Art Piece # 058: Courthouse Friends # 13

Trudy, Art Piece # 58 Renovation

Court House Friends 13 of 14, AP 58
| Cindy Anderson

Exhilarating:

Creating an art piece from scratch is an exhilarating experience; choosing to reinvent it is even more stimulating and that is what I did to a project I formerly called Courthouse Friends # 13 of 14. Today’s journal entry will address her butterfly moment.

Courthouse Friends Thirteen of Fourteen, AP 58
Court House Friends Thirteen of Fourteen, Art Piece # 58

Original Appearance:

I have a tub filled with random quilt blocks. Some of them are leftover from other projects and others were thought too ugly to use. This item was created from one of the ugly ones. Typically my first step is to slice the ugly block into strips or sections. After slicing this one I decided to rearrange the strips to achieve a more pleasing appearance.

Immediately surrounding the renovated center is a white border. Chosen for color replication was a batik with leopard-like spots. The spots mimicked the design of the small lilac strip in the center of the quilt. Giving the composition movement are the spots that almost appear to dance around the perimeter.

The Beginning:

Early in 2020 I decided to reinvent a number of my art pieces. This item was one of the specimens I tackled. To begin the task I first had to remove the facings that surrounded the outer edges. After removing them I decided to add two new borders using a light grey and a multi-colored print fabric.

Embellishments:

With the functional tasks complete I turned my focus to the embellishments. The previous version, of this art quilt, had been assigned an identity that recognized its origin; a court house square block. Since I had decided to refurbish the fiber art piece I saw no reason to maintain that existence. To carryon with that goal I studied the image to learn about its features. This exploratory phase revealed to me an image; that of a bird.

Let’s Make That Happen:

To convert the pieced center into a bird I added feathers using one of my favorite stitches, the drizzle stitch. A variety of thread colors, many of which were already incorporated in the fabrics, were used to create the spiral-like protrusions; their presence gives this item a playful appearance.

The added embellishments didn’t stop there. In the white background I echoed around the bird as well as other defined areas. The leopard-like print border was given rows of wonky x’s and sporadically placed grey French knots. In the grey, I added a single row of running stitch. The very last embellishment this lady received was her beautiful, two-tone blue eye.

New Name:

With the amazing renovation just completed it seemed only natural to give the lovely lady a new name. Her playful nature inspired me to call her Trudy. I have a second project that has similar elements. These two snazzy birds, when lined up correctly will face each other. Trudy’s sister is known as Gertrude. You will find her story here.

Take a look at Trudy.

Trudy, AP 58
Trudy, Art Piece # 58

Isn’t she sweet!  I would love to hear your thoughts!

Thank You:

Thank you for visiting! I look forward to our next adventure.

Solo Art Exhibit at Raven’s Wish Gallery

On The Diagonal II, AP 9
| Cindy Anderson

I’m so happy to announce that a number of my art pieces are currently on display at a solo exhibit in Raven’s Wish Gallery. The event runs from July 31, 2020 until August 25, 2020. You can observe the exhibit by following this link to my show. All of the items are available for purchase.

Here is one of the items in the collection.

Esmerelda, Art Piece # 55
Esmerelda, Art Piece # 55

thank you!

Before closing let me thank you for showing an interest in my activities. I am grateful for your participation and look forward to your comments.

Best wishes for a wonderful day!

About Cindy

The world of art has always brought me joy. From my childhood explorations with chalk and paint to my creations using fabric and thread, I have utilized art as my vehicle to stretch my wings and explore the world around me.

My favorite art form has been given many names; I know it as “free-form” quilting. This direction has taken me on a journey resulting in the formation of more than 200 art pieces. Most of them center strictly around the manipulation of fabric. Some of the later pieces have added elements of hand stitchery. All of them have brought me an immense sense of joy.

I use this blog to share glimpses of my art and the environment in which it is created. Most of my art pieces are available for purchase. You may see a sampling of them at Raven’s Wish Gallery in Janesville, Wisconsin.

My art is periodically on display in a variety of venues. To learn about my current exhibits you may send an email to cindy [at] inastitchquilting [dot] com

Now go and create your own masterpiece. With warm hugs…

Cindy Anderson

Thirteen of Sixteen: Court House Friends 13, AP # 58

Court House Friends 13 of 14, AP 58
| Cindy Anderson

Thirteen Finished

I’ve been on a mission to reveal my recently completed art pieces. Last week we took a look at number twelve.  Today’s post features project number thirteen.

Ditto

The process used to reinvent this mini original art piece was virtually the same as number twelve. All of the design features,

  • the cut apart/rearranged center panel,
  • the white inner border,
  • the perky blue batik with its leopard-like print,
  • the dimensions,
  • as well as the quilting

are similar. So similar, in fact, that one could say they are fraternal twins. The only difference is the slight variation in the colors of the center panel. These two peas-in-a-pod will make great side-by-side companions in my home.

Court-House-Friends 13 of 14, AP # 58
Court House Friends 13 of 14, AP # 58

Quilt Details

  • Materials: Fabric top and backing are 100% cotton
  • Batting: Warm & Natural
  • Dimensions: 8 1/8” L x 7 3/4” W
  • Quilting Stitch: Straight lines using white thread in the body of my piece and a variegated thread in the outer border
  • Quilted On: Conventional sewing machine

What Next?

After seeing this art quilt I bet you are curious about the others in the series? Links to the those can be found under the category Courthouse Steps, Block of the Month. Go ahead and check them out! You won’t be disappointed. While you are at it share your thoughts about this art piece as well as the other members of the family.

Thank you for visiting!

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