Greetings!
This is my first post here so I'll give a little of my background. I'm fairly new to the hooping thing (about 6 weeks) and I'm afraid that it has become an addiction. Hey, at least it's a healthy addiction! I found out about hooping more or less through the Bonnaroo music festival. That led me to the youtube clips. Then I found out about Burning Man. : ) That led me to hooping.org where I learned how to make my own hoops. So, as I'm sure most of you have done, I called up several hardware stores until I found one that had all of the necessary supplies (Lowe's). This brings me to the point of the post...
I am a graphic designer as well as a gallery artist, so my mind natural goes towards painting everything. I wanted to hand paint my hoop. So I have finally devised a way to keep the paint on the electrical tape. It took quite a bit of experimenting. The only way the paint comes off now is if the tape gets gouged or scraped off. I found that the tape was necessary for some grip. So, while the paint job is not indestructible, I would like to think that it will age gracefully. There is a picture of one that is in-progress in my photos. I am making it for my friend Jenny and I still have a lot more detail to add to it. Nevertheless, you can see where I am going with it. She has requested blues, aquas, and greens.
I have two questions:
1. Has anyone has any experience with painting hoops before? I can't seem to find anything about it, but I might need to look harder.
2. Do you think that custom painted hoops would be very marketable to sell? Is it an appealing idea?
I am trying to feel everyone out on the concept. Any comments you have would much appreciated!
- Megan
This is my first post here so I'll give a little of my background. I'm fairly new to the hooping thing (about 6 weeks) and I'm afraid that it has become an addiction. Hey, at least it's a healthy addiction! I found out about hooping more or less through the Bonnaroo music festival. That led me to the youtube clips. Then I found out about Burning Man. : ) That led me to hooping.org where I learned how to make my own hoops. So, as I'm sure most of you have done, I called up several hardware stores until I found one that had all of the necessary supplies (Lowe's). This brings me to the point of the post...
I am a graphic designer as well as a gallery artist, so my mind natural goes towards painting everything. I wanted to hand paint my hoop. So I have finally devised a way to keep the paint on the electrical tape. It took quite a bit of experimenting. The only way the paint comes off now is if the tape gets gouged or scraped off. I found that the tape was necessary for some grip. So, while the paint job is not indestructible, I would like to think that it will age gracefully. There is a picture of one that is in-progress in my photos. I am making it for my friend Jenny and I still have a lot more detail to add to it. Nevertheless, you can see where I am going with it. She has requested blues, aquas, and greens.
I have two questions:
1. Has anyone has any experience with painting hoops before? I can't seem to find anything about it, but I might need to look harder.
2. Do you think that custom painted hoops would be very marketable to sell? Is it an appealing idea?
I am trying to feel everyone out on the concept. Any comments you have would much appreciated!
- Megan
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Re: Hand Painted Hoops?
Tue, April 8, 2008 - 1:43 PMOh man, painted hoops... thats an awesome idea!! :)
I've never heard of anyone doing it... but I totally would. You could probably sell them, but I imagine it would be a pretty limited market. Maybe Etsy.com? -
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Re: Hand Painted Hoops?
Tue, April 8, 2008 - 1:57 PMcan you post a picture? sounds like a great creative idea..if paint is non toxic and can hold up to sweat and being dropped alot...
i use hair sparay which i know is controversial, but it holds the tape longer, as does glitter glue.
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Re: Hand Painted Hoops?
Tue, April 8, 2008 - 2:01 PMHi Megan, I paint in oils and acrylics but it has never occurred to me to paint a hoop .. but I could easily.
I must try some acrylics, they are pretty hardy but would scuff off if it was dropped on hardstanding just as the tape would scuff off too. But thanks for such an inspiring idea !!
Yeah I think anything custom is marketable, folks love to stamp their identity onto their possessions. I would just do my own coz i'm not into selling stuff. But good idea for a young graphic designer to have a go at something imo.
Look fwd to hear your progress -
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Re: Hand Painted Hoops?
Tue, April 8, 2008 - 2:06 PMYes. Keep us posted. I tried to spray paint a hoop with a heavy duty paint but it didn't work. Very challenging to get paint to stick.. You would have to scuff it up first (sandpaper). I love to think of creative ways to make black plastic - pretty! Be brave! Way to be creative!
