I've been busy working on another larger quilt. This one is about 30 inches wide and 48 inches tall. It doesn't fit in with my body of work, but it does come from my heart. I was in a restaurant in Panama several years ago. It was on a one-street town. The street was a dirt road with horses going up and down it with the occasional car. It was a very "basic" restaurant. Cement floor, only one item on the menu... beans and rice and chicken. And the screen door had a large hole in it with flies going in and out. But the hole was beautiful. I liked it so much that I took photos of it. I knew that some day I would use that hole in my art. The day/s has/have come.
I decided to use crinoline as my base fabric to get more of that screen door effect. My cat, Opus, loves crinoline. He dives underneath it and thinks he can't be seen and then dodges out at me. So the first thing I did was let him have his play session with the crinoline.
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| the invisible Opus |
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| making his appearance |
Then I cut up panels from it and monoprinted them on my gelatin plate and sewed the panels together. After that, I stitched patterns on them using different types of thread. For the main hole, I used some parachute thread and did bobbin work from the back because this thread is too thick to run through the needle of the sewing machine. Here's the panel of the quilt stitched with this thread that is an exact copy of the hole in the screen door in Panama.
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| Screen door hole |
The paint colors I chose have blues and rusts and this scarf from Guatemala may be cut up and used on this quilt.
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| my scarf |
I'm having great fun creating this quilt. I'm linking this to
Off The Wall Friday where you can visit other art quilt blogs. Please make comments to let the artists know you stopped by.
It is always enjoyable to hear the inspiration for a design (even when it is not necessary for understanding the piece). I will be interested to see what next.
ReplyDeleteFor the other panels of the quilt, I stitched zoomed in areas of the hole pattern. It looks pretty cool.
DeleteYes, it does look like a hole in a screen door. Nice stitching!
ReplyDeleteI used to have a silly cat that would hide under the rug, then leap out and attack your ankles (claws in, of course).
Thanks, Norma. It was pretty tedious to stitch it. Lots and lots of knots to tie on the back. I'm glad I only had the fabric on the batting and will do a pillowcase backing later so that the knots won't show.
DeleteI love your cat, Regina. I have been nursing my 19 year old all week and she is identical. This is going to be a exciting creation.
ReplyDeleteWe've had lots of cats and Opus is quite special. He's only about 1 1/2 years old. It's tough when our pets get old and ill. I feel for you.
DeleteThis is an exciting quilt for me and since posting I've made a lot more progress on it.
Based on what you are saying there is a lot more detail that you can see on the photo. I'd love to see a close-up. It is great to see something very unique and individual
ReplyDeleteThis quilt is for a call for entry so I can't post too many details until it is accepted or not. The idea for it has been brewing in my head for several years. I made an attempt at it a few months ago, but it came out quite ugly. It just wasn't ready. This time, it's really clicking and coming together.
DeleteI can't wait to see where you go with this. Very nice start!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Heather.
DeleteGreat interpretation. I can tell you got jazzed to do this! It came with energy and you have to finish it! That's a good feeling and leads to good work. The cat is so cute.
ReplyDeleteLeeAnna Paylor
lapaylor.blogspot.com
Oh, yes. I'm very excited about this quilt. Actually, I'll probably finish it by Sunday. And yes, Opus makes me melt. I have to keep lots of toys for him in the studio to keep him occupied.
DeleteI can see why you took a picture of the hole in the screen, it is wonderful. I'm curious to see how it all comes together.
ReplyDelete