Saturday, May 4, 2013

Soy Wax Inspirations


Here's my review of this DVD in a nutshell: GET IT! You'll enjoy the heck out of it if you've always wanted to try this technique or are just discovering it and now want to try it. I had so much fun playing with soy wax. I'll be the first to admit that there were parts of the process that I enjoyed less...like soaking the wax out of the fabric in the end. It is a bit of a slimy mess. But I think that with more experience I'll develop a system that works well for me. Ha! How's that for positive thinking.

Susan Purney Mark did an excellent job in providing information on soy wax and she also walks you through many different ways to use it and options in products, such as dyes and paints.

Here are the results from my soy wax play day.

The first fabric shown is actually the last one I did that day. I was basically trying to use up the dyes I had mixed up. With each photo you will see the tool I used to make the soy wax marks.


This next fabric is my favorite of the bunch. Did you notice the fabric in the photo with the DVD above? That is this same piece of fabric. It started out as a piece of hand dyed fabric and then I used a bleach pen to create circles on it. From there it turned into this piece. The bleached circles are fainter, but still noticeable, now that they've been over dyed.


The next fabric started out as a hand dyed piece as well. I simply snipped some bristles from my paintbrush to create an interesting paint stroke pattern as I painted on the wax.


This fabric started out as white PFD. I love playing with the tjanting tool.


The next one, which is the palest of them all, was the first one I did. I wasn't sure yet how much dye concentrate to add to my soda solution.


Things I learned from the experience:

  • I need to gain more experience with mixing dyes to use as paints. It is hard to tell how light or dark the resulting color will be and I need to be more aware of what I'm doing and probably make notes and measure better.
  • I need to find a method of washing out the soy wax that works better for me. I think that will come with more experience.
The colors of dye I used in my fabrics (not all necessarily on the same piece) were golden yellow, deep orange, amethyst, light red, and grape.  It will be fun to come up with different and unique ways to create the wax marks on the fabrics. I also think these finished fabrics will be fantastic canvases for more design layers...like screen printing!!!

Are you interested in winning a copy of this DVD??? I have an extra one to give away, courtesy of Susan Purney Mark. If so, please leave a comment on this post. I am accepting entries from anyone, no matter what part of the universe you live in. Please make sure I have a way to contact you if you win.  Thanks for stopping by and good luck!!! Oh, and I'll announce the winner one week from today...May 11.