Rosarium

Inspired by the wholecloth monoprinting this month, I wanted to see what I could do with the linocut I finished earlier this year of a rosarium picture made by Aart during his stay in Italy.
I printed this on white cotton and on blue dyed fabric.

I used thickened procion (black, double concentrated) which came out quite crisp.
After rinsing, drying and ironing, it´s time for a second layer, the leafs and some flowers.

I used a stencil and again, thickened dyes. I wanted the colours to blend a bit, not so crisp as when I use paint. I am pleased with the final piece:

I can see the clouds through the roof ;-). Ready for quilting.

I tried another piece, with white fabric as a base:

Again, I used thickened procion dyes with a small amount of soda-ash added to the dyepaste, and another stencil to fit up the ironwork:

I didn´t like the crisp printed result, so I sprayed the piece with water:

Now it will blend a bit while batching, gaining more interest, this is the final ironed piece:

I prefer to work with the thickened procion dyes, even knowing that they are more difficult to handle then for instance acrylic or textile paint. The outcome it is much more a surprise (which I am looking for) after batching, rinsing, drying and ironing. Let´s get to the sewing machine now!