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Re: Hand Painted Hoops?
Tue, April 8, 2008 - 2:37 PMThanks for the input! I would like to eventually have a website with galleries, etc. where I could take custom orders for people on the colors they would like.
If you think you might try it yourself I will share what I learned. I put down a layer of electrical tape and then sanded it pretty well. Then I put a white primer on top. I used a spray paint can I got from Lowe's that is made specifically as a primer for painting on plastic surfaces. Then I went to work on the acrylics. I found the sanding part to be key though. The primer doesn't really adhere to the surface otherwise. You may find a better way of doing it however.
Good luck!
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Re: Hand Painted Hoops?
Tue, April 8, 2008 - 2:26 PMI have painted a hoop and it totally didn't work for me. I mean, it looked beautiful at first, but with some hooping, the paint started to flake off on my skin and clothes. It looked awful on both me and my clothes. I was totally bummed about that. (And it was sad because they were so gorgeous! They were silver. I loved them.) It is important to note, though, that I painted straight on the hoop, not on tape. I think tape might hold it better. Gaffer's tape would probably hold it a lot better than electrical tape since it's made of cloth. I didn't think about taping it before painting. I was looking for a way to avoid wrapping it altogether, that was my purpose. For your purposes, if you used tape to create a "canvas", I bet it would work pretty good. -
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Re: Hand Painted Hoops?
Tue, April 8, 2008 - 2:41 PMOh no! I'm sorry that didn't work out for you.
If you are keen on giving it a shot again, I posted my methods above. I will keep everyone posted on how the paint job holds up. I, of course, want to test it thoroughly before I start selling them.
Thanks for the input everyone! I think I will continue. : ) -
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Re: Hand Painted Hoops?
Tue, April 8, 2008 - 3:26 PMI have seen hand-painted hoops at festivals and although they are sometimes very pretty and unique, the paint seems to be always chipping off. Painting over gaffers tape sounds like you might have better luck, though...
::off topic:: ButI have recently made a cloth-covered hoop in hopes of a heavier, grippier hoop (I used pleather and corduroy strips over regular cloth) but the cloth is still super loose. Thus, any 'off the body' tricks are pretty much impossible..any thoughts?? -
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Re: Hand Painted Hoops?
Tue, April 8, 2008 - 4:08 PMTry using a textured fabric with stretch, so that you have to use a bit of force to get it on your hoop, but it will hopefully cling to the hoop rather than becoming loose.
Back on topic, I do remember another discussion about painting hoops a while back... and my idea would be to try carving the hoop first, using the types of cutting tools used for carving stamps or woodblocks (or a Dremel tool if you've got great control) and then smear acrylic paint into the grooves and wiping off the top surface.... hm! I've got so many things on my plate right now that I SHOULDN'T try this.. but I really want to :)
You also might want to look into the various 'mediums' that you can mix acrylics with - maybe there is something that is a bit more flexible/durable that will hold up to the hooping action better? Or try the acrylic paints intended for fabric painting on knits, since it is already supposed to be able to flex?
(off to look at your photos...)
(and then maybe carve a little chunk into my next personal hoop)
X..
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Re: Hand Painted Hoops?
Tue, April 8, 2008 - 4:32 PMre your off topic: I used a flexible fabric glue, and a hypodermic needle. After the cloth was on the hoop I used the needle to inject the glue under the fabric and hold it to the hoop so it didn't shift around while hooping. -
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Re: Hand Painted Hoops?
Tue, April 8, 2008 - 7:53 PMThanks for the advice - both the stretchy fabric and the fabric glue sound more promising than my original model - I am def. going to try this out!
And good luck with your hoop painting. I can't wait to see how they turn out!
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Re: Hand Painted Hoops?
Tue, April 8, 2008 - 4:37 PMWhile I didn't try for artistic expression, I sanded the hoop and used both textured vinyl spray paint ( this is the stuff you use to make it look like you have installed a vinyl roof on your old car) and stone texture paint. They have both held up fairly well. I just wanted something with an interesting look and some grip while hooping in the dampness (more than our share of dampness in the Pacific Northwest).
