GHARTS

iSkin products for Mac, iPod, iPhone, and more

WEARABLE ART

My clothing and fabric items are made from synthetic and natural fabrics. I buy the synthetic fabrics from fabric "boneyards," keeping them from being tossed out. My designs are created from images either I, or my partner, have drawn or photographed. These images are altered digitally, creating several color and design options. These options are reviewed for fabric types and clothing design suitability.

I use two different methods to print my fabrics.
1. Synthetics: The fabric is cut into 72" (or 144")x 17" strips which are ironed to a freezer paper substrate. (The substrate makes it possible to run the fabric through my printer.) The design is then printed on the fabric using dye-sublimation inks (inks made specifically for dye-transfer/heat-transfer processes.) Once printed, the fabric is removed from the substrate and heat set using a press. Dye-sublimation achieves vibrant colors on synthetic materials. Synthetic materials do not breathe as well as natural, so designs are limited.
2. Natural: The fabric comes with the substrate already attached. I print the fabric using fabric inks. Once printed, the fabric is removed from the substrate, rolled in newsprint, and steamed for 3 hours to open the fibres and set the inks. After steaming, the fabric must “set” for 48 hours before being washed in a setting solution. Fabric inks on natural fibres are more subtle, but the natural fibres have more “breathability.”