Thursday, 22 June 2017

Getting into Powertex - taking the first steps.

Hi,

As you know I love anything messy and what could be messier than dipping fabrics in gooey, claggy Powertex? So as you can imagine I jumped at the chance of spending a morning with John Glossop and his lovely partner, Heather and a bowl of this amazing fabric hardening product. Check out John's blog - Dreams of Vintopia here.

Powertex
Powertex

Together we set off on my first proper journey into the world of Powertex (ok, I'd dabbled a little previously with my pal, Sue but never done a full sculpture!).

We decided to make figurines and during the morning John showed us how to create a figurine base from a preformed head, a wooden dowel & base, some tinfoil, masking tape and, would you believe, a toilet roller tube!

making a figurine base
A wooden base & dowel covered in toilet roll tubes!

We then affixed the preformed head and 'padded out' our figures with tin foil and covered with masking tape.

making a figurine base
My lady is taking shape!

making a figurine base
Clearly I modelled her figure on my own (in my dreams!)

Now the messy part! We covered our figures in pieces of fabric soaked in Powertex (this comes in lots of colours but we chose to use the bronze which looks just like runny Nutella). 

Making a figurine sculpture using Powertex
 It's amazing what you can do with a bit of old t-shirt, string & lace

Making a figurine sculpture using Powertex
 Can you believe the wrap is dishcloth material? I love the way it hang

Figurine sculpture made using Powertex
A scrap of old lace transformed with Powertex.

We dried our sculptures off with hair driers (heat tools are too hot) until they had stiffened then dry brushed with some pigment powder mixed in a drop of varnish and voila! One elegant lady created from scraps & Powertex.
Did you know that after 3 weeks drying time Powertex sculptures are weatherproof so can be displayed outside?

Figurine sculpture made using Powertex

Figurine sculpture made using Powertex

Figurine sculpture made using Powertex

Figurine sculpture made using Powertex

Figurine sculpture made using Powertex

Safe to say, I have now got the Powertex bug (John told me it would be addictive and it is!). So much so that I will be heading down to Powertex HQ in early July to get my Powertex Tutor Certification (yes, I will be truly certifiable!) then I will be running lots of Powertex workshops here at Craftsite and Powertex products will be available in the shop and online.

Over the next couple of blogs I will share with you a few pieces I have made using Powertex including a Harry Potter magic wand and an upcycled frying pan!

What would you like to make using Powertex? Let me know in the comments below...


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9 comments:

  1. John22 June 2017 at 07:13

    Great to meet you at he workshop and take it as a compliment that you were inspired to do the training to become an accredited tutor

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    Replies
    1. Wendy23 June 2017 at 01:41

      You not only inspired me but got me addicted, John. Hope to see you again soon.x

      Delete
  2. Rachel Brown22 June 2017 at 14:12

    This is wonderful Wendy. Would love to have a go sometime myself. Thank you for sharing

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wendy23 June 2017 at 01:41

      We will be running Powertex workshops at Craftsite from mid July, Rachel!

      Delete
  3. Unknown23 June 2017 at 13:05

    Great job Wendy look forward to meeting you sometime, I am a Powertex tutor in West Sussex xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wendy24 June 2017 at 01:59

      Hi Debra! I'm really excited about joining the Powertex team. I can't keep my hands out of the stuff! Hope to bump into you at HQ sometime or I'll give you a shout if im in your areas (we have friends down there) and we can grab a coffee. xx

      Delete
  4. Unknown24 June 2017 at 08:42

    There will be no stopping you now Wendy. Would love to do a dish using Powertex xx

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    Replies
    1. Wendy25 June 2017 at 08:22

      It's on my list, Sue. I'm working on a Powertex dream catcher at the moment.

      Delete
  5. fluffypinkturkey19 August 2017 at 06:58

    Hi Wendy finally got here , i love all the wonderful work with Powertex etc,you truly inspire me to get going.
    i spoke with you in the shop a few weeks ago, thanks so much for enlightening me .

    ReplyDelete

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