Found my Fossil Fish
I made the original fossil fish quite a while ago with the process of paper fabric lamination and a silk screen that I created. It didn’t actually turn out that well so I added free motion machine stitching to enhance the paper fabric lamination process. Then I put the fish away in a pile of stuff and completely forgot about it. I decided that it has been hiding in my studio long enough. I needed to finish it.
Here you can see that the fish design is on the white organza ready to be felted. I have a piece of blue prefelt below it that was a left over from some other project. I don’t even remember what type of fiber is used in the prefelt. Not always the best idea when nuno felting but I just decided to go for it.
I spent quite a bit of time rubbing the surface of the organza so the fibers would migrate through.
This is the piece after felting. Some of the organza isn’t really all that well adhered but since it is going to be a wall piece, it doesn’t really matter.
And here’s a closer view when it is still wet.
Here’s the piece dry and framed. Do you have pieces floating around that need to be finished? It’s always nice to get a UFO (unfinished object) out of the studio and completed.
17 thoughts on “Found my Fossil Fish”
I like the fossil fish, Ruth! I have to ask: is the organza supposed to stay that wrinkly? It distracts from the fish itself, but it does look a little like it’s in water 🙂
Thanks Leonor. The organza being wrinkly is part of the nuno felting process. The felt shrinks but the organza doesn’t so it gives you ruching or the wrinkled texture. So there isn’t any way for me to avoid the wrinkles.
The fossil fish is fab! I like the wrinkliness of the fabric as it does resemble water.
Thanks Lyn! Yes, I thought it looked like water too.
I hope you are going to offer a class on this process soon. Looks very interesting.
Hi Sandra, this process is actually a combination of two of my classes. https://feltingandfiberstudio.com/classes/embellishing-felt-with-surface-design-techniques-a-mixed-media-approach/nuno-felting-with-paper-fabric-lamination/
https://feltingandfiberstudio.com/classes/embellishing-felt-with-surface-design-techniques-a-mixed-media-approach/machine-stitching-on-felt/
If you’d like to be notified when I run the sessions again, just fill out the contact form with the classes in which you are interested. https://feltingandfiberstudio.com/contact-us/
Looks very interesting Ruth. If am looking forward to trying this process.
The result is lovely Ruth! Isn’t it strange that nothing of the blue prefelt came through?
Thanks Jifke. You can see the blue prefelt a little better in real life. The organza really reflects the light but it does look more blue than the photo.
Great fish Ruth. I do like the ripples that give the feel of water. I hope someday my free motion will look that good. 🙂 I know, practice. I’m trying.
Thanks Marilyn. I hope you’ll gain some confidence with your stitching in the class. But it is just a matter of doing it.
It looks very effective Ruth, especially the rippled water. And more blue seems to have come through on the fish than on the surrounding “water”, so you get a similar reflective effect to a shiny fish body.
Thanks Kim. The blue in the fish is the paper from the paper lamination process. But it all works out 🙂
I remember the fish. It does look like you are looking down through water to the fossil. I ma sure he will look great hanging on the wall.
Thanks Ann, the fish has been made in several different ways as it is one of my first silk screens.
Maybe it’s my monitor, but it looks more icy than watery to me! The textures are great, I like organza, because it seems like the least predictable fabric, both in how it’ll attach/ripple, but also the colours, it changes and looks so different depending on what you use it with. Very cool looking in the frame 🙂 I have tons of UFOs, I might get the sewing machine out soon.
Thanks Zed, it actually does look a little icy. And yes, organza can be unpredictable. Let’s see some of those UFO’s sewn up 🙂