Quality

The quality of materials used when creating artwork makes a difference with the ease in making.  They also impact the final overall quality of the resulting artwork .

For example – there are student quality paints and there are more expensive Artist Grade Paints.  The artist grade paints have more pigment, create deeper richer colors and mix well with each other.  Student grade paints can vary in quality and have less pigment in the paints (less color).  Painting with artist grade paints is both easier and the end results are better.

In my own work I aim to use only the highest quality of materials – both for ease of use, and also because I desire my artwork to be the highest quality possible.

The materials I use in my artwork…

Fabric – I use a very dense weave 100% cotton pimatex fabric.  The dense weave holds up well to the quantity of stitching I do and it doesn’t ravel or fray why I am stitching it together.  This is especially important on the curved shapes and lines that you see in my artwork.

I use only three colors of this fabric – black, white and pfd.  PFD is “prepared for dye” fabric, which is fabric made specifically for dyeing as it does not have any chemicals or optical whiteners (cotton isn’t pure white!) that inhibit the uptake of the dye.  The fabric I use is Pimatex by Robert Kaufman.

Dye – I use Fiber Reactive Dyes that create a chemical bond with the fabric vs. dyes from the grocery store that just stain the fiber to create the rich colors in my artwork.   This means the resulting colors are less likely to fade.  Although it is still not advisable to display textile artwork in direct sunlight to prevent fading.  The dyes I use are Procion MX fiber reactive dyes.

Textile Paint – I use a high quality paint made explicitly to bond with textiles in my mark making. The thickness of the paint is perfect for making consistent and permanent marks on the fabric.  The paints I use are  ProFab Textile Paints.

Batting – this is the layer in the center of the artwork that adds some thickness so I can create texture when I add surface stitching.  I use a needle punched cotton batting for consistency.  I want it to have a minimal amount of processing and chemicals so the products I use are Warm and Natural and Warm and White from the Warm Company.

Occasionally I will also use a locally produced wool batting from New Zealand as I like to use local sourced materials.  Although wool does not hold up to the dense stitching I do as well as cotton so I limit its use to appropriate projects.

Thread – I use long staple 100% cotton thread to create the surface texture in my artwork.  This means the cotton fibers are longer and create a strong thread.  I find that lower quality thread shreds and breaks more often when sewing.  I don’t enjoy that sort of frustration and am happy to pay the premium prices for these quality thread.  I use several brands of thread in my work – Mettler Silk Finish , Valdani Handdyed Cotton, and Aurofil.

Canvas – I use professional grade canvas and stretcher bars and when possible prefer to use hand-splined canvas.  My current favorite prestretched canvas is Dick Blick Premier Cotton Canvases, although importing these to New Zealand is cost prohibitive so I have been moving to Das Canvases, manufactured here in New Zealand.

Acrylic Paint – Before mounting my textile work to the canvas (by stitching) I paint the canvas either black or white depending on the artwork.  Using a high quality paint and paint brush makes this task of the artmaking a breeze.   I use Liquitex professional acrylic artist paints for this purpose.