sometimes the ideas work out perfectly,
other times, not so much.
The idea was, make a tattooed man using toile. I scored a great selection of toile scraps at a swap I did with some fellow Boston Etsy people.
note to self- check to see if decorator fabric has been Scotchgarded, before using on a project that includes dyeing/painting the finished piece. hmph.
Maybe you can’t tell from the photo, but the color went on unevenly and worse, the fabric looked scabby after the paint dried. Yuck. Since I knew I wasn’t satisfied with it, I thought I might as well see what I could do to make it better.
First, I put him through a gentle cycle in the washing machine. That made the texture better and the blotchiness worse. So, I stuck him in a bucket of dye for a soak…
then, another trip through the wash, and out to dry-
He is still as blotchy as ever, and somewhat misshapened. Not out of shape- I mean he is clearly in great shape! His head is lumpy as you can see.
I’m not quite sure where I will go next with him, but I have now dyed a selection of fabrics to try again with.
and another thing…
Fresh peaches are one of my all time favorite seasonal treats-
well, and then we ate it!
September 3rd, 2007 at 2:41 pm
I like him! You know, sometimes those old sailor types actually start getting a bit lumpy as they lose muscle tone. The tattoo/toile idea is a great one.
September 3rd, 2007 at 4:37 pm
Is a beautifull man & a tart you make there, Love your work. I am a big fan!!!
September 3rd, 2007 at 5:27 pm
I think I’ve seen my father actually has some lumpy muscle back his neck…he’s say he is TOO strong
September 3rd, 2007 at 5:38 pm
I think he’s terribly sexy. You could always sell him to me when you’re through with him. :0)
And, pie! OMG I need pie…
September 3rd, 2007 at 5:42 pm
I think he looks great too. I agree with Rose, and the lumpiness gives him more character.
September 3rd, 2007 at 8:58 pm
What a brilliant idea for a tattoed man! I don’t think that I’ll ever look at another piece of toile in quite the same way. :-)
–Tami
September 3rd, 2007 at 11:08 pm
He’s perfect. Beautiful pie!
September 4th, 2007 at 12:22 am
I am with you on how ideas sometimes don’t quite work out. I did one project starting out as a cat and ended up as a girl. Go figure. I don’t know how you came up with the idea of a tatoo fella’ but it’s so unexpected, especially using toile fabric as the tatoo. LA INK move over! thanks for sharing (and for the delicious peach pie pic!)
September 4th, 2007 at 7:51 am
i love the idea of a tattooed man! this may be one that i’ll have to add to my collection!
September 4th, 2007 at 9:29 am
genial!
September 4th, 2007 at 9:33 am
What an absolutely brilliant idea to use toile for tattooed skin! I love it. Your pie is gorgeous and is inspiring me to run to the farmer’s market tomorrow to grab some of the remaining peaches. As always, I really appreciate you sharing your work process. This particular post is a good reminder to me to not get so frustrated when things don’t turn out as I originally envision them.
September 4th, 2007 at 9:44 am
what a great idea!
September 4th, 2007 at 12:56 pm
Keelhauled in a bucket!
September 4th, 2007 at 3:57 pm
What a brilliant idea! I think he needs a cigarete also :P
September 4th, 2007 at 11:07 pm
I guess I’ll just echo what everyone has been saying. What a great idea you had. Who da thunk it?
September 5th, 2007 at 4:12 am
I adore him. All the way up to his neck rolls.
Gorgeous.
September 5th, 2007 at 9:25 am
Frickin’, frackin’ BRILLIANT. He’s awesome. Love the red hair stitching.
September 6th, 2007 at 11:35 am
oh my god, he is so freaking cool! even if he is blotchy! make more!!!
September 9th, 2007 at 1:27 pm
i’m impressed with your stick-to-it-ness…i probably would have thrown in the towel loooooong ago…but then i’m just trusting you that he’s all splotchy, because he looks quite dashing to me
September 22nd, 2007 at 7:16 am
Tatoo Man is awesome!!!
Julie
December 12th, 2007 at 5:10 pm
[...] Okay, it went much better this time- (chapter one here) [...]
December 12th, 2007 at 5:10 pm
[...] The first guy? I took off his feet, restuffed his legs, repositioned the feet and sewed them back on again. Then I embroidered the white of his eyes- what a difference that made- some contrast! I gave him a mustache and embroidered details on his pants. And I decided that the blotches weren’t so bad after all. [...]