Unintentional Image Transfer

Next week I'm teaching a workshop where students willow-dye silk fabrics they'll use in vessels. I often wrap dye bundles around a short piece of copper pipe. We saved lots of short pieces when Bill installed the plumbing in our house. But some of the pieces have never been used before in dyeing. Tomorrow, I'm cleaning the lot of them.

This is what happens when you don't notice the printing stamped on a piece of pipe. Those red marks in the upper left are unintentional image transfers.

They could be cut out, covered up, or incorporated into a design. But it's not the kind of surprise that delights everyone in a class. A little sandpaper and some alcohol, and that printing will be history.

Except for maybe a couple of pieces I'll stash for some day when I feel like making little red text transfers. Or when I reach for those pieces by mistake.