ELAINE MONTGOMERY

Fabric Dyeing & Painting

Fabric dyeing,selective color alteration, and fabric painting allows me to create my own textile patterns instead of resorting to appliqué or quilting. 

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The layered costume is an original design by @evil-usagi based on Kōtarō Bokuto from the anime Haikyuu!! I interpreted the costume to be dyed fabric patterns in order to keep the costume light weight as well as provide an opportunity to try resist dyeing. I made all the garment pieces and lightly drew where I wanted the designs to go in fabric chalk. I carefully outlined or filled in any forms I wanted to maintain the base color or "hold" areas of dye. When that dried, I either dip dyed areas or carefully brushed dye onto the garment. After a few passes, I rinsed everything to remove the resist, let it dry, then went in with fabric paint to deepen shadows or accent the gold.

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The jackets were original designs by me for the characters of Hurley and Sloane (respectively) from The Adventure Zone by Griffin McElroy. The characters are represented by a ram and a raven and are closely linked with motifs of cherry blossoms and street racing. The ram skull was designed and painted freehand in 45 minutes. Hurley is a grounded, earthy character with a strong head and a heart of gold so the design was simple yet strong with punches of gold. Sloane is layered and rough around the edges so I wanted draw from Mad Max: Fury Road and create a steering wheel that had a raven's skull inlayed on it. The cherry blossoms are a direct nod to their story arc but are a foil to the Mad Max riff as they tell of new life and new beginnings.

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The embroidery hoop was a gift for a friend based on a larger tapestry. It is hand painted on blue cotton using metallic fabric paints and later heat set.