Time to fire it Up

 I am gearing up for a Spring of Welding , These are some "piles" that inspire me, some of  this stuff will never end up in a piece of art. But I just cant get rid of these things, they are so cool. They give me "ideas" even if they are left out of the final piece.

But this little face is destined to be used, he is so cute.

My Harlan Valley Quilters Challenge

Challenge fabric! So Juicy, It took me many months to finally decide what to make. I knew I wanted to use my new textile paints. I looked at many different ideas over the months;  flowers, journals, or a 3-dimensional project. But I had a suspicion that one of my "challenge mates" was making some flowers( ha ha I was right!, click here to check it out)

Here is another link to the Harlan Valley Quilters a slide show of our challenge presentation and holiday lunch.

Painting

So here is my Inspiration. I wanted to try out these 3-D houses, I had seen on this blog , and I already like "houses" see my rustic houses previously posted, Hmmmm with some photo transfers threw in the mix, my new textile paints, the great background fabric, and some other mixed media supplies (hand cut stamps, painted dryer sheets, Arizona ice tea can).

It was soooo fun to paint this whole cloth, I did lightly outline the freezer paper templates I had made for the house, so important parts of the painting would be placed properly

Construction

I left strips of the painting in between the cut out pieces to use later for the binding.

Here are the walls of the house.

Next I fused the pieces to the heaviest double-sided fusible interfacing I could find, I found Peltex 

Next photo transfer with gel medium

Spread a thin layer of gel on the cutout photo, press onto the fabric and let dry.

 After the gel drys you will peel and rub layers of the paper off, dampen rub, let dry, repeat, when it drys if it looks whiteish that means there are still paper fibers, rub some more. I use a old battery powered tooth brush to blast the last bits off ( don't go to crazy the transfer will start peeling) 

     

Another tip for this transfer process is be aware it is transparent so you will see what is behind the picture. Also I always do some tests with different kind of printer paper and ink, if the kind you use first doesn't work try a different paper. I have to use a heavyweight matte presentation paper (Epson), with my printer.

Strips layed out ready to trim and fuse

           

                

Remember the strips I saved between the cutout walls, I  fused them and trimmed to match up with the branch's on the walls. I did use a sheet of parchment to protect the iron and painting.

This is the inside with photo transfer, fused and reinforcement strips .

The window cut outs will allow the photos to be viewed.

 Next the roofing -












I used a flour paste resist to crackle and paint the roof.

Love it!!!

                   

I get to use my new wavy cutter for the roof edges.

Top stitched  and thread painted the binding strips to blend the branches  

This small travel iron worked great to fuse the last wall joint.

Inside

Glued the roof on with gel medium and a heavy book to keep tight while it drys.

Finished house

Another Preview before, Friday and Saturday's show.

Another crane with an different "face", I was in such a rut with the faces I make out of mower blade guards , I didn't end up using any this time around. 

It is so cold and miserable and rainy right now I had to move my photo session into the shop( not that it is any warmer, just drier.) I think I should stick with Spring/ Summer shows for Welded Art. And stick to my Quilting in Winter, Brrrrrrrr.

I have been sneaking some Quilt projects into my Schedule, our Harlan Quilt Group has a challenge fabric this year I will reveal after our Holiday Luncheon. I have been taking pictures just can not post yet.

I have a set of Pool balls that I salvaged from a table my hubby was tearing apart. I have been dying to use them, and finally have got it down how to include them in my welded art. They bring such a great splash of color, to an otherwise mono-chromatic medium. I had to go back and add one to this long legged birdie. If you look back at an older post you will see him without his "ball".

I also had to make a new snail just to use a pool ball.

The Salmon run up the river just behind my studio, so it is always fun to make a new fish, this one has and hand forged antique hook on it's tail.

Well back outside tomorrow to brave the cold and finish up a couple  of fern sketch's, and a mushroom sign. Then get finish packing for Friday and Saturday's show at OSU.

I just had to add a sneak peak of the challenge fabric, nobody can guess what this is.

Show Preview, Antique Bird

I was going for a bird a little out of the ordinary with this guy, he is only a few feet tall. I have been trying to use some of these door knob I have had laying around , they present a bit of a challenge for welding, so I encased the main plate with some antique harness rings to avoid welding right on the plate.

The base on this bird is apparently from an antique jack stand? I am not sure what the beak/face is. Also the door knobs and key plate are oldies. And of course the good old standbys rake tines, pulley chains and various farm parts. I am pretty happy with how he turned out.