My Personal Artwork

Textiles

The textile arts are a terrific way to marry science and creativity. The discipline and planning required to execute a perfectly even and consistent dye job appeals to people who find comfort and reassurance in structure and predictability, while the beautiful chaos of a Shibori or ice dyeing process requires more of a spirit of improvisation and experimentation.

In my time at Concordia, I learned many textile art methods, including screen-printing techniques, devoré, discharge dyeing, direct-application dyeing, shibori, weaving, sewing, and more.	I used the shibori dye process to create this piece. (More below)	This piece underwent two different shibori dye processes, creating this complex layered design.
All of my silkscreened artwork is hand-drawn first.	Obtaining a fine, consistent line is a true challenge when silkscreening.	Silkscreening is not always fun. This piece took several tries, first to burn the screen for just the right amount of time, then to find the right printing base to maintain the fine line quality.
Eventually, I learned that the iridescent printing base worked best for this kind of fine line, probably due to its crumbly quality that allowed it to pass through the silkscreen without bleeding outwards on the other side.	This design was the most complex I had managed to create in my time at Concordia. This 14" x 18" square represents approximately 60 hours of work.	The art of weaving teaches patience, perseverance, and trust in the artistic process.
Working with natural materials poses the unique challenge of having to improvise with natural variations in quality and form.	Once you let weaving into your mind, it can take you to lots of unexpected places!	This is a piece of Azeta fabric, which has a synthetic weave and a silk pile. Using the devoré process, I removed the silk pile where I wanted the words to appear. Then, by dyeing the whole piece in Indigo dye, I created contrast. Indigo dyes the natural silk fibres, but cannot bond with the nylon weave.
Whenever possible, I silkscreened one extra copy of my work onto a blank cotton tee-shirt to create wearable versions of my hard work and dedication.	I like to infuse my work with dry humour. This is a quote from the webcomic "A Softer World."

My love for textile arts has its roots in cosplay. In this example, I wanted to cosplay ("costume" + "play") the My Little Pony character Pinkie Pie at Comic-Con. Unfortunately, a major drawback of cosplaying is that you often have nowhere to store your phone and money. So I made myself a purse out of Pinkie's lovable toothless crocodile sidekick, Gummy!

The example shown below was part of a project I submitted for my Fibres class at Concordia University. That was the year when my husband was battling cancer, and I used art to work through my feelings about it. This piece represents the role of the caretaker in a cancer journey. The red leather seats are similar to the seats at the hospital that I slept on countless times while my husband recovered from surgery or received chemotherapy. The fragmented quilt and pillow with a hard tumour inside represented my lack of peace and rest.

Screen printing is a process that is as painstaking as it is rewarding. The design must first be created on paper or using a computer. It must be either completely black or completely white in order to be successful, which usually necessitates digital intervention using Photoshop. Finally, the image should pr printed or photocopied onto thin white copier paper for best results.

Meanwhile, the silkscreen must be prepared with a special light-sensitive emulsion and dried completely. This process takes place in a room lit with special yellow filtered lights so that the emulsion remains reactive.

Then once the image is ready, it needs to be "burned" into the screen. This can be done with sunlight for simple images, but for more complex ones like the design below, a special UV exposure unit must be used. The printed black and white image acts as a stencil, only allowing the light to pass through the white fibres of the paper and blocking everywhere else with toner.

When the screen is removed from the exposure unit, it can be rinsed as shown below. The parts that have been exposed to UV light are cured and waterproof, and the shielded areas rinse away with the pressure washer. Then when the screen is dry it can be used as a stencil for printing medium (usually a gel-type pigmented base).

This piece is an example of an ice dyeing process. I designed and built a special stand using plexiglas that I used to dye the fabric for the project. I used activated dye, sprinkled onto snow and ice. I added ice cubes made using water and soda ash that fixed the dye and made it permanent as they melted. All I needed to do with the fabric after it was dyed was let it fully dry and then wash it.

These are examples of Shibori dyeing techniques and results using conventional synthetic dyes as well as natural indigo dyes.

Natassja King

Art Educator

My Personal Artwork

Textiles

In my time at Concordia, I learned many textile art methods, including screen-printing techniques, devoré, discharge dyeing, direct-application dyeing, shibori, weaving, sewing, and more.

I used the shibori dye process to create this piece. (More below)

This piece underwent two different shibori dye processes, creating this complex layered design.

All of my silkscreened artwork is hand-drawn first.

Obtaining a fine, consistent line is a true challenge when silkscreening.

Silkscreening is not always fun. This piece took several tries, first to burn the screen for just the right amount of time, then to find the right printing base to maintain the fine line quality.

Eventually, I learned that the iridescent printing base worked best for this kind of fine line, probably due to its crumbly quality that allowed it to pass through the silkscreen without bleeding outwards on the other side.

This design was the most complex I had managed to create in my time at Concordia. This 14" x 18" square represents approximately 60 hours of work.

The art of weaving teaches patience, perseverance, and trust in the artistic process.

Working with natural materials poses the unique challenge of having to improvise with natural variations in quality and form.

Once you let weaving into your mind, it can take you to lots of unexpected places!

Whenever possible, I silkscreened one extra copy of my work onto a blank cotton tee-shirt to create wearable versions of my hard work and dedication.

I like to infuse my work with dry humour. This is a quote from the webcomic "A Softer World."