Rusty Heaven!!

This is the wreck of the Minmi - off the coast of Sydney. James and I found it a few months ago - but I didn't have my camera. Today we went back. Pure heaven!! A very patient James humoured me while I filled my sim card! Below is just a taste of the beautiful colours and textures that I plan to use for inspiration in up coming work.

The rocks around the wreck are also fascinating - lots of erosion into layers and holes, with lichen highlights. I'll post some pictures sometime.

Unhinged: Don't Press The Red Button.

The rust obsession started here!
I made this last year with the goodies that my neighbours threw out. The photo doesn't the textures justice. The red button is fabric covered with linen. It was amongst the box of rusty things and just seemed to belong with them.
I love the lock with the keys - all rusted together - so they had to stay together.
All mounted on black painted board.
The remained of the rusty things helped dye my material last week. I got some amazing close ups of the rust patterns and will post those soon.

Rusty Fabric Dyeing - Results

Well the results are in and I'm feeling rather pleased with myself. For a first go they are quite interesting. I'll definately be doing this again. The first picture is with them on the line to dry and they are looking pretty bright in the sunshine. They dried lighter - as in the pictures below.

This first one was put in a bucket with rusty nails, a hack saw blade, door hinges, an old door bell and a few other bits and pieces. (Thanks to my neighbours for throwing them away). The fabric and the pits and pieces were layered together. Next time I'll aim for more contact between them and the fabric. They weren't very rusty and with their small size gave a delicate result.

I screwed up the fabric, added rust water and then half a kettle of hot water and a slurp of vinegar. This time I didn't use salt - but I might another time. They were in the bucket a week - with me rearranging them every day or so.

The results of the second one are more dramatic. I used old circular saw blades and they were pretty rusty. I particularly like the depth that the different shades of rust give this piece. I used the same method as for the other bucket.

I haven't decided what to use them for yet - but some ideas are brewing...

Rusty Metal Dyeing...In Progress

Can't wait to see how these come out. I've been meaning to try this for ages and finally they are nearly brewed.

My neighbours kindly left lots of rusty stuff in the back lane outside our house and I found all these fantastic things. The door hinges and keys became an assemblage piece. (I'll post a picture another time.) The rest I've had a variety of ideas for - but using them to dye fabric has been high on the list. At last they are on their way!

The circular saw blades are giving a great result with high surface area and lots of rust. I'm crumpling the fabric to give it a patchy look rather than pure circles, as I think it will have more potential. In the other bowl there are a variety of things - an old door bell mechanism, rusty nails, a hack saw blade, and other random things. They are less rusty and are just leaving simple lines and shapes - less dramatic, but they will be a good contrast to the darker, more intense other piece. The two big pieces are calico. I've also dyed some scraps of muslin - it hasn't taken the definition of shapes - just the colours. They've been going for a week now - and every couple of days I've shuffled things around.

It's due to rain tomorrow, so I'm going to take them out today and dry them - while it is easier!

I'll give you an update soon.

Palm Fibres and Rusty Washers

Algerian eye and eyelet stitch were set for week 6 of TAST.

Influenced by this macro photo of barnacles on a rusty sleeper on the beach at Bundeena, I wanted to use natural materials with rusty colours to recreate the essence and feeling of the photo. Decomposition and rusting are themes that I love.

I pick up the palm fibres every time I see them. They seem to come from the base of the palm frond, once it has broken down by the elements. The fibres make a beautiful natural weave and I like the way the layer below shows through the gaps.

The rusty washers came from a tin of rusty bits thrown out by one of my neighbours clearing out their workshop. I love the use of recycling found materials. For me it adds another dimension and history to a piece.

The wooden bead was from my friend, Fi, a great source of creative inspiration. The bead was left over from our last holiday art challenge (the barmy bag of bits holiday art challenge) which I will probably write about here at some point.

I was pleased with how this worked out.