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Devoré is a technique used on fabrics to produce a delicate lace-like effect.

This process was developed in the 17th century in France as a means of creating a poor man's lace. The word "devoré" comes from the French word meaning to devour, eat away or burn out.

The technique is usually used on mixed fiber cloths where one fiber is a protein and one fiber is a cellulose. Stunning effects can be created on silk/rayon velvets where the velvet rayon pile is eaten away and the translucent silk gauze remains. Interesting and vibrant results can also be produced on fabrics not designed for devoré purposes and it is worth experimenting with unusual fabric combinations.

I am frequently asked the question "what is tempera?". Even most of the artists I know think it refers to what is called poster colors.

Tempera is an artist's medium dating back to the panes and illuminated manuscripts of the Byzantine world and the Middle Ages in Europe. This paint is made by binding pigment in an egg medium, along with other materials such as honey, water, milk and plant gums. It was the most widely used technique until about 1500, after which it was gradually replaced by oil paint.

Italy, Greece, and Russia were the major centers of tempera painting, and even in the present day, it is used to render the Orthodox Icons.The tempera technique was briefly revived in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in Western art, among the Pre-Raphaelites and Social Realists.



Tempera paint dries rapidly. The techniques of tempera painting can be more precise when used with traditional techniques that require the application of numerous small brush strokes applied in a cross-hatching technique. The colors, which are painted over each other, resemble a pastel when unvarnished, deepening when varnished.

Tempera is normally applied in thin, semi-opaque or transparent layers. When dry, it produces a smooth matte finish. As it cannot be applied in thick layers, tempera paintings rarely achieve the deep color saturation of oil paintings. However, tempera colors do not change over time,  and do not darken, yellow, and become transparent with age as oil paints do.

True tempera paintings are quite permanent, and examples from the first centuries AD still exist, such as the Severan Tondo and some of the Fayum mummy portraits.

Tempera is a an easily manufactured, non-toxic, eco-friendly medium. See how you can make some of your own.

Crewel is an ornamental surface embellishment technique using a wool yarn and a variety of different embroidery stitches to apply a design to fabric, mostly cotton, linen or twill.

The word "crewel" comes from an ancient word describing the curl in the staple, which is a single hair of the wool. Crewel wool has a long staple, is fine and can be strongly twisted. Modern crewel wool is a fine, 2-ply or 1-ply yarn available in many different colors.

This form of embroidery is at least a thousand years old. It was used in the Bayeux Tapestry, in Jacobean embroidery and in the Quaker tapestry.

Mizuhiki is a ribbon-like paper cord that has been used to wrap gifts in Japan over the centuries. It is made from washi paper that is cut into long thin strips, twisted into strings, and then stiffened with glue made of seaweed and white clay. It is from this process that mizuhiki gets its name: Mizu means "water" and hiki means "to apply".

After the cord is formed, it is polished to a shine with cotton cloth or wrapped with colored silk or thin metallic paper for hundreds of beautiful color variations.

Relief in sculpture refers to the raising or sinking of the modeled form  from  the flat background plane. Reliefs are found all over the world, especially on the walls of monumental buildings.

Bas-relief is French for "low relief", derived from the Italian "basso rilievo". In this, the overall depth of a projecting image is shallow. The background is very compressed or completely flat, as on coins, and all images are in low-relief.

Bas-relief is used to depict scenes with many figures and other elements such as landscape or architectural features. A bas-relief may use any medium or technique of sculpture, but stone carving and metal casting are the traditional ones. 

Temari is a folk art form that originated in China several centuries ago, and was later taken to Japan by Buddhist monks.


Temari, which means 'hand ball'  in Japanese, began as a simple needlework craft making an embroidered toy thread ball for children to play.  Today the lovely thread-wrapped balls are given as tokens of good luck, the brilliant colors and threads symbolic of wishing the recipient a brilliant and happy life.



In the beginning, the balls were made from the remnants of old kimonos. Pieces of silk fabric were rolled up to form a ball, and then wrapped with strips of fabric. As time passed, traditional Temari balls became an art, with the functional stitching becoming more decorative and detailed, until the balls displayed very intricate embroidery.


With the introduction of rubber to Japan, the balls went from play toys to art objects, and were very popular amongst the Japanese upper class and aristocracy, and noble women competed in creating increasingly beautiful and intricate objects.At times they added "noisemakers" to the inside to delight the ear. They incorporated designs from Japanese crafts as well as other Asian embroidery designs, like the chrysanthemum, and they copied the colors of nature around them. 


A stitched Temari ball  can be displayed on a stand and enjoyed as a striking embroidered puzzle.

Temari opens up a whole new dimension for artists and crafters. Stitches can go in any direction because of the random wrapped thread surface of the ball. They are not limited to up and down, side to side and diagonally as with traditional stitchery. It is a craft of recycling - bits of yarn and thread from other projects can be used to create your own balls. Other supplies needed include a darner needle, a bit of soft yarn, some thread for wrapping, and craft thread or perle cotton embroidery thread for stitching the design.



Start exploring Temari with these free instructions. Have a look at this book by Barbara Suess which includes directions for making and embroidering temari with the kiku design, trefoil, spindle stitch, squares, triangles, and many combinations of these stitches.

Source: Kiku Designs. Special thanks to Barb at Japanese Temari (www.japanesetemari.com).

A rolag is a roll of fiber generally used to spin woolen yarn. Cleaned fiber is brushed and then prepared into rolags. A well-made rolag will be uniform in width and distribute  fibers evenly, making it easy for spinners to produce quality yarns.

Traditionally, wool and other animal fibers were used to create rolags, but nowadays spinners use many different fiber materials, including manufactured and plant fibers.

Fresco is painting on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word comes from the Italian  affresco, meaning "fresh"), of Latin origin. It was a common painting technique in Gothic art and during the early Renaissance. It was a favorite technique for painting enormous murals on church or home walls.

In fresco, artists first spread wet plaster onto the wall. Then, while the plaster is still wet, the artist applies the pigment directly onto the plaster, mixing and spreading it quickly. Fresco artists must paint quickly--once the plaster dries, the paint becomes part of the wall and the painting cannot be changed. 

Gesso is the Italian word for "board chalk", and is a powdered form of the mineral calcium carbonate used in art.

This calcium sulphate compound was traditionally mixed with animal glue and used as an absorbent primer coat for panel painting with tempera paints. It provided a permanent and brilliant white surface when used on wood or masonite. As it was rather brittle and susceptible to cracking, it was not suitable for priming canvas.

Modern acrylic "gesso" is actually a combination of calcium carbonate with an acrylic polymer medium latex, a pigment and other chemicals that ensure flexibility, and ensure long archival life. It is sold premixed for both sizing and priming a canvas for painting.

The word "gesso" originates from the Greek "gypsum"