Art Every Day, Tuesday, July 31, 2013

Good Morning,
Here is today's new piece. I needed to make something that was quick and soothing.  So, I chose cool colors, soft cotton velvet and a vintage piece of crochet.  Free motion quilting is my "go to" when I'm feeling a bit low/overwhelmed, so I knew I wanted to quilt something gentle and easy on the spirit this morning. 
I layered the crochet on the velvet and the velvet on plain batting and the batting on dyed batting.  I quilted around the crochet in several areas then stitched around the shape with a feather.  I echoed the feather once then added the feather along the bottom.  I stitched the negative space with close set straightish lines. I quilted everything in a mid tone of blue green so that the stitch lines would show, not just the contour of the shape. 
I'm pleased with the simplicity and with the depth provided by the extra batting and stitching.  Mostly I'm pleased that it's done, at 10:30 and I can move on with my impossibly busy day.
Till tomorrow,
Heather

 

Art Every Day, Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Good Evening,
Here is today's new piece and I am in love!  I began with a piece of red cotton that I had discharged with large circles printed with a  garbage piece of plastic that was inserted in a large glass container that I had bought and small circles printed from a toilet paper tube.  I layered it on top of yellow orange silk gauze which was on top of an orange/red orange piece of silk noil which was on top of a piece of dark red violet cotton which was on top of a piece of yellow dye painted batting.  Whew....
I stitched right on top of the small circles and just inside the inner line and outer line of the large circles using a pale yellow thread.  I did not stitch anywhere else.
Then I started cutting away layers of fabric to reveal the layers beneath and viola! Woe that I do not have more time!  I really want to make this piece big.  I love the depth, the color, the circles.  I love it all, but what I love most was the absolute simplicity of the process.  Sometimes the easiest things produce amazing results.
Till tomorrow,
Heather

Art Every Day, Monday, July 29, 2013

Good Evening,
Here is today's new piece.  It feels like a wild carnival to me.  I showed a student how to make curvy lines using coiled fabric strips at the Art Party I hosted last Friday night.  I suggested that she add some of our bone beads as she stitched her swirls down and I liked them so much that I wanted to make some more myself. 
So, I started with yellow dye painted batting topped with black linen. Then I ripped some strips of rainbow dyed cotton and started twisting and stitching.  I strung on beads as desired and just made swirl after swirl.  I didn't stitch in the negative space at all. It didn't seem to need it.
I really like this little one.  I mean, what's not to like? It's got it all, bold color/contrast, great texture and movement wonderful depth.  Yum.
Till tomorrow,
Heather

Art Every Day, Sunday, July 28, 2013

Good Morning,
Here is today's new piece which I like very much.  It began with a piece of hand painted fabric.  The fabric was dye painted with Dyenaflow paint in a pale blue then I used a red violet Lumiere and bubble wrap to paint on the small circles.  I added the large blue circles using a circular piece of plastic that I found in the trash.  They were painted with Lumiere also.  Then I added the long, curved olive green lines using a brush and the small emerald green squares were put on with a brush too.
The painted fabric is sitting atop a piece of emerald colored dye painted batting then I added the three larger squares on top of it ripping them from a hand dyed cotton.  I layered it all up ready for quilting then stitched twisted, light red violet fabric around the inside of three of the large blue circles to really highlight them and draw out the small red violet circles.  In just one portion of the complete blue circle I outlined all of the small circles, squares and green lines then heavily stitched the background.  In all of the rest of the piece I outlined the remaining elements but did not stitch in the negative space.
I love the depth and movement in this piece as well as the texture and color way.  It is light and lively yet bold and brazen at the same time.  Yummy.
Till tomorrow,
Heather

