dirt/twigs + corregated cardboard + paint =

One way artists impart designs to fiber is through monoprinting.  Paint is spread on either glass, plexiglass, or freezer paper. After the design is created, it is covered with cloth or paper and the design is transferred by rubbing. My friend Carolyn Ryan recently used this method in her latest Digital to Textile challenge piece-in-progress and showed me how it is done.

My goal was to "dirtify" the cloth I had dyed and marked (somewhat unsuccessfully) through a flour paste resist process. This fabric will serve as my background for my homeless piece.

As you can see in the photo above, I laid out some brown and black paint, and then used torn corregated cardboard to mark it. As many homeless people at times use this element to build makeshift homes, it seemed perfect to serve as a marking tool. I added some dirt and detritus from the park where Thomas lives.

I am pleased with the results. This looks like something pretty roughed up --

My effort to transfer the shoe-print was for naught -- next stop = a different paint, or dirt + paint + oil, to ensure a proper image.  Isn't surface design just fascinating?