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Re: Hand Painted Hoops?
Tue, April 8, 2008 - 7:43 PMIf you can keep paint on the hoop, then I definitely think there is a market for it. I used to only paint my hoops. I would spray paint them, then paint circles on them around the holes. I just accepted that every time the hoop went out with me to party, it got a new paint job. I would paint them with spray paint, then put markings on them, and then spray paint a clear coat over that. (I noticed that the clear coat, somewhat, prevented the hoop from leaving colorful scuffs on the floors and walls.) I did some pretty elaborate paint jobs, but scuffs on the hoop seemed inevitable. I tried the groove thing that Xta was talking about (i used a dremel) and it did work. Anything in the goove would last, but it took FOREVER to carve the hoop. I will say based on my own trial and error, that grooves which run from top to bottom on the hoop's inside wall (perpendicular to the hoop's plane) weaken the hoop's structural integrity and will can cause the hoop to crimp.
Beth commented that my painted hoops had a kind of "waba-sabi" look to them. I will say that it's cool what happens to the hoop's finish after multiple paintings and scuffings. I finally gave up and just went with no paint and no tape. I do dress my hoop up for Bman with a nice chrome job.
I'm kind of no frills type hooper, but paint does offer color without the weight of tape.
I just sand my hoops these days.
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Re: Hand Painted Hoops?
Wed, April 9, 2008 - 12:36 AMAh, yes... The no frills hoop. That appeals to the practical side of me and it may come to that yet. Until then I'm just gonna test out what I've done so far and tweak and tweak and tweak.
If you have any photos of the elaborate paint jobs you gave your hoop somewhere I would love to see them - if it's convenient for you. If not I'll imagine something spectacular in my head.
Thanks for the story of your travails with the hoop painting and other tips.
And thank you Xta for the groove idea. I can see that everyone is very helpful here and that's awesome!
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Re: Hand Painted Hoops?
Wed, April 9, 2008 - 4:13 AMSomeone else mentioned using gaffer tape as the base. I too think this would be better than electrical tape, which isn't very grippy or very long lasting. A few drops and it can rip and shred. Gaffer tape sticks very well and hardly ever rips if you use good quality tape. Being cloth, it has dints and groves in it anyway for the paint to stick to.
Give it a try. See how it works. I think it will hold up better.
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Re: Hand Painted Hoops?
Wed, April 9, 2008 - 9:27 AMif you used white gaffer tape, you wouldn't have to prime at all i would think. voila! instant canvas -
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Re: Hand Painted Hoops?
Wed, April 9, 2008 - 10:56 AMIf you live in a rainy place like Vancouver, use some glue on the ends of your gaffer tape to make 'em stick, otherwise they'll lift the first time they get wet :(
(I love hooping in the warm summer rain.. but when my newly-taped hoop started getting tape-tails, I was sad)
X.
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Re: Hand Painted Hoops?
Thu, April 10, 2008 - 11:24 AMAwesome awesome awesome idea! Thanks!
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Re: Hand Painted Hoops?
Thu, April 10, 2008 - 11:24 AMI'm actually contemplating this now - I got a Bare Bones collapsible hoop from Flamma Aeterna, and they add the texture strip inside - which is what I usually use the tape for, so putting tape on top of it seems redundant.
I have been wanting to make a Tuscany Hoop (I have a daydream of hooping in the Piazza Della Signora that cheers me up when I am down) and I have actual clay pigment that I bought in Siena and would love to use on a hoop. If I can find a mixing medium that will stick to the plastic, I decidedly plan to do it.
If not, the white gaffer's tape-as-canvas idea is awesome and should work at least as well. Or some type of cloth or canvas tape.
I think it is definitely a marketable idea!! (I am a crafter, so I always think of what I can create for any community I can join. I can't find the tubing to make hoops, so if I cannot make hoops, I can pimp hoops...) -
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Re: Hand Painted Hoops?
Tue, April 15, 2008 - 6:59 PMThere used to be a hooper in Canada who sold rattan hula hoops from Borneo that were handpainted. They are not around any more though...
It's a great idea, especially if you could use bamboo or rattan hoops.
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