Art Piece # 167: Rectangles and Squares (Sue Benner)

Cow On A Pedestal, Art Piece # 126

Cow On A Pedestal, AP 126
| Cindy Anderson

Cow On A Pedestal, Art Piece # 126 is the last in a series of fiber art quilts. All of them were created while I attended a class taught by Sue Benner. Using Sue’s fabric fusing method I made the pieces shared below.

A Brush With Copper, AP 68
A Brush With Copper, Art Piece # 68
Cow On A Fence, AP 69
Cow On A Fence, Art Piece # 69
Fusion I, AP 122
Fusion I, Art Piece # 122
Fusion II, AP 123
Fusion II, Art Piece # 123
Dancing Tootsies, AP 124
Dancing Tootsies, Art Piece # 124
Dancind Tootsies II, Art Piece # 125
Dancing Tootsies II, Art Piece # 125
Rectangles and Squares, AP 167
Rectangles And Squares, Art Piece # 167

The last specimen is this one

Cow On A Pedestal, AP 126
Cow On A Pedestal, Art Piece # 126

The name, chosen by a friend of mine, is as unusual as the composition. Assembled from groupings of leftover fabrics, this item contains very few elements. The majority of the building blocks came from Fusion I. Rather than adding them to my parts department I decided to make the grouping the focus of my final fabric fusing project. The irregularly shaped specimens were adhered to a really fun dotted black cotton. The large black dots, as well as the tiny grey ones, accentuate the print present on the cream pedestal. The cow, resting precariously atop the pedestal, has its own unique coloring; one quite unlike any other in the world. Most notable are the wisps of cheese cloth.

This small but interesting art quilt has a sandwich of batting and cotton fabric. To connect the three layers together I added straight lines of machine quilting to the cow and pedestal. To accentuate the large black dots I echoed around each one in a circular pattern.

In February of 2020 I took this fiber art piece along with several others to a retreat I was attending with a number of my friends. Part of the nearly week long adventure is sharing our accomplishments. Much to my surprise one of my roommates asked if she could purchase it. I was thrilled beyond measure to have the honor. Cow On A Pedestal is currently on display in the home of my friend Linda.

This is by no means my last entry in this journal. It is however the last installment in my Sue Benner adventures. Sharing with you this amazing experience has been truly a pleasure. The five days that I spent getting to know and learning from Sue were some of the most enjoyable I have ever experienced. Sue is such a wonderful person and teacher. If you ever have the chance to attend one of her classes I highly recommend jumping at the opportunity. You will not be disappointed!

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!

Rectangles and Squares, Art Piece # 167

Rectangles and Squares, AP 167
| Cindy Anderson

A learning experience:

I participated in a 2019 class taught by Sue Benner, a well-known fiber artist. The theme of the class was fabric fusing. Each project contains a backing, batting and of course a fabric layer. The top layer is created from fabric that has a fusible material adhered to the back. From those manipulated fibers shapes are cut. The shapes are overlapped 1/4” and fused onto a surface. Those steps are then repeated until a finished design has been achieved. Once finished the entire composition is peeled off in one piece and permanently fused to the batting.

My Project:

I used a variety of materials in my composition. Among them you will see hand dyed fabrics, hand stamped squares, and cheese cloth with raveling edges. Even the cheese cloth had a layer of fusible attached to it.

Once the layers had cooled it was time to add the quilting and other finishing touches. I quilted mine with a variegated thread. Using my sewing machine I stitched an all-over square-like pattern that emulated the shapes of my fabrics. I completed my composition with a binding, hanging sleeve and a hand stitched label. My finished fiber art piece measures 13 3/8” x 13 3/8”.

assigned identity:

Before creating the label for my project I needed to select a name. I chose to call it Rectangles and Squares because of the shapes that were used in the assembling of my piece.

Rectangles and Squares, AP 167
Rectangles And Squares, Art Piece # 167

a favorite:

I have used this process to create several other items. I am thankful that I had the opportunity to attend Sue’s class and learn her techniques. This process is one my favorite methods to use. Listed below are some of the items that I have made which use the same technique.

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!