Craft Lab: Inkodye!

Create sun prints on fabric, wood and other natural materials in blue, red or orange!

Craft Lab:  Inkodye 
Supplies:
Inkodye
paint brushes (craft paint rollers would have been nice too!)
fairly flat, solid found objects with interesting silhouettes (keys, buttons, paperclips, safety pins, etc.)
permanent markers
clear plastic wrap
tape
fabric and unfinished wood pieces to dye (thrift stores and craft stores are good sources)
a sunny spot
hot water
soap
sponges
a place to dry objects (out of the sun)



Process:  
1.  Paint a thin coat of Inkodye (diluted with water 1:1 ratio) over an object made of natural and absorbent materials (cotton or silk fabrics, unfinished woods, unglazed ceramics).

2.  Arrange objects over your piece and then carry it out into the bright sunshine.

3.  Try to lay it out in such a way that you get as few shadows as possible.  You can also try drawing or writing on plastic wrap with a dark permanent marker and stretching that around a wooden piece.

This teen also tried using tape as a stencil to mark out her lines (she didn't paint Inkodye under the tape).

These cute little x's are actually tile spacers!  Look all over your house and through all your junk drawers for inspiration!

4.  Carry your object back inside, taking care not to dislodge your objects until you're out of the sun.

5.  Scrub your object in hot, soapy water, then rinse well to remove ALL of the excess dye.  If you don't get all the dye off, re-exposing your object in the sun could cause your images to disappear.

Because of the shadows these tile spacers cast, their images look almost 3D!

Sadly, this experiment with plastic wrap didn't turn out great, but art is all about experimentation!

Check out these other great finished projects!

Notes from Class:  although you could dye fabric by the yard and then sew something with it, for the purposes of this class, ready-made objects were very popular.  The guys especially liked the wood options (thin wood veneer can be cut into nice wooden bookmarks).