Three Dimensional Texture - Acrylic Medium

In previous blogs, I wrote about different ways to create dimension on cloth. Today, I'll focus on the use of acrylic medium.  There are a lot of products out there, from plain gel medium to gels with texture, such as sand, fiber and even lava. Acrylic medium is essentially the carrier used in acrylic paint, but the thicker varieties allow one to create patterns that are raised from the surface of the cloth.

I began experimenting with the variety of mediums a few years ago.  I was intrigued by the three dimensional aspect.  While I like to create faux texture on cloth with dyeing and printing, the concept of creating a raised surface appealed to me.

Here are some detail photos of cloth that incorporate gel medium.

 

These gels and pastes can be applied in numerous ways. My favorites are to use found objects as re-purposed stencils and to use tools to scratch into the wet medium. For more detailed information, check out my article, Raising the Surface, in the latest issue of InStitches e-magazine.

View the first entry in this series - hand stitching.