A subtle print with Soypig

The interesting thing with this method of working is that the soy milk “size” impregnates the fabric and will fix the pigments in the cloth at the painting stage. It does require 4 weeks to cure so that the fixation is complete. The pigments in the soypig paint drops through the top surface of the fabric to be revealed on the underneath of the cloth so when the fabric is dry the reveal is often a surprise.

I am working on a heavy weight plastic sheet so I can move the painted fabric around while I wait for it to dry without disturbing the sinking pigments. This piece is on white linen that has been scoured by washing in the washing machine on a 60 ° wash with 2 tablespoons soda ash and a teaspoon of Fairy dishwash (neutral soap). Scouring removes any finishes or starch etc from the cloth that might interfere with the natural process.

Claire Benn calls the process of painting soy milk on the fabric “sizing with soy”. I worked on damp soy cloth and this has to be done the same day as the soy milk is made (see previous post). I kept the sized cloths in a zip lock bag in the fridge while waiting to use them Or the sized pieces can be dried and put aside for use at a later date. I haven’t had much joy with working on the dry cloths so I will spritz the fabrics with water to dampen them before I use them (paint them) in the future.

I mixed 1 teaspoon to 100ml of soy milk to make my soy paint. The soy milk is added gradually to the pigment so as to avoid lumps or clumping. This piece used the pigment sourced from the bottom of my garden. I placed some lengths of end thread from the linen under the fabric (on top of the plastic) - Claire calls these “thieves” and then using a cut back chip brush I painted the soy pig paint across the fabric.

As i am primarily a representational artist, this way of working forces me into abstraction and I was delighted with the result. I am calling this piece “Turbulence”. To fix the soy and pigment permanently on the cloth there is a four week “curing time”. And then stitch can be added to enhance the cloth. This is the stage I am at now with this piece.

This final image shows the side I painted with the soy pig. You can see the shape of the thieves vaguely on this tip side but it is quite darker and different to the underside where the soy pig paint has dropped down through the fabric.