Art Every Day, Saturday, July 27, 2013

Good Morning,
Here is today's new piece.  After last nights bold color and shiny funk I wanted to work with something much simpler this morning so I chose neutrals.
I began with a light piece of brown dye painted batting which I layered with offset pieces of black linen and mottled brown Mexican jute.  I topped those with a piece of hand stamped fabric and some of the left over brown/black batting.  I stitched around the stamped leaves then stitched an angled stipple in the background.  I stitched circles in the top piece of batting and wavy lines in the black linen and then top stitched the edges of the jute and background batting.  I then tucked some rayon ribbon in the ends of a long, thin bone beads and stitched it on with several rounds of embroider floss.
I really like the depth in this piece along with the floating movement of the leaves (despite the angular quilting they still seem to move) But mostly I really like the big bone bead and it's frilly ends.  The play of soft off of hard always turns me on in art.
Hope you have a great Saturday,
Till tomorrow,
Heather

 

Art Every Day, Friday July 26, 2013

I waited till tonight to make this piece in the Friday Night Art Party I was hosting at the studio.  It's an embellished mini art quilt.  It has very little stitching - just enough to hold it all together. It's all about layering; batting topped with painted Peltex, topped with painted Lutradur, topped with dyed cheesecloth, topped with tooled metal topped with circles made from Model Magic painted with Lumiere, sprinkled with crushed glass. A total over the top blast!

Till tomorrow,

Heather

 

A Make-up Session of Art Every Day for; July 21, 2013

Good Afternoon,

I'm trying to catch up on some of the days that I have missed my every day art making and blog entries.  So here is one for last week.

I've used this technique on a few other pieces, but only as singular motifs and I developed a similar technique several years ago using wool strips to make mosaic like compositions so I joined the two ideas together for this one. 

It is made from ripped and cut strips of fabric that are between 1/3" and 3/4" wide.  I began with a layer of violet dye painted batting and started laying down twisted strips of fabric in coiled circles with free motion stitching.  I used an analogous run of green through red violet for the circles and tried to vary the size of the circles too.  Once all of the circles were stitched then I filled in between and around them with varieties of yellow and yellow orange using more strips of twisted fabric.  

I really love the way this looks.  It's packed with color, shape and luscious tactile texture.  There are strings all over it and great variety in the colors of the circles.  It took about 6 hours to make, but I think it was worth every minute!  I want to begin a larger one right away, with big ass circles and bold, bold color with black in between!.

Tomorrow maybe,

Heather

 

Art Every Day, Thursday, July 25, 2013

Good Afternoon,

Here is today's new piece.  With it, I wanted to push the limits of what I knew about Lutradur.  It is a great, melty fabric that I enjoy working with, but I've learned that to get it to melt well  I need to keep the paint thin and the quilting average in size. So for this trial, I didn't do either!

I began with a piece of yellow dye painted batting that I topped with a multi-colored piece of dyed cotton velvet which I topped with a piece of Lutradur that I had painted as usual with Dyenaflow but I added more paint to the Lutradur with thick brush strokes of Lumiere, metallic paint.  

I separated the piece into several sections with quilting then quilted a different design in each section.  Normally when quilting Lutradur I strive for a distance of about 1/2"-3/4" between stitch lines. This distance allows the Lutradur between the stitch lines to melt or "lace" nicely.  But with this piece, I stitched about every 1/4". 

Once all of the quilting was done I went after the Lutradur with a heat gun to lace it.  But, alas, not only was it very heavily painted, it was also heavily quilted.  It took a very long time to get it to melt.  In fact, I caught the batting on fire three times, embers and all.  All of the dark areas you see in the yellow surrounding the blue center are burn marks.  The Lutradur would only melt if I touched it with the end of the heat gun and only after I managed to melt away the layer of acrylic paint on top.  It was extra stinky and all sorts of goo got stuck on the heat gun and I managed to melt the hell out of the end of the gun too.  Thank god I was able to do the melting outside or I may have lost some brain cells along the way too.

I've learned my lesson, thin paint, wide stitching.

Till tomorrow,

Heather

 

Art Every Day, Wednesday, July 24, 2013,

Good Evening,

Here is today's new piece.  It utilizes some pieced fabric that I made up for a video demo last week.  I used the quilt as you go technique to piece the alternating black and warm/pieced sections.  

Then, I made the big mistake of deciding to quilt using a variegated thread to stitch the black sections with long, simple feathers.  My machine didn't like the thread at all and broke about 20 times in the first 5" of stitching.  So, I switched needles, messed with the tension, blah, blah, blah.  But, to no avail.  So then I switched machines.  No help there either, so I switched threads.  Better, no breaking, but yucky tension issues.  I finally just gave up and finished the quilting.

So, here it is.  If the tension were good, I would like it.  I like the flow achieved by stitching the feathers in alternating directions and I love the color way.  Wait until you see what I've got coming for tomorrow!  I'm trying to catch up on some of the days I've missed.

Till then,

Heather

 

Art Every Day, Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Today is my hubby's birthday.  We just had a lovely dinner at the Interstate Cafe and are about to relax and watch a few episodes of the Brit rom-com, Coupling.  So here is a quick run down of today's new piece.

It began with a colograph print that I  printed a few months ago.  A colograph is a printing plate made from gluing shapes on to a flat surface. I used smooth heavy cardboard glued onto thinner, smooth cardboard then fine details are added by squeezing designs on with glue. What's so cool about this style of print is that it leaves an empty space around each portion of the design because of the multiple layers of design.

Anyway, I took the print and ripped it into three sections then laid it at an angle on some bright yellow green hand dyed cotton which I set on a light green batting. The quilting is simple, I just outlined the major designs in the print then did some straight line quilting about 1/8" apart in the long triangles of the border.  I really like the piece, it's hard for me not to because I liked the print so much.  It was quick and easy and has such wonderful built in depth and a great painterly effect of color.  

Now I'm off to giggle at the telly with the hubby,

Till tomorrow,

Heather

 

Art Every Day, Well Almost Every Day, July 22, 2013

Here is yesterday's new piece.   I made most of it yesterday then got sidetracked by all the things I had to do and wanted to do on my one day off of the week.  

I had the flower portion done all the way to the brown edge yesterday and today I added it to the red background and quilted the background.  

It is from top most layer down; silk noil dyed red with brown over painting, Lutradur painted brown/black, heavy canvas dyed brown, gold striped seersucker dyed red, brown/black dye painted batting.

The flower was stitched on top with tiny stippling all around it then I cut away the top most layer to reveal the brown Lutradur which I then heated with the heat gun.  I heated the edges that were sticking out around the red square too.  Then I stitched the background with a larger stipple except for the long strips bordered by gold thread which I left alone.

I like the piece, mostly because of the color way.  The flower is a bit clunky for my taste, but all in all it is a highly textural, visually interesting piece.

I'll be back with you in just a moment. 

Till then,

Heather

 

Art Almost Every Day, Sunday, July 21, 2013

 

Good Afternoon,

First an apology, I was so busy rearranging my dye studio yesterday that I entirely spaced out doing my daily piece.  If I don't make it first thing in the morning I sometimes forget all about it in the evening and that's what happened yesterday.
So, here is today's piece.  It was started a few days ago for a video I was shooting, but I completed it this morning.  It features a dye painted piece of fabric in the center with dye painted strips laid down on top of it for borders. Both are sitting on a violet dye painted batting.  Then I cut out a dye painted flower and set it on top of some more violet batting and cut out the batting so that about 1/4" shows.  I quilted the flower down along the edge then couched down a hand dyed Boucle fiber.  Then I stippled the background and added three rows of couched fibers in the border.
I like it o.k., but clearly my heart wasn't into the color color/fabric choices.  There isn't enough contrast between the flower and the background fabric.  I thought outlining it with the violet batting would make it o.k. but it's not enough.  I do like the curvy couched border though and I think it frames the flower well.
Till tomorrow,
Heather



P.S. Thanks for the comment Mary Beth

 

Art Every Day, Friday, July 19, 2013

Good Evening or late night,

Here is today's new piece.  I began it a few days ago for the video shoot I was doing.  The subject was making fringe by machine.  I added the brown fringe today along with the brown Shiva paintstick in the center - which was a big mistake!

I've got a layer of pink cotton on top of brown canvas on top of brown batting I did the simple stitching of a feather in the center then added borders in guided machine quilting.  I added the gold fringe using 40 weight thread then added the brown fringe using 50 weight thread which is way to thin.  I love the gold fringe and will probably add the technique to my bag of tricks.  But I was really disappointed in the Shiva paintstik.  I didn't add any extra batting to the center area where the feather is so when I rubbed the paintstik on it sort of just looks like blobs of poo or if you want to be less gross, melted chocolate.   Live and learn!

Well I'm exhausted after a day of teaching then our 3rd Friday art talk which went on till 10:00. 

So, till tomorrow,

Heather

 

Art Every Day, Thursday, July 18, 2013

Hello again,

Here is today's new piece.  I stitched the background a few days ago to prep for today's video and I stitched the rest as I was being filmed.

It is another scribble stitch piece and as I said many times earlier, I love this scribble stitching.  It feels and looks a lot like sketching and it's even more freeing than regular free motion stitching.  It's nice to occasionally "put the petal to the metal" and stitch like crazy without regard to neatness.  

The white background is sitting atop bright green dye painted batting.  I quilted the hell out of it with big, messy loop d'loops.  Then, I cut out the simple bird shape and wing in a hand painted blue fabric and five little yellow circles out of dyed canvas.  I used the circles as flower centers and stitched big messy circles in them then used the same messy circles as petals.  For the bird, I just messily outlined the basic shape and wing then added swirly do's on the tail and head as well as two birdy feet.  It was just silly fun but I really like the end results.  I want to do more of this type of stitching too.  

Well that's it for now, till tomorrow,

Heather 

Art Every Day, Wednesday, July 17, 2013

 

Yesterday's Art Every Day, Wednesday, July 17, 2013.

Good Evening,

I made this yesterday - I promise I did!  But when I finally got around to posting it last night at home we had no internet.  Thank you Century Link.

So, here it is today.  

I was trying out a 'quilt as you go', flip & sew technique for the videos I've been shooting this week.  I began with gray batting sitting on black linen.  I ripped a bunch of strips from some fabrics that I painted several years ago.  I simply sewed them down with slight curves and wonky angles through the batting and backing then flipped them over and pressed then added another piece.

I really like the bits of golden yellow.  They add liveliness to the otherwise neutral palette. It was great fun to use these painted fabrics and it makes me want to use more of them so, yet again, I've come across something in my dailies that I want to do larger.  Oh, if I could only manufacture time!

Back in five,

Heather

 

Art Every Day, Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Good Afternoon,

Here is today's new piece.  It is a far cry from the past few days.  I am again killing multiple birds with one stone.  This is a technique that I will be doing on an instructional DVD tomorrow; free lace on dye painted Lutradur.  

I began with dye painted Lutradur in a dark rose, a dark violet and a medium green.  For the red flowers I stitched the outline then stitched tight little, overlapping circles to fill in the petals then I added centers and veins in contrasting thread.  The violet flowers are made from one smaller flower layered on top of a larger flower and they are stitched just like the other flowers. The leaves were outlined then stitched with veins from a center vein to the outer edge of the leaf and back again.  

After the stitching was complete on all of the leaves and flowers I cut them out of the Lutradur and zapped each one with the heat gun to dissolve most of the Lutradur which allows the stitch to become lacy.

The background was stitched in a wonky cross hatch in pale yellow and the stem is a twisted strip of fabric that is stitched on right down the middle. Each of the leaves and flowers were tacked down loosely by machine.

If I had more time, I would add some more interest in the background, but time is of the essence right now, so it is what it is. I will add more later to bring the piece a better sense of balance.

Now I'm off to teach color & design in Golden.

Till tomorrow,

Heather

Art Every Day, Monday, July 15, 2013

Good Morning,
Here is today's new work.  This will be the last in the mid-mod/retro mini series.  I only painted four pieces of fabric.
With this one, I laid the painted fabric on dye painted red batting and added three narrow strips of ripped black linen.  I stitched partially around each of the three red circles, the fine black intersecting lines and the long black strips all in black thread using a scribble stitch.  Then I stitched down the centers of the red circles around the gold highlighted ares using red thread then finally I stitched the hell out of the background using matching thread and a rough, jagged, angled stipple.
I like this piece too, but it's my least favorite of the four, mostly because it feels a bit religious and I am not.  I added the black strips to take some of the emphasis off of the small black cross like painted lines, but then I stitched along side them and sort of highlighted them all over again. 
Well, I've got to get prepped for my video shoot tomorrow.  I'm shooting a full length video on fabric painting.
Till then,
Heather

 

Art Every Day, Sunday, July 14, 2013

Good Morning,

Here is today's newest piece.  It is yet another of the mid-mod/retro painted pieces done with the scribble stitch that I've been playing with.  

This one has the painted osnaberg laying on top of red dye painted batting and then a rectangle of black linen with one painted blue square was laid on top of it.  I stitched around all of the blue squares and the black rectangle and the black lines with black thread.  Then I stitched all of the background with linen colored thread with a rough angled all over stitch.  I stitched the blue circles all over last.  They are rough and chunky too.  

I really like this piece with the juxtaposition of circles and squares and the way the circles flow over the top of the more rigid/grid like setting of the squares and rectangle.  I love the boldness of color and the heavy black rectangle with it's one square.  

This whole, little mini series is really turning on my creative mojo!

Till tomorrow,

Heather 

 

 Art Every Day, Saturday, July 13, 2013

Good Afternoon,

Here is today's piece, the second in the sub-series of mid mod/scribble stitch pieces that I began yesterday.  I like the simplicity of this piece and I'm really diggin' scribble stitchin'.

This one began with the painted osnaberg layered on top of blue gray dye painted batting. I stitched around the circle, on either side of the swish and along the blue lines with black thread then I stitched the background heavily with rough, angled lines in linen colored thread. 

The balance is a bit weird, but it's holding it's own.  The swoosh and circle create the focal point and the lines do their best to balance it and add a bit more interest to the energetic  yet serene scheme.

I love the absolute simplicity of this piece with it's bold swoosh and circle and delicate lines.  It's so simple and peaceful.  I'm enjoying this stylization so much that I've got several larger pieces designed in my head adding to the overcrowding and angst!

That's all till tomorrow,

Heather

 

Art Every Day, Friday, July 12, 2013

Good Evening,
Here is today's new piece.  I'm back to that game of trying to kill two birds with one stone and today I succeeded.  I need a few examples using 'scribble stitch' or purposefully messy machine stitching that looks like scribbling or sketch lines.  Which is why this looks the way it does.
A few days ago I painted up a fat quarter of Osnaberg (sp?) fabric;  I dry brushed black, dark brown and pewter on the background then brushed on the red orange circles and stripes. I ripped the fat quarter into four sections and this is one of them.  I layered it on top of black linen which is on top of red orange dye painted batting.
I stitched as fast and sloppily as I could around the large circle and small circles and added a couple more circles all in black thread.  Then I stitched the black lines bisecting the red orange painted lines.  The background is stitched in random, long, zigzags that overlap each other and are just close enough to each other to push the background back behind the black and red orange.  I really love the retro, mid-mod, atomic look of the simple design and the addition of the bold thread lines.  The scribble stitching is perfect for this design and I look forward to doing some more of it.
Till tomorrow,
Heather

Art Every Day, Thursday, July 11, 2013

Good Afternoon,
Here is today's new piece.  Because it was so fun and cool, I went back to the cut work from Tuesday. This one has three layers again; dark gray batting topped with blue green, dye painted Lutradur set at an angle topped with apple green cotton set at the opposite angle.
The green fabric has little pin dots on it so I connected the dots to stitch the grid but left a big diamond in the middle for the stitched flower and striped border around it.  I quilted small circles in  the triangles of Lutradur. 
I cut out the green fabric to reveal the blue green Lutradur flower below as well as all of the diamonds.  Then I zapped the outer Lutradur circles and the diamonds with a heat gun to melt some of the Lutradur, bubbling it up and exposing some of the gray batting beneath it.
Though I enjoyed the process, I clearly didn't think the stitch design through as well as I could have so the balance is a bit off.  I still love the effect of the distorted grid and the color is nice.
Now I've got to go down to the studio to get set up for back to back, classes in working with thickened dyes.  We're going to have loads of fun!
Till tomorrow,
Heather

Art Every Day, Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Good Evening,
Here is today's new piece.  I made it earlier this morning, but due to a wonderfully busy day this is the first time I've had to enter a post for it. 
I think it's a pretty interesting little tidbit. The background has a layer of black linen topped with some orange cotton velveteen with a strip of white tucked along one side and all of it set down on blue green dye painted batting.
I quilted the begeezers out of the background area treating the three colors as one and stitching with blue green thread so that the design would show up on all three colors of fabric.  The rows of circles are separated by rows of lines that are about 1/8" apart.  After the background stitching was done I topped it all with a layered bit of blue, topped with black, topped with a hand painted fabric.  These were top stitched in place.
I love its bold energy, the rhythmic movement and the color. Orange is so sexy and energetic and circles so feminine and strong. The juxtaposition of the tight squares on top of the sloppy, wavy stitched lines and circles creates about as much surface tension as a piece this small can handle.  I love, love, love pushin' it to the limit!
Till tomorrow,
Heather
 

Art Every Day, Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Good Afternoon,
What joy! To actually make something that I really, really like!
This new piece began with just three layers; red violet dye painted batting, blue dye painted Lutradur and a piece of cotton that I dye painted with thickened dyes.  The smaller photo shows the piece after the first layer of quilting was done.  I simply outlined the red violet swirls and the blue lines.
Next, I cut away all of the background fabric then I went back and stitched a small stipple in the newly revealed background, the blue Lutradur.  Finally, I zapped the Lutradur with a heat gun to melt away portions of it to reveal some of the red violet below.
I love the chaotic, musical feel that it has and all of the depth.  It sort of looks like a wacky stained glass window.  I'm teaching dye painting with thickened dyes later this week and I want to paint another piece of fabric with a design similar to this one and make a larger one of these babies.
See ya tomorrow,
Heather

Art Every Day, Monday, July 8, 2013,

Good Afternoon,
Here is today's new piece.  I was jonesing to play with direct complements and thought I use one of my least favorite pairs, blue and orange. 
I laid several different blues down on some orange dye painted batting and quilted the hell out of them with concentric, linked squares and rectangles.  Then I added the long strips of orange and the three squares.  I stitched them along their edges then stitched rows of circles inside each strip and one circle inside each of the squares.
I like the piece well enough.  It's got good depth and a nice flow of line but it lacks some vital energy.  I wish that I had made all of the orange bits just a little larger so that they were bossing about the blue rather than just sitting there on it.
Well, I'm off to get new license plates for the car then on to Golden to teach advanced design.
Till tomorrow,
Heather

 

