THOUGHTS ABOUT MY STASH
There is so much to enjoy within the worlds of quilting and fabric art and I know that I am not the only one whose enthusiasms straddles too many interests that I don’t have the time to pursue.
I am interested in the world of eco dyeing and printing. The practitioners of these crafts seem to get better and better at it, providing lots of brilliant resources for those wanting to learn. I have purchased some of these resources, squirreling them away for a day, that in all honesty, might not ever come.
As someone who has been a lifelong member of Greenpeace, I appreciate the importance of embracing a responsible, eco-friendly direction in textile art. So I have found myself in a dilemma about my use of acrylic paints, thinking about how I can make my practice more eco friendly.
I began painting fabric when completing City and Guilds. It allowed me to be creative, without spending a lot of money on commercial fabric, and let me create my own fabric in a less toxic way than using chemical dyes.
Of course there are also issues with waste paint and I have developed a few strategies to alleviate that as much as possible.
Of course, there are also issues with waste paint, but I have developed a few strategies to alleviate that as much as possible.
SEE BELOW.
Use up leftover paint on fabric or sketchbook pages.
Clean as much of the paint from brushes and pots onto cloth.
Experiment by using an alternative fabric, such as scrim, as a mop up cloth.
Allow rinse water to evaporate and then transfer the sludge to paper or fabric.
Try out using fabrics that are not degradable in your work.
I have an abundance of fabric paint that I do not want to see going down the drain.
I also have an abundance of fabric that I don’t want to end up in landfill.
Some of it I have purchased and some has been given to me.
As well as the acrylic of the paint a lot of the fabric a polycotton which is hard to recycle.
After giving it a lot of consideration I have decided on the following
MY CONCLUSIONS
I have enough supplies of paint and fabric to keep me going for a long while.
I need to keep micro plastics and non-degradable items out of any system that harms the planet.
I am just going to have to keep using up my stash and paint to create things that are beautiful or useful.
LET ME KNOW HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT THESE THINGS IN THE COMMENTS, AND TELL ME
HOW YOU ARE TACKLING THESE ISSUES.
This article from Jacksons Art did make me feel slightly better about my part as an artist in all of this.