Thermofax Confidential

This blog is all about the Thermofax machine, also known as a thermal imaging machine. Once considered outdated because its ability to make multiple copies was nothing close to what a photocopier could do, the Thermofax machine is now the darling of surface designers and Tattoo artists because it is a quick and inexpensive method of generating a lightweight printing tool capable of making hundreds of prints.

Thermofax machines are still in production, but they are expensive. Reconditioned older machines represent a good value and are often found in public school warehouses and also on Ebay.

The authors who write for Thermofax Confidential were invited to participate because of a skill set and knowledge base beneficial to all of our readers. But this is your blog too. Feel free to add comments and ideas whenever you wish. Or write to me at dunnewoldj@gmail.com if you would like to write regularly and share your own expertise.

Welcome!

Contact these providers for information on ordering your designs as thermofax screens:

USA:
Su Butler: www.subudesigns.com
Marcy Tilton: http://www.marcytilton.com
Bobbie Vance: fiberartBV@aol.com
Northwoods Studio: http://www.northwoodstudios.us and
northwoodstudio@yahoo.com

I am a professional artist and teacher, and the author of "Complex Cloth -a Guide to Surface Design on Fabric" and several other self-published books. I teach internationally and maintain Art Cloth Studios in San Antonio, Texas. I am interested in the psychology of artistry and meaning, and particularly in "writing" and "making" as integral aspects of the creative process. You can read more about my work and see other inspiring images by visiting my website, complexcloth.com.

Susan Ettl is a textile artist and instructor who enjoys creating art cloth, art quilts, and silk paper collages. Her compositions focus on the interplay of color, pattern, and texture.

Her work is influenced by her curiosity with the intricacies of nature, especially her desert surroundings, and her perpetual interest in ancient people and their culture.

Susan teaches a variety of classes including color, design, surface design techniques, art quilting, and silk paper making. She was an adult when she discovered the exhilarating world of creativity. Being predominantly left-brained, she believes that if she can be creative, anyone can.

Visit her web-site, www.desertwindstudio.com/, and blog, http://desertwindstudiochimes.blogspot.com/ to view some of her work.

I am a full time teaching artist. I currently work using mixed medias with a focus on pieces that combine printmaking and fiber techniques.

I am an artist and teacher who works from my studio in the Hill Country near San Antonio, inspired by the fauna, flora, icons and imagery of the Border Lands. Color, texture, pattern are formal concerns in my work, art quilts and art cloth. I am inspired to explore the face and forms of the divine in the everyday, and I often find myself in conversation with mythic beings and strange angels. You can read about my ongoing adventures on my blog at http://susiemonday.squarespace.com and see more of my work on my website at www.susiemonday.com. I am the co-author of a book about creativity and the Sensory Alphabet, New World Kids; The Parents' Guide to Creative Thinking. I also teach textile arts techniques and creative process for guilds, conferences and arts and crafts institutions, as well as holding artist retreats and workshops in my home and studio.

Rayna Gillman is a nationally known artist and surface design teacher who infuses her students with a sense of joy and experimentation, using the phrase "what if?" as a guide.

Author of Create Your Own Hand-Printed Cloth, published by C&T, she has been a featured artist on HGTV's Simply Quilts and on the PBS series, Quilting Arts TV. She is on the Arts Workshop faculty of the Newark Museum and has taught at Peters Valley Craft Center, QSDS, QBL, the SDA/SAQA Conference, and at art centers and quilt guilds across the U.S. She is a member of the Surface Design Association, Studio Art Quilt Associates, and the Art Cloth Network.

Her work has been exhibited internationally and is in private collections in the U.S. France, and Belgium. It can be seen on her website, www.studio78.net and on her blog http://studio78notes.blogspot.com. You can contact her at rgillman@studio78.net

I began quilting in 1996 and rediscovered the pleasure of working with cloth, paint, dye, and thread. My background is in visual design and I worked for many years as a designer in the publishing industry. I make handmade paper and collect Japanese folk art. I take lots of photos of found objects, nature, shadows, tactile details. These have had a strong influence on the direction of my work. My work has been exhibited nationally and internationally and is in many collections.

www.barbaraschneider-artist.com

www.artclothnetwork.com

bjsco@comcast.net

Fabric and fiber has been a part of my life since late elementary school with the introduction of weaving in art class and sewing my clothing in Jr. High. Though more, the past 18 years have included dyeing, wearable art, beading, weaving, knitting, surface embellishment, surface design of art cloth, art quilts and teaching. May I encourage you to explore your God given passion.

I am the mother of daughters Imri and BreAunna, and Nanna to four edible grandboys, almost 6 yrs to 6 months. The Lord has blessed me!

I'm a professional artist and educator teaching Surface Design and Quilting nationwide. I'm especially interested in the Thermofax Silkscreen process as an immediate easy method with which the uninitiated person may access silkscreening. Increasing awareness of the value of these old fashioned transparency maker machines may save some of them from being thrown in landfills. I'm exploring, learning and enjoying the discoveries of the artistic process, both my own and those of my wonderful students and colleagues. My work can be found at www.maggieweiss.com; www.artclothnetwork.com