Inside the white lines
Friday, January 25th, 2013
Fish Cube quilt
Silk painting uses a resist line to prevent the spread of the paint. When the resist is removed, a white line remains around each area of color. The white lines are a record of the way the painting was done. Block printing can also produce a white line. American printmaker Blanche Lazell used white lines for both abstract and pictorial prints (From Paris to Provincetown–Blanche Lazell and the Color Woodcut by Barbara Stern Shapiro, 2002, MFA Publications.)
The white line is something reserved by the process. It is related to the preservation of white areas in watercolor. In the Lazell seascape and landscape woodcuts, it adds a light and airy element to the work. For quilting on silk, it creates a similar watercolor feeling. Silk is a very luminous fabric, so the white lines organize perceived light in the work. This method is visible in photo of the Fish Cube quilt.
For a free-motion quilter, the lines become a drawing that invites a clear or white thread to give texture to the work. As in woodcuts, the quilt is a harmony of shapes. The lines are more fluid than seams, providing the quilter with the ability to create shapes that would be difficult with patchwork.
I have recently discovered a way to convert the lines and textures of pyrography into a white line on wood. After the design is burned and color is applied, I rub a white liming wax into the texture. The opaque wax fills the incised lines and eliminates the heavy burn marks of the pyrography. The photo shows a detail of a platter made of ash.
detail from turtle platter