Working with Tyvek® - page 3

It’s also possible to stamp on Tyvek and then apply heat to get some interesting effects.  I painted a sheet with silver and another with bronze Lumiere, let them dry and then stamped a face image using black StazOn ink.  Figure 10 shows the silver image before I heated it.  I cut out the silver image, heated it, and then cut out the star rays that emanate from the head.  I was trying for a star-like look, but wasn’t satisfied with the results – the rays looked too harsh and didn’t seem to fit in with the rest of the piece.  I selectively heated the tips of the rays to melt them and soften the lines which improved the overall effect. 

Figure 10

Figure 11 shows the end result which is close though not exactly what I was trying for. 

Figure 11

Figure 12 illustrates the bronze piece where I cut the star points and then heated the entire piece.  This piece was less successful than the silver face.  The tiny points of the rays were the most susceptible to being burnt away and I could only apply a limited amount of heat which meant I didn't get the look I was trying for.  I had a moment of inspiration while I was playing with these two pieces due mostly in part to the clutter in my studio.  While waiting for these faces to cool my eyes wandered to some polymer clay face cabochons that were lying on a book.  I grabbed one and stuck it on the silver star piece and sure enough it fit right over the stamped face.  Serendipity at its finest! 

Figure 12

Figure 13 shows the face placed on the Tyvek® piece.  I will probably paint the polymer face with a light wash so it coordinates better with the silver, glue it to the Tyvek, and then embellish the piece with some beads.  It will make a great face mask on a doll.   

Figure 13

All of the techniques discussed to this point have applied heat to the Tyvek with an iron which causes a fairly flat result no matter how carefully you hover the iron over the pressing sheet.  The weight of the pressing sheet keeps the Tyvek from curling in on itself and allows for more control.  If you want a less controlled look you can heat the Tyvek using a hot air gun.  You need to work on a heat resistant surface such as your ironing board with the pressing sheet on top or a ceramic tile.  I use a tile since it eliminates the need for the pressing sheet.  Even mushy, hot Tyvek doesn’t stick to it.  Once it cools it will peel right off.   

Using the heat gun to distress the Tyvek means you need to keep the Tyvek from blowing around.  You can either use a bamboo skewer to hold the piece to the tile or hold the Tyvek with tweezers or hemostats.  Turn on the gun and direct the air onto the Tyvek.  The gun will take a moment to get hot enough to affect the Tyvek, but once it does it will quickly curl and shrivel from the heat.  As with the iron the bubbles will be convex on the side opposite of heat source.  This is a much less controlled way to distress Tyvek and the results are unpredictable.  Figure 14 is a piece that started as a rectangle that I cut randomly from the edge in toward the center.  I placed it with the painted side down on the tile, laid a skewer on it and then carefully applied heat.  As soon as I saw it begin to shrivel I directed the heat away from the piece to try and control the process.  These pieces require more patience as you heat a little, let it cool, heat a little, etc.  Once you’re done you can carefully (remember it’s really hot!) pick up the piece and shape it a little.  I find that I can straighten the piece so it isn’t curled up quite so tightly. 

Figure 14

Figure 15 shows some pieces I made and am using in an undersea scene in an altered book.  They’re just little pieces of twisted and crumpled Tyvek, but they’re effective as elements in the scene. 

Figure 15

Another fun thing to do with Tyvek it to make beads.  Cut long triangular strips of painted Tyvek and roll them around a bamboo skewer with the painted side facing outward.  If you want to make fancy beads you can tie metallic thread around the rolled Tyvek to secure it and then apply heat.  For less elaborate beads I just heat and melt the layers together.  Because there are so many layers rolled around the skewer you can produce some interesting effects by selectively heating and melting areas of the Tyvek.  Figure 16 is of some beads I made using painted Tyvek.  One piece of the Tyvek was painted a single color and the other was painted with additional colors.  There’s a lot of room to let your imagination run with these beads, both in how you make them and ways to use them.  If they’re made small enough they can be used to embellish a dolls and they certainly would make attractive elements in a collage or altered book.

Figure 16 

This is only the barest hint of the ways you can experiment with Tyvek and of the pieces you can create from it.  Take the time to play and be patient with yourself as you adjust to how Tyvek behaves when exposed to heat.  It’s a good idea to take notes or add the experiments to your art journal if you keep one.  Having those notes to refer to will be invaluable months down the road when you’re trying for a certain effect and can’t remember how you achieved it the last time.  Let yourself go with no preconceived ideas or expectations and you’ll be rewarded with great results.

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Click here to see a cool Tyvek jester that I made!

Need Tyvek or Lumiere paint?  Click here to see hard structure Tyvek or here for Tyvek fabric.  Click here to see Lumiere.

Copyright 2005 Barbara Strembicki  You may not reproduce, redistribute, or otherwise copy this work without explicit written permission.

Questions? Comments? Please email barbara@joggles.com

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