Today I am reviewing the Soy Wax Inspirations DVD by Susan Purney Mark. If you are at all interested in making beautiful fabric using soy wax as a resist, please read on.
I have a little experience with soy wax, but only in a class setting. I took this screen printing class from my friend Kathy and then took this class at Making Ends Meet this past April. I finally have purchased my electric skillet and have everything else I need, but have not carved out the time to play. I thought this dvd would be a great refresher and a push for me to heat up the wax.
The DVD is divided into the following lessons:
- Getting started: Preparing the dye solutions/Tools/ Soy wax and melting appliances/Batching & wax removal/Color charts, journals and print tables.
- Layering with color and wax: Building gradients/Building on color with sponges/Developing color squares with a Tjanting grid/Working with freezer paper masks
- Working with thickened dyes: Freeform application / Screen printing with a wax resist
- Clamped and compression resists:Â Pole wrapped resists/ Clamped resists/ Grid patterned resists
- Stitched pattern resists
- Discharge with wax resist
- Working with textile paints
Susan takes you through each of the processes, step-by-step. It’s evident that she loves to teach and would be a very patient teacher in a live class. She takes her time explaining what she is demonstrating, making sure the viewer understands.
At the end of each technique the finished design is shown. And then in the conclusion she shows all of the fabric she has made in each of the lessons, giving the viewer another look at the beautiful designs. This was one of my favorite parts of the dvd because it gave me a better look at each of the designs and helped me to decide which one I would try first.
Susan focuses on using fiber reactive dyes in her projects. However, the last session she shows how to get beautiful results using textile paints.
This 2.5 hour dvd is jam packed with a lot of good information – some of which I’ve not seen or read anywhere before. In addition to the dvd, there is a link to an 8-page pdf of her recipes, precautions, and other information. I didn’t even need to take notes!
If you’ve wanted to jump into batik and make some beautiful fabric using soy resist, this is a great way to get started and a great reference. Also, if you have an interest in any type of resist, this information would be helpful and could be transferred to other resist mediums.
For me, even though I’ve taken those classes and read a bit about using soy wax as a resist, I learned a lot and enjoyed how she explained all of the techniques. I feel more confident about firing up that soy wax pot and creating.
You can purchase Soy Wax Inspirations through Amazon or Interweave.
Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher for review purposes. The opinions expressed here are 100% my own. I was under no obligation to offer a positive review and received no monetary compensation.
Lynda, I have this DVD and was very pleased with the content and scope. I was first exposed to soy wax 6 years ago in a local class, and have used it a lot. But Susan gave me lots of great ideas to try… I hope to find time to really get into it next month!
Judy, Great! Glad you liked this video. She gave me some new ideas and I too hope to do some of this next month.
Thank you for the kind comments about the DVD, I’m so glad that you enjoyed it. I hope we’ll meet up one day!
Susan Purney Mark recently posted..Soy Wax Basics and Beyond
Susan, You are so welcome. You did such a wonderful job on this DVD. Thanks again for your inspiration and that would be great to meet.