available, so fabric wasnt an issue for at least a few attempts if I so decided, and after doing some web research I ordered Innovation Marbling Kit, Japanese Suminagashi
as my starting color set. I had read that all that was needed with the Boku Undo set was to float the ink on the water, using a brush to apply it to the water and let it spread out.. well, my results were a bit different. Included in the set are a few paper circles which "should" enable you to use the provided droppers to place ink on and let them spread from that floating surface.. While I had some sucess with that, mostly what the ink seemed to do was sink. I tried diluting it in small mixing cups, but then the color was to diffuse for what I was hoping to do.
after additional reading.. I purchased some Kodak Photo-Flo 200 16oz
in an attempt to get the dyes to float better.. Initially this seemed to be great, but again the dispersion was way to complete! the dye would virtually disappear as it got thinner and thinner.. it was much easier to make concentric rings though and as one color would push into the other I could see it being a viable use for some subtle pieces.. and I like subtle!! so in time it's very likely that I will put this to good use!
the problem I had with the Photo Flo was that after a bit of time on the surface it seemed to lose the flotation property (personal thought is that the photo flo evaporates, and then dye that remains sinks, but just my opinion) so it wasnt a winner in the long run for Large areas, by the time I was done applying dye at one end of the wet bed, the ink at the other was beginning to sink :(
Soo.. Next item to try!
After more research, and more data given up to watching videos of other artists efforts.. I decided to thicken the water and see if that would work for me. Most easily available seemed to be 2 options. Jacquard Paint, Dye & Art Products CHM2004 Methocel 1lb
With prices like those, I of course went with the cheaper option and ordered some Methocel. Its as this point that I began to consider the costs of this endeavor.. to make a full wet bed with the Methocel I would be using about 12oz per, and while that should last me a few days before going bad, I began to realize that I was gonna need alot of materials and put in long days of dying to pull the most bang for the buck.. We shall see what happens in the long run, but looks like I will be doing this in spurts as I get supplies. :)
to this point, I hadnt taken any pics of my attempts, there really wasnt anything to see but rapidly diffusing color to the point of vanishing.. but with the addition of the Methocel, I was easily able to get the dyes to float on the wet bed, and I could see that soon the fun would begin
