I've been cruising around the internet in lieu of sleeping (that's what happens when you're a night owl), and found that the Jacquard Airbrush paints can be had at Dick Blick in the 4 oz size for considerably less than they are offered at Dharma Trading Co. They also have "exciter packs" of metallics, transparent, and opaques if folks want to try them. Check it out!
Blick also carageenan is much more expensive than Dharma. So shop around for the best prices.
A TECHNIQUE DRIVEN Blog dedicated to mastery of surface design techniques. First we dye, overdye, paint, stitch, resist, tie, fold, silk screen, stamp, thermofax, batik, bejewel, stretch, shrink, sprinkle, Smooch, fuse, slice, dice, AND then we set it on fire using a variety of heat tools.
Some google searches show carageenan available at health food stores, I might check that out this week if I get a chance. How much will we need to create a tray's worth of the mixture?
ReplyDeleteI can't believe anyone is up at 3:00 a.m. because they want to be! I'm a definite morning person, it's my absolute favorite time of day.
I've done a lot of marbling -- and I started with the Pro-chem starter pack. I still use methel-cel for my "floaty stuff" or "goo." The best paints, IMNSHO are Prochem for marbling and Golden liquid acrylics. You will have to experiment, because the water you use to mix your goo will affect how well your paints float.
ReplyDeleteAlso, they have little Jacquard marbling kits available at Joann Fabrics, so you can use your coupon to try it out cheap. The first time I did it, I used an empty plastic tub and fat eighths.
If you look at Dharma or Prochem's websites, you might find a recipe telling you how much carageenan you need. My favorite book is "The Ultimate Marbling Handbook" by Diane Maurer-Mathison, which is, sadly, out of print. I borrow it from the library every time I get out my marbling stuff.
Laura, the carageenan that Dharma sells is the "blender" type. I don't know how that differs from the health food store, but if you can get it less expensively, go for it and let us know how it mixes up!
ReplyDeleteIt takes about 2 Tbsp of carageenan per gallon of warm water. The amount needed is based on having about 2" in your tray and depends on the size of tray that you'll be using. A roasting pan should be good with about a gallon. If you want to do 36" fabric in a 38" square tray, then Dharma says you'll need about 7 gallons.
Some notes about making the carageenan:
1. Use warm water.
2. Distilled water is recommended. The hardness of your water will affect the mixing. If you have hard water, try adding a little water softener (Calgon) to help.
3. Mix the carageenan and water with a blender rather than by hand, which is a pain. I have a hand blender that works beautifully, or you can use a regular blender.
4. Mix 24 hours or so ahead, then refrigerate. When you take it out, it will need to warm before using.
5. The carageenan needs to be cleaned after each printing. This is done by dragging strips of newspaper across the surface to collect the old paint remnants.
6. The carageenan will last 3-4 days, depending on how warm it gets.
Karen, I have been searching for that book for a long time! Because it's out of print, the prices they are asking are very high. Sigh, wish I was rich! lol