A little under a year ago, a fellow volunteer at Project Open Hand planted a seed in my head when he described his silk-dyed Easter eggs. Full of paisley and other intricate patterns, his eggs looked hand painted and borderline relatives of faberge eggs. For my monthly art night last Friday, I set us up with silk ties and scarves and more eggs than one can imagine. I remember dying eggs in elementary school with cups of dye, wire metal loop carriers, wax crayons, heat shrink plastic sleeves and all sorts of glue-on accessories. With that list of supplies, I cannot imagine achieving the level of detail and color saturation provided by the silk.
In a very simple process, we turned white eggs into Easter eggs worth selling using silk, pre-wrap, a pot of water and a little vinegar. Placing the good side of the silk against the egg, we used pre-wrap instead of cotton rags to keep the silk against the surface of the egg. Adding vinegar to the boiling water causes the dye to release from the silk and transfer to the blank surface of the egg. I enjoyed experimenting with the different prints and colors in the silk and learning how they transfer differently. Maybe try something this for a red egg and ginger party in the future?
Some of the raw eggs to be dyed
Eggs wrapped in silk and pre-wrap prior to being boiled.
Dyed egg and silk tie
Small box of dyed eggs.
No comments:
Post a Comment