Painting the Quilt Backing

On Wednesday I got started with the backing fabric for the Badlands art quilt. It turned out even better than I had expected.

I started with a black-on-white cotton print, which imitates Carrera marble.

I was drawn to this fabric because it represents a stone product. The veining suggested to me the many cracks throughout the Badlands formations.

The first step was to achieve a consistent ground color by dipping the fabric into diluted blue-green paint. Squeezing out the excess, I smoothed the piece out onto a large piece of butcher paper. Then using the other paint I had mixed for the quilt front, I applied horizontals bands of color – orange first, then blue-purple. I let the piece sit and slightly dry before sprinkling on rock salt, also in horizontal bands.

I allowed the paint to dry almost completely before brushing off the salt.

The next morning, I hung it outside to get this photo:

It looks so dramatic, I’m wondering if it will be a waste to use it as a backing.

Earlier today I learned that the batiks I ordered for this project will arrive this afternoon. I can’t wait to see them.