This is an interpretation of the marble staircase at the Villa Tugendhat which was designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich and can be found in the Czech Republic. I am having trouble getting the colour of the photo to resemble the actual colour. This is the best but you can't see the stitching in the black. Picture of that at the end of the post.
I found the photo on Pinterest https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/559290847459235323/
I have been wanting to try botanic/eco dyeing and got it into my head that I would create a marbled effect on fabric through cold bundling with bits of rust and leaves. However, I left it way too late to start so I ended up making a dye bath of eucalyptus leaves and one of hibiscus flowers and try and marble with paint. I submerged zarashi, linen and muslin which had been soaked in a pre-mordant bath of watered down skim milk. Apparently, this helps cellulose fabric take up eucalyptus much better. I was a bit hasty with each stage resulting in very subtle colours but I love them.
I decided to go with eucalyptus zarashi for the stairs and attempted to get a bit of marbling happening. It used a bit of this and a bit of that! I painted on the dregs of my morning coffee, used a few light dabs of a shiny white water colour paint and also inktense. The machine quilting is pretty simple, or should I say, minimalist as you can see in this photo.
Very pleased with what I learned about dyeing through this project.
Just tried to get a better shot.... lightened it so you can see the stitching Rosemary. :-)
Love the marbling effect you've achieved. I've done a bit of eco dying in the past, and really like the subtle colours you've produced. And teh staircase looks like you could walk right down it!
ReplyDeleteAnother tour de force from you, Rosemary. Beautiful marbled effect on the stairs. The power behind 'less is more' - perfectly portrayed by keeping the image small and adding the black to two sides. Absolutely love it. Glad you had fun with the eco dyeing and 'eco' use of your morning coffee! Hilary
ReplyDeleteAaaagh, grovel, grovel. So Sorry Amanda. I mistook your work for Rosemary's. Please forgive my silly mistake - I should have looked at the email address... H
DeleteHilary, could you change the name from creativitylifestyle to Amanda. I had no idea who this was.
DeleteI love this image and you've interpreted it well - your fabrics are gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful colours, so even if they aren't what you hoped for they are still fabulous. Trying new things is always a learning curve and you have made a stunning piece as a result. Congratulations.
ReplyDeleteWell done, Amanda, great interpretation. I think your colours are spot on as they give more strength to work.
ReplyDeleteThis winding staircase is such an interesting design to work with . I like the linen type fabrics you used and was amazed at your description of eco dyeing which I have never attempted and probably never will !!
ReplyDeleteYou created something very different and was sorry that the stitching on the black fabric was not visible .
Thanks, Rosemary. I just added a better photo at the end of the post that shows the stitching. Day light better than night light for this piece.
DeleteFrom having to photograph many, many quilts for books, etc, I can tell you that black or white quilts are the hardest to get right. There is always a compromise. If you want to create a work that has to be photographed for a competition, etc, think long and hard about using 100% black or white in it. Hilary
DeleteWow Amanda you have executed this piece beautifully and it really piqued my interest with the eco dyeing - your colours are so well done and the marble
ReplyDeleteeffect you have created is amazing. Nice too that you have an interesting stash of fabrics to go to at a later stage. Well done.
Hi Amanda, I am so impressed with your dyeing results- just beautiful. And you've recreated the stairwell beautifully too.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI love the quilt. You have interpreted the staircase perfectly: I feel I could walk down those stairs. The naturally dyed fabrics are perfect for the steps. Ihave just come across some interesting videos about naturally dyeing fabric in the sun. I’ve only watched the last one about the difference that acidity and alkalinity can make to the colour so far, but it has made me want to look at the other two.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH3v70p6pDvsPy7K7cwIoAw
I really like your piece and your interpretation of the subject - beautiful! I would like to do that staircase myself, at some stage. And you certainly had fun with the dying. I have done a bit here and there too and it is always exciting, never knowing what it will look like in the end! ( Everything is getting dyed purple here after I've dyed my hair with Gentian Violet!)
ReplyDelete