Day 14: Paintsticks

I had scheduled two days to play with Painsticks in the belief that I would have so much fun, and I had been working so hard all month already, that I deserved an extra day to play.

I've decided that one day is enough.

Don't get me wrong. I think that Paintsticks could be loads of fun for the right person. I just found working with them awkward. I much prefer working with liquid paints and paintbrushes. I am no great artistic painter - I've never painted on canvas. The last time I painted on anything other than fabric was probably in Kindergarten.

Just the same, here's how my time working with Painsticks went. I first tried out the different colors on black, white and a variety of colors. This seemed to use alot paint. I bought mini sticks (glad that I did) and used up a good quarter of the sticks for simple coloring. Crayola crayons last longer.

Here's a photo of the workspace.

I protected my work surface with plastic and taped down the hand dyed fabrics with masking tape. After I finished working with the fabric squares, I put them up on my design wall. I will heat set them later on.

The next thing I tried was to use the rubbing plates. I bought the leaves and found that you really have to layer paint in order to make them interesting. Also, the plates have a tendency to move underneath the fabric, so you can get a muddy effect.

My conclusion: Paintsticks can be fun, but they have some issues. These are my opinions only. Your mileage may vary.

• You have less control than will paint brushes. Yes, you can use brushes, but if you're going to do that, why not just use paint? And, yes, you can use stencils, but the paint is thick and you really have to work the brush and then you run into problems ensuring that the paint stays above the stencil.
• You have to peel off a protective 'skin' that forms over the top of the Paintstick. The book claims you can 'pinch' off the skin, but I tried mightily and had to resort to a sharp craft knife. Then I had little bits of the skin falling onto the floor. I'm pretty sure I'll end up with some permanently marking up my carpet, even though I've tried to find all the bits. So, cleanup is actually more difficult (in my opinion).
• You have to heat set the work, unless you are willing to wait several days for the paint to cure. I don't know about you, but I don't have extra craft space to wait for work to cure. I have to protect my ironing surface with several sheets of newsprint (unprinted) in case the paint leaks. That's a pain.

These are my opinions only. Your mileage may vary.