The Found Object

in Textile Art Cas Holmes

The Found Object in Embroidery 1

Printing with found materials
There are many ways to print using found objects. Here are just a few.

Relief Print
A relief print is a print taken from a raised surface. Print blocks are usually
made from materials such as lino or wood, but try making your own simple
versions with the following materials:
• Polystyrene food trays: these can be can be drawn into or carved for
fine relief.
•  Pencil erasers, either as they are or cut and carved.
•  Balsa wood, with shapes cut out or scratched in with a scalpel.
•  Textured wallpaper and fabrics.
•  Natural materials such as pine cones or pebbles.

Monoprinting
A monoprint is usually a print taken from a flat surface, such as plastic or
glass, which has had a design painted onto it. Good surfaces for monoprinting
made from found materials include plastic bags or bin liners cut and taped
down onto a layer of cardboard, old plastic folder covers or overhead projector
plastic. You can make marks on the surface using found drawing media such as
sticks and sponges, paintbrushes, or your fingers.

Stencils
Cut letter stencils or shapes from card, glossy magazine paper, or plastic. Use
torn edges from paper and fabric. Natural materials, leaves, and plants make
good stencils when used directly or with monoprint as a mask.

Opposite: Detail of “Remnants from not

so Ordinary Lives” showing rubbing from
an old wallpaper remnant, done with wax
crayons and then stitched on fine butter
muslin. The block printing was done with
old Indian blocks. Cas Holmes.

Left: The same piece of wallpaper inked

up (right) and the resulting print.

The Found Object in Textile Art 3

Sun printing with silk dyes
and plant materials
Sun printing, or heliographic art, is a process in which heat-fixed silk fabric
paints are applied to fabric and, while it is still wet, found objects such as
stencils, leaves, or feathers are placed on top. The fabric is then placed in the
sun, and the outlines of the objects are transferred to the fabric. A range of
photosensitive heat-fixed silk paints can be used for this process, including
Setacolour silk paints, Soleil paints, and Colourcraft transparent silk paints.

Materials and equipment

• Found objects for printing: natural materials such as leaves, flowers, or
feathers or household objects such as keys or tools or simply pieces of paper
cut or torn into shapes and patterns
•  Cotton fabric—old sheets work well as they will not need pre-washing.
•  A smooth waterproof background board that will take pins. A piece of card
board or a polystyrene tile covered in plastic sheeting will do the job.
•  Pins
•  Foam brush or spray bottle for wetting fabric
•  Paintbrushes
• Heat-fixed silk paints in various colors
•  Iron

Method
1.  If your fabric is new, machine wash to remove sizing, then thoroughly dry
and iron smooth. Skip this step if you are using pre-washed fabric such as
old sheets.
2. Spread the fabric over the board. Wet it with clean water using a foam
brush or spray bottle.
3.  Using a paintbrush, apply colors with long, smooth strokes.
4. Once the entire piece of fabric is painted, quickly arrange your objects onto
it, carefully pressing them tight against the fabric. Since the fabric is wet,
they should stick fairly well to the surface, but you may need pins to hold
them in place.
5. Place the fabric-covered board in a sunny spot and watch as the sun dries
the fabric and magically ‘prints’ a negative image of your objects on the
surface. Depending on light levels, this step can take anywhere from 15
minutes to an hour. Carefully lift the corner of one of the pinned pieces to
check progress. Opposite: Sun prints from plants pinned on
top of cotton sheeting fabric. The plants are
6. When the fabric is dry, remove all the object, and fix the colors by ironing the whiter negative space. You can even see
for 2 to 3 minutes on the cotton setting. delicate marks on the foliage.

The Found Object in Textile Art 5

Transferring images to fabric
Transferred images can be a marvelous addition to the mark-making process.
You can transfer found images, text, or your own photographs to fabric, and
these can lend an atmospheric feel to a piece.
Images can be transferred using a variety of acrylic-based mediums, from
household acrylic varnish to artists’ acrylic paints or even household emulsion
or acrylic wood paint. White craft glue and acrylic gel mediums, usually used
to build up surfaces in paintings, are particularly good. You can also use
products especially developed for image transfer, such as Dylon Image Maker
or other proprietary transfer gels for fabrics. For these products, follow the
manufacturer’s instructions.
The methods described here are useful for transferring either photocopied
images (those made on a black-and-white photocopier, not a laser copier)
or ink-jet prints on matte-coated printing paper, with which best results can
be achieved if the image has a resolution of 1,440–2,880 dpi. You can also
experiment with pages from newspapers (normal newsprint, not the glossy
kind). Remember you need to consider copyright law when using images not
originated by yourself or copyright-free.

Materials and equipment

•  Large paintbrush
•  Small sponge
•  Plastic sheeting

Left: Images of sacred cows transferred

onto a found canvas frame measuring
8 x 8 in (20 x 20 cm). The cow poster in the
background was transferred to the canvas
using a print from ink-jet printing paper.
The black-and-white toned photographic
image in the foreground came from a
photocopy. The resulting image was then
overlaid with machine stitch. From the
“Diary Studies” series (Cas Holmes).

Far Left: Machine-stitched image of a

crow onto conservation paper, before it
was overlaid onto another surface.

The Found Object in Textile Art 7

Search, Find, and Infuse
Explore the elements and popular practice of using found objects in mixed media
and textile art with Cas Holmes. When applied both for decoration and meaning,
found objects can add texture and special accents to your art pieces. Let textile
artist Cas Holmes, renowned for her use of “the found” and her many-layered,
atmospheric pieces, show you a wealth of tips and ideas for this technique.

Inside you’ll discover:

• W here to search for found objects and how to recycle previously used materials
• Techniques to conceive and build a piece around a found object
• The range of found objects—from natural materials such as driftwood
to manufactured pieces of machinery to even mundane objects like CD cases
• How found objects can be used to create stunning pieces and lend deep
meaning to a work

The Found Object in Textile Art showcases how to combine mixed-media and
fiber-arts techniques to create art with personal, narrative qualities.

Contents
Beyond the Surface Cas Holmes is one of the
Creating wonderful new textile United Kingdom’s most
surfaces from found materials. renowned textile artists.
She exhibits widely and runs
Use of the Found courses at West Dean College.
Finding, collecting, and using She has written for magazines
found objects in your work. including The Quilter and has
Magpie of the Mind contributed to Workshop
Developing an artist’s outlook on the Web. She lives in
on everyday objects and experiences. Maidstone, Kent.

Sharing
Collaborative and
community-based approaches. Paperback, 8½ × 10 7⁄8 , 128 pages
ISBN 978-1-59668-332-7, $26.95
Suppliers Available September 2010
Bibliography
Websites and Groups