My idea to use Tulips comes from an article I read about the Dutch Golden Age during which the price for one tulip bulb reached incredibly high levels (10 x the income of a skilled craftsman). Tulips came originally from the Ottoman Empire but were introduced in Europe around 1554. The peak of Tulip Mania was in 1637.

Material :

Cotton poplin, white and hand-dyed – Black and red fabric paint – Markal paintsticks – Carand’Ache Neolor II – Fabric gel medium. Rayon thread for quilting and embroidery floss.

Technique :

My printing surface was a plate of glass (it used to be a shelf, so the edges aren’t dangerous). I’ve used the technique where you spread your paint on your surface with a brayer and you make your drawing from the back of your fabric with a sharp tool (I’ve used a metallic embossing crayon). My drawing was roughly done on the back of fabric first. I’ve used a piece of white poplin, and coloured the tulips and some areas of the background with Neocolour II. Then it was fused on the background.

I thought that quilting with green and red thread would help to blend the colours with the background, but it wasn’t enough. I had to add some some paintstick on the white areas left.

The title “Tulip Mania” is stencilled with paintstick and free motion stitched.

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