It is not uncommon for me to use unconventional objects in my work, either in the form of embellishment or as a mark-making tool. I like using things that had a "different job" before I use them in my art.
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As I move forward, my Forest Book series will be absorbing most of my artistic hours in the next year. Here is an example of a book that is growing as I add pages. The basis of this series is to build surfaces that jump off the page and are inspired by my visits to the amazing forests on this planet. In the pages you see here I have printed aluminum mesh, copper mesh, recycled printers plates, sheet metal, lutradur, watercolor paper, tyvek, and an assortment of paper and fabric too long to mention. I added materials such as twigs, wire, twine and anything else I could think of to build textures on the pages. Since each page is on a separate metal frame measuring 2 feet by 4 feet, I tend to add and change the pages around until the book is ready to leave my studio.
You can see more of my work on my Kathyanne White website and at KathyanneArt that includes tutorials and workshops based on my work.
I've started a series of corsets and garments from the late 1800's using the techniques I've developed to create these aged painted silk surfaces.
My intent with the series is to highlight the contrast between how garments of that era that were worn to enhance a woman's beauty were so restrictive and uncomfortable to wear that it must have made the wearer feel weighed down, restrained and anything but beautiful.
I also enjoy creating vessel's using these surfaces. After fusing the silk to a stiff interfacing the pieces are cut out and the edges are finished with a satin stitch. They're then assembled into the finished vessel.
Silk Vessel Curves 24” x 3” x 6”
I also work with hand dyed sandwashed cotton. Using low water immersion methods and procion dyes I dye the cotton in the colors I want to work with and then use them to create fabric collages: