Bodacious Flowers, Art Piece # 166

Bodacious Flowers, AP 166

Time To Meet:

As the title of this item would suggest, this composition contains an array of bodacious flowers. I can’t tell you how much fun I had designing and executing the plan for this project. A great deal of thought went into the placement of each fabric and embellishment. Many, many hours were absorbed by the intricately applied hand stitches. All combined the full impact of the details can hardly be put into words but let me try.

layered quilt:

Several years ago I participated in a class taught by Heidi Parkes, a well known fiber artist. The purpose of the class was to introduce us to and teach us her layered quilt technique. Heidi begins with a layer of muslin followed by a single thickness of batting. The fabrics that build your design are the third layer. The fourth and final piece is a covering of matte, silk organza.

the plan:

I am extremely fond of flower gardens; in fact gardening is one of my many favorite past times. Because of my fondness I decided to execute a plan that would showcase my interpretation of an abstract floral garden. This garden contains only five flowers. These flowers, however, are bodacious by design. Nothing about them is bland. Even the faux soil beneath the three largest specimens is wild in nature.

Bodacious Flowers, AP 166
Bodacious Flowers, Art Piece # 166

the most noticeable feature:

My chosen fabrics add their own sense of flair but it’s the stitching that provides the biggest impact. French knots are by far my favorite embellishment. Aside from the knots added to the components of the garden, each of the gold stars has one too. This composition has the largest number of knots I have ever utilized. In fact there are so many that it is next to impossible to count them.

There were of course other stitch designs used but their impact is not as flashy. The photo above as well as the following four images showcase the complexity of my design. If time allows, you simply must zoom in to examine every inch of this one-of-a-kind, magnificent item.

Bodacious Flowers, AP 166, Detail 1
Bodacious Flowers, Art Piece # 166, Detail 1
Bodacious Flowers, AP 166, Detail 2
Bodacious Flowers, Art Piece # 166, Detail 2
Bodacious Flowers, AP 166, Side View 1
Bodacious Flowers, Art Piece # 166, Side View 1
Bodacious Flowers, AP 166, Side View 2
Bodacious Flowers, Art Piece # 166, Side View 2

Fihishing touch:

To complete my project I added facings made from white cotton fabric. Also incorporated is a hanging sleeve made from the same material and a craftily assembled label.

on the back:

Before ending this narrative I want to direct your attention to the backside of my project.

Bodacious Flowers, AP 166, Back View
Bodacious Flowers, Art Piece # 166, Back View

A quick glance, at the image, will reveal a feature that is normally well hidden. The image I am referring to is my stitching. One of Heidi’s philosophies is to leave the backside exposed for all to see. She believes that the stitches and knots are, in their own right, a design element that is typically missed or hidden. Following in Heidi’s foot steps I decided to leave my stitching exposed too.

a proud moment:

This fiber art piece was by far my most rewarding adventure. I thoroughly enjoyed the meditative aspect provided through the hours of hand stitching. I am very proud to have this magnificent achievement on display in my home. I hope that you will find it as mesmerizing as I have.

I have two other art pieces that were created using the same technique. If you would like to read about them, then follow the links below.

Art Piece # 089 Morning In The Garden

Art Piece # 117 Sentiments

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!

Tiny House Village, Art Piece # 164

Tiny House Village, Ap 164

I am fascinated by the programs on television that share the pros and cons of the tiny house movement. This fiber art piece, with all of its interconnected fabric squares and rectangles brought to my mind a vision of how a tiny house village might appear. This vision, along with the image created on the back side by the quilting, inspired me to name my composition Tiny House Village.

Tiny House Village was created using scraps of fabric layered on top of a sandwich of cotton batting and muslin. Above the fabric collage is a layer of netting. I used the netting to help hold the free-floating fabric scraps in place; also utilized was a large quantity of safety pins. Using a variegated thread I machine quilted a continuously moving geometric pattern. To protect the outer raw edges I added a binding made from a rust colored, cotton fabric. A hand stitched label was secured to the back along with a hanging sleeve. Tiny House Village, in its completed state, measures 17” x 21 1/2”.

This is my abstract interpretation of a tiny house village.

Tiny House Village, Ap 164
Tiny House Village, Art Piece # 164
Tiny House Village, Art Piece # 164, Back View
Tiny House Village, Art Piece # 164, Back View

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!

Fusion II, Art Piece # 123

Fusion II, AP 123

Fusing Fabric:

While participating in a Sue Benner class in September, 2019, I created this fiber art composition. Part of the instruction included learning Sue’s fabric fusing techniques. This small item contains a grouping of fabrics that were fused to a solid black cotton. The black fabric gives the pieced center prominence.

Contents:

To make the fabric collage I used small sections of raw-edged fabrics gathered from multiple sources. One of the fragments was from a polyester shirt and three other bits have fabric paint added to them. All were overlapped at least 1/4” to eliminate gaps.

Embellishments:

To embellish the colorful fabrics I added lines of quilting with a variegated thread. On the black cotton I used like-colored thread to machine stitch stitch straight lines in a pattern echoing around the pieced center.

The outer edges of the black material are protected by a facing. To aide in display a hanging sleeve was added to the back. Also attached to the back is a hand-stitched label. In its finished state, my finished fiber art quilt measures 12” x 15”.

The Finished Piece:

Fusion II, AP 123
Fusion II, Art Piece # 123
Fusion II, AP 123, Back
Fusion II, Art Piece # 123, Back

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!