Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Playing With Metallic Silk

I have found a new material to play with. It is a metallic silk product that I purchased from a local business called, "Loose Ends." It comes in rolls and is a lot like a fabric. The folks at Loose Ends purchased it from a company in Indonesia. There were many applications for this shown in the store, the interesting thing about it being that when it gets wet the silk shrinks and the metal doesn't, causing it to wrinkle in interesting ways. I decided to try felting it. I lay it out just like I do when doing nuno felting and I add lots of fun pieces of silk, pre-felts, and yarns that will stick easily. I am making wall hangings, or whatever else I can think up.

The tricky part is to add the water and get the fibers to go through the metallic silk while keeping the corners from curling up. It can take more hands than I have. The result has been mysterious and fun. I have finished about five of these now, each very different, but all very alive and vibrant. I just wish that my pictures showed what they really looked like.

6 comments:

  1. interesting stuff!
    mOStly I do it otherwise..puting pieces in my felt..also interesting

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  2. Love the pink and orange one. Would you be able to sculpt these into vessels? just a thought. Thank you for your message, I shall look forward to the postie coming.

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  3. Very interesting indeed! Love the metal and fiber mixing together. Heloise's idea of a vessel is intriguing.

    I love that you are fearless in trying new materials!

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  4. The fibers are too loose for a vessel unless held by something more substantial. I am going to try a purse, but I will have to give it some reinforcement. Thanks for all the encouragement my dear friends.

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  5. Metallic silk?!?! How intriguing!!
    I'll be excited to see what else your experiments yield over time!!
    I received my lovely lace yesterday and I want to THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!! It's fantastic and I already have a project in mind for one of the pieces. (I'll blog about it when I'm done so you can see photos!!)
    Hugs and thanks---

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