Learning Dye Sublimation: Fun Way to Put Art and Photo's on Gift Items

When we began showing our art and photo's at Hillside Market last July, one of the owners kept remarking on how much she loved the pastel kitchen goddesses she saw on my website and was there a way that I could do something with them. I didn't want to sell the originals so how to use them?  Then my friend Regina suggested I put them on tiles.  Good idea but again how.

Driving to Steamboat Springs, Colorado from our home in Santa Fe, we stopped in Buena Vista exploring various shops and discovered Rock Run Gallery.  The owner/artist, Nora Larimar was putting her watercolor art work on tiles.  We had a lovely conversation and she graciously shared the process she was using and how I could find out more about it.

I googled dye sublimation and visited several websites explaining how to do it.  The best explanations were at Conde.com a supplier.  They have video's that are helpful and I placed an order with them.  Much to my delight I was up and running within a few days of receiving the printer and heat press.  And the fun began and continues.

Images of pastel paintings that were sitting on a shelf, unframed and which I like very much are now on trivets and coasters (ceramic tiles) and on tea towels.  Murray's photographs and some of my oils are also great images to put on gift items.

Over the past few months we have seen several images receive repeated sales from the goddesses to sunflowers to Murray's photo of the Chama River.

It is great fun to come up with different images to fit a time of the year or a holiday.  For example we are featuring this rose on trivets and coasters for Valentine Day.