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Floorcloth Care Guide 1. Unroll and place on a hard surface (wood floors or
linoleum/vinyl are best). Do not place on deep-pile carpet; heels may
poke through. Any warping which may have occurred during shipping should
flatten out on its own within 48 hours. If not, place a board along the
warped edge and weight it for 24 hours. 3. Thin rubber non-skid mats are not recommended, unless the floorcloth is being used on a tiled floor, in which case the rubber mat should be cut to fit inside the hem and the edges of the floorcloth should still be adhered to the floor. 4. Clean with Murphy’s Oil Soap and rinse thoroughly. A slight milky film will appear when the floorcloth is wet. This will dry clear and can be hastened by drying with a towel after cleaning. It is recommended that the floorcloth be cleaned in it’s spot on the floor. The less the piece is picked up and moved, the less it will crack. 5. If the floorcloth needs to be moved or mailed, roll it around a tube with the painted side in. DO NOT fold. Creases may cause the paint to crack. 6*. A revitalizing coat of clear finish is recommended
annually. This will extend the wear of your floorcloth and will brighten
the colors. Clean it thoroughly, allow to dry and apply Minwax’s
satin Polycrylic™ and allow it to cure for at least 48 hours.
Are floorcloths durable and easy to care for? Yes, yes yes! The care of a floorcloth is as easy as
a vinyl floor- just damp mop. The poly finish protects the painting and
provides an extremely durable surface.
CREATING THE PIECE How long does it take to make a floorcloth? Generally, a medium sized floorcloth (6’ X 8’)
will take me a month from start to finish, but more elaborate designs
will take up to 8 weeks and smaller, sink-size pieces can be done in a
week or so. I use water-based paints for every phase of the floorcloth. High quality latex house paint is used for the base coats and large areas of solid color; artist’s grade acrylic paints are used to prepare glazes, tint colors and paint details. Water-based polyurethane seals the floorcloth. How do you prepare the canvas for painting? Before any paint hits the canvas a lot of prep work
goes into each piece. The canvas is cut from a large bolt, shrunk with
hot water, allowed to dry, and cut to size. Each piece has a sewn hem
with carefully mitered, sewn and turned corners.(This is a Canvasworks
trademark- I like to make the absolute best product which will stand up
to years of wear.) The sewn canvas is pressed to ensure a smooth, flat
painting surface. After the painting is finished, the floorcloth is allowed
to dry for a couple of days. The surface is cleaned and polyurethane is
brushed on. At least 5 coats are applied with at least 12 hours of drying
time between coats. The floorcloth then sits for a week to cure. This
allows the polyurethane to set completely and ensures a floorcloth which
will withstand the even toughest traffic (like big dogs, kids and their
toys, tracked-in dirt and sand…). I have two large tables (one 9 X 12, one 8 X 10) which
seem to always have floorcloths in various stages scattered over them.
I also have extra floor space for curing and drying. This means that I
usually have 2 or 3 pieces going at once. My main studio space is my painting
room, and the upstairs studio is the polyurethane room. People use floorcloths in a variety of places. They
are best suited for eat-in kitchens, dining rooms and entryways. Small
pieces work well in front of kitchen sinks, by a door as a room is entered
or in front of a hearth. I have also done floorcloths for bedrooms, porches,
nurseries and sunrooms. Some of my more painterly pieces have been used
as wall hangings. Who are your "typical customers"? My typical customers are people who live in older homes
, or homes which have been built to appear old, with hardwood or wide
pine floors. These people are generally into looking for individual pieces
to furnish their homes and spend a lot of effort to capture a certain
look or feel. They usually like simple, easy-going rooms where a person
wants to come in and linger. When customers come to my house they often
remark about how comfortable and interesting the rooms are. They seem
to like rooms which beg you to stay, relax and look around. The ease of
cleaning and durability of floorcloths really appeals to them too. "Floorcloth Magic" is
a complete how-to for the novice floorcloth painter. In writing the book,
I tried to address the need for a guide that would walk the reader through
the entire process, and then open the door to the world of design possibilities.
There are lots of great photographs, showing steps, techniques, patterns
and lots of other people’s floorcloths too. I keep canvas in stock and sell it by the square foot
for people who want to make their own. Check out the "Make
Your Own" Section for more information. What is your most interesting story?
Do you ship internationally? I have shipped two floorcloths to France and have several
in Canada, and throughout the US.
I also make a variety of items which use my designs and canvas. Fireboards are decorative canvas-on-board paintings, table runners, placemats and coasters are made of unhemmed canvas and finished with polyurethane so they can be wiped clean easily. The same basic processes are used for these. The same canvas, paint and poly are incorporated.
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Canvasworks
326 Henry Gould Rd 802•263•5410
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Frequently
Asked Questions
Do
you work on more than one floorcloth at a time?
