Coloured cotton/Linen fabric, Rubber bands, Household bleach, Face mask, Water, Spray bottle, Plastic Sheet.
(P.S. Please do wear a mask while doing this project, I did accidentally poison myself while I was working on this!!)
Steps:
01 Cut a piece of cotton/linen to desired size.
02 Fold/roll the fabric & hold in place with rubber bands.
03 Mix bleach & water in the spray bottle (1:2).
04 Lay a plastic sheet on the floor.
05 Place rolled up fabric on the sheet.
06 Spray with the bleach mix.
07 Let it dry for about 5 mins.
08 Wash the fabric.
09 Leave it to dry.
Reflections:
The bleaching technique is rather similar to tie dye and Shibori methods, but in reverse. It is another technique that creates patterns through removal, but not of the material. I love the unique patterns that can be created through simply rolling and folding the fabric, which ensures that every design is unique and cannot be replicated.
In my initial tests of this method, my fabric did not change its colour at all. I thought that the reason might have been because I didn’t spray enough bleach, so I tried it again, only to receive the same result. I realised this was probably due to the mix of threads in the fabric material, which was neither cotton nor linen. I borrowed some material and tried again, which did create some bleaching effects, but not too much. It could have been the way that I folded the cloth, which might have worked well in a tie-dyeing process, but not for bleaching. I would like to try other methods of folding and bleaching methods which can create more obvious designs.
Rastering, otherwise known as laser engraving, is a technique that uses a laser cutter to cut just the top part of the material, and can be used to create patterns and textures. There are limitations to the materials that can be used however, as there is the possibility of certain materials starting a fire. The best materials for rastering are wood and acrylic. Rastering has been used to create products such as rolling pins, earrings and shelves, to design wall & floor tiles, as well as to create intricate artworks!
Materials Required:
Wood/Acrylic piece (3mm), Illustration to be cut (in EPS format).
Steps:
01 Create an artwork on Illustrator.
02 Save it in EPS format.
03 Transfer file into Corel Draw.
04 Apply a different colour to the raster and cutting lines.
05 Place material in laser cutter.
06 Align the artwork to the size of the material.
Reflections:
This method makes it easier to cut complex shapes and patterns as the machine is able to do it more accurately than by hand. Hence, I decided to exploit the machine to create more intricate shapes. For my samples, I made use of images of the ocean that I found online. I thought it might be interesting to be able to feel the texture of water through that can be seen through the images by rastering it onto the surface. I feel that I should have rastered it inversely instead, as the areas which are supposed to be textures of the water are now rougher. I should also have tried varying the depth of the raster to create a more textural surface!
Steps:
You can find out more here:
Steps:
