It will be about 100 x 75 cm, all in duppion silk. Applique and machine-embroidery, and a  fabric-paint stamped pattern. Here are the colors I can play around with:

The stamp I made in two sizes, out of fun-foam, was based on a piece of decor I found on the old alter in Norway´s (probably) oldest stone-church (ca. 1030 A.D.) Which by chance happens to be in Moster, my neighbouring “town” (and also where the school is,  who wants the new banner). Anyway. So far I have decorated two of the fabrics, and cut out the silhouette of the volcanic mountain on the island (Siggjo), and part of the scenery from Moster.

Below is rough draft, just by placing the cut fabric in place.

And here is a picture of the text I´m printing. It´s also a copy from the old church, this time from the old bell that now is stacked away in the attic. It says:

AVE.MARIAGRACIAPLENADOMINVSTCVM

and is an old catholic prayer. Spelled the old way too, apparently. 

The three pictures below are actually one and the same. Amazing how the light “colors” the fabric.

I should really be done with this by Friday, so I need to get started on the embroidery tomorrow. Stay tuned!

Below you can see the process, as I am make a stamp inspired by a decoration on an old alter in an even older church. Here is part of the alter:

Make a photo-copy of the image you want to make a stamp of. Draw with a soft pencil around the edges. Turn the copy, place it on the fun-foam (mose-gummi) and rub hard against the back of the paper. This should transfer the pencil-line unto the fun-foam, so you can see where you want to cut.

Oh, yeah, the best option for fun-foam is the 9 mm. It is thicker than the ones you´ll find in the play-section, and while it is more of a job to cut it, you reduce the risk of spilling paint where it shouldn´t be. 

Use a sharp knife, and by all means, a hard surface underneath the foam. Hardwood or a hard-plastic. Something you´re not afraid of getting marks in. Also, when cutting in thick foam, try cutting only half-way down first in the fine detailed areas. This will make it easier to get the lines nice. 

When you´re done, glue it onto another piece of fun-foam with a strong glue. I use a special shoe-glue (!), but I am sure other types of strong glue will work too. 

And then, I am ready to give it a try. This time on fabric. 

You can see the finished result on my blog in a week or so, for this particular stamp.

Sjølvportrett laga av handmalt stoff, chiffon og tyll som er applikert og maskinbrodert. Dette bilete lagde eg då eg var på kurs med den danske tekstilkunstnaren Solvejg Refslund. Seinare har eg laga fleire bilete i samme teknikk. Ein tidkrevjande, men spennande teknikk.

Datamanipulert fotografi trykt på lerret, malt med broderte detaljar og tekst.