Designing with Rust Series

In November of 2009, artist Jean M. Judd, started experimenting with using rust as a dye medium in making some of her hand dyed fabric. This technique has been referred to as "rust dyeing" but is really the application of pigment to the fabric with rust being the catalyst to this process.

These pieces of fabric will be made into textile artwork emphasizing the fabric design created by the rust pigment and becoming environmental art using textiles, iron, and rust. These pieces are heavily hand quilted to add texture to the fabric. The rust pigmentation adds a painterly aspect to the work in many instances, which leads to viewers commenting that they are "stitched paintings".

Some of the objects she has been using in the process include architectural ironwork, rusted car parts including a radiator shell from a 1920-1930s vehicle, a clutch plate from a tractor, and other found items that had rust already forming.