Barbara Schutzgruber – Storyteller & Weaver

 

Couture Cartography map dress was selected to be part of the In Style – Fashion & Wearables Exhibit at the Gutman Gallery in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

The community was invited to dress to impress for opening reception – an evening of fashion and art, chatting with the artists and experiencing a live mannequin fashion show! 

 

---

---

That same week the Ann Arbor Fiberarts Guild Member Exhibition Textile Stories opened at the Village Theater Gallery in Canton, Michigan. Three of my pieces were accepted for that show. 

 

---

---

Encaustic Exploration with Taina Mantey

This AAFG workshop was all about adding a new technique to my artistic toolbox by exploring how to use encaustic art materials (heated beeswax, damar resin and pigment) with fiber. By playing with different materials, colors, and textures we created surprising new effects. This is an ancient technique going back to the first century in Greece and Rome.

Each of us was given a bag of different colored wax which would be melted in muffin pans using electric griddles as the heat source. Beeswax and the damar resin were in their own tins for melting.

Taina demonstrated how to use paint brushes and heat guns to paint the melted wax and how to mix colors. In some ways this is similar to painting with water colors – but one has to work fast because the melted wax hardens quickly!

The good news is if you reheat what you have already painted, the wax melts again and you can continue adding layers. With this basic introduction and canvas panels to use as the base we were off!

I spent the day experimenting layering felt, fabric, paper and even dried flowers.

I learned…..
One can ‘glue’ a variety of materials using beeswax.
Silk chiffon print fabric gives a nice base and designs can be highlighted with textured materials.
Blending colors can turn into mud very quickly – a little bit of heat goes a long way!

And pushing one’s art can create great things but also great disasters!

All in all….I enjoyed the day and will play a bit more with this medium!