Shiva Paintstiks

If you're like me, you have a lot of fabric scraps. Scraps you just can't part with. In trying to use my favorite scraps to their fullest potential, I have the idea of using them, with other elements, as mounted art.

Cedar Canyon Textiles makes great products that can help transform fabric into a work of art. Shiva Paintstiks, for example, are oil paints in the form of a stick. They have properties in them that allow them dry - and they're great for fabric! These Paintstiks come in a wide variety of colors, color sets and iridescent colors as well. Rubbing plates and stencils are available as well.

Because these oil Paintstiks have drying properties, they form a film around the uncovered areas... so you have to get rid of the dry, film coating before you can paint with them. I colored on a scrap page, and even peeled it with a knife to get to the usable product. This was kind of disappointing because I don't like wasting the product. My first attempt was to color ON the fabric, with the Cedar Canyon Birch Leaves stencil underneath - for a rubbing effect. This gives the fabric more of a blended, abstract look. I can see the benefits and potential of this technique. I lightly colored the fabric just enough so that the paint would blend and the outlines would show up better. This was easy, quick and clean-up was a breeze!

In my second attempt, I placed the stencil OVER the fabric and colored over. This was not as easy as I thought. My attempts at coloring over the stencil were frustrating at first. The paint would get on the underside of the stencil and affect the clean lines of the leaf shapes. I applied to the pigment with a brush. The brush helped even out the paint, however without force, the paint is not very spreadable. I love the bold, clean lines of this technique, but it was rather frustrating to achieve.

Moving forward in my projects, I would love to know if y'all have any suggestions, tips or techniques in using Shiva Paintstiks!