Today's talk and demonstration introduced us to a completely new concept, albeit still using the fabrics we love. Daphne is an aficionado and tutor of Powertex, which many os us had not seen before. Powertex is a substance which will harden fabric and adhere it to many other surfaces, so that the fabric can be sculpted into imaginative shapes to decorate and make things, only limited by our imaginations. It can be painted and varnished so it is safe to display outdoors, and some magazines Daphne had brought showed pictures of charming garden ornaments (not gnomes!) made with it. If you google 'Powertex Images' you will see some amazing and beautiful things. Apparently is is very useful for stage props.
Daphne then demonstrated how to make the magic. The liquid is poured into a tray, and the fabric or other items (you can coat anything with it) is dipped into it and sculpted onto for example a box, or an armature for a figure, and left to air dry. Daphne had an armature of a charming sheep, and proceeded to to cut bits of string and yarn, dipped them in the Powertex, and manipulated them to make a curly coat, complete with a rose! It can also be be mixed with a paper mâché substance to use with moulds, as can be seen below in the faces.
The possibilities are endless, and those of us who are booked onto her day school next week are really excited about having a messy playday and making something quite outside our usual comfort zone.
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| Fridge magnets and brooches |
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| A bowl or roses using a frying pan as a mould |
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| Embroideries that have been hardened with transparent Powertex |
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| Tools of the trade |
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| Armature for a sculpture |
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| Green man and Buddha plaques |
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| Made with zips, curtain tape, lace, seashells |
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| The fabric adheres to glass |
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| Making the sheep's curly coat |
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