Art Every Day (or "Yesterday's Art)
Sunday, July 7, 2013

Good Afternoon,
Here is yesterday's piece.  I've really got to get myself a second camera for when I leave mine where I am not!  I do spend a good deal of my life " a day late and a dollar short". I'm sort of used to it.  Hope it doesn't bother you too much.
I'm really diggin on this piece.  It began with a piece of red dye painted batting which I topped with two different browns, one a plain cotton the other, Mexican yute.  Then a set down a curvy strip of orange batting across the diagonal middle which I then topped with cheesecloth that was dyed red, orange, yellow and brown. 
I quilted long lines in the cheesecloth to separate out the colored sections.  Then I quilted long lines in the reddish section and circles in the brown sections and left the yellow alone.  I quilted the brown backgrounds with close set straight lines.  They move vertically in one brown and horizontally in the other.
Once the quilting was done I pulled the loose end of the cheesecloth through the center hole in the large button (which I took off of a jacket) and tied it in a couple of knots and let the excess hang.
The fiery warmth of this is yummy and I love the transparency and flow of the cheesecloth.
I'll be back to you with today's new piece in just a moment!
Till then,
Heather

art every day

Art Every Day,  July 6, 2013

Good Afternoon,
Here is today's new piece.  I was trying to kill two birds with one stone.  I'm shooting some more videos in a couple of weeks and need to make a bunch of samples for the techniques that I'm featuring.  One of the techniques is what I call scribble stitching which is just purposely messy free motion stitching.  But, as you can see, I ain't too good at it! I thought that I was stitching rather messily as I tried to yield a sketched look but it looks a bit too tidy for the technique.  So, I'll have to try again.
I do however like the piece especially how the sun is shining down on the lighter, pinker section of the fabric and there is shadow along the left hand side.  I did it all free form, no marking or anything and I used three different colors of thread; fuchsia, bright yellow and light orange.   I've never stitched a house before this one. I really like the little scene and the shape of the house.  It all just sort of came out as I stitched which was pretty cool.  I did the whole thing in exactly 17 minutes.
However, it did not fulfill the important assignment of a sample for scribble stitching so I'll have to do that again.  I'll try tomorrow,
Till then,
Heather

Art Every Day

 

Art Every Day, Friday, July 5, 2013

Good Morning,

Here is today's new piece. I started with a light blue green dye painted batting.  I layered it with a large piece of bright blue then topped it with a large square set on point and a strip of light blue, coarse, heavy linen.  I topped the linen with squares and strips of a painted fabric in bright yellows and other softer colors.  The background is stitched in circles and simple paisleys and everything else is top stitched or echoed.

Because of the bold yellow, I tried to keep the piece as simple as possible.  I like it to a degree.  It's well balanced but too structured/traditional for me.  My hope was that the mottled, painted fabric with it's bold color would add enough interest, but now the longer I look at it the more I realize that I should have raised the strip across the bottom just enough so that I could see the bright blue fabric along the bottom.   Any way, I do love the fringe made by the torn linen.  It adds such lovely texture.

Till tomorrow,

Heather

Art Every Day

Art Every Day, Thursday, July 4th, 2013,

Good Morning all,
Here is today's new piece.  From the bottom up, it begins with a layer of boiled wool, topped with wild raw silk, topped with hand dyed cotton velveteen (with a layer of batting underneath it), topped with a long scrunch of hand dyed rayon left over from a shirt my besty, I.V. Anderson made for me.  I stitched the rayon down along most of it's edges and tacked it down in other places with a stay stitch.  Then I quilted the yummy feathers in the velveteen.  I love, love, love how it responded to the quilting stitch.  The raw silk is top stitched along it's edge and that is about it.
I find the piece restful and flowing with calm energy and I love the color way too.
I'm off to my studio for some more quilting,
Till tomorrow,
Heather

Daily Art

 

Art Every Day, Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Good Morning,

Here is today's new piece.  I've been wanting to play with this piece of painted fabric for a while, but just couldn't come up with something to do with it.  It's got a very complex design with lots of color.  So, I decided to go really simple with it.  I ripped the long rectangle and set it on a blue background which was set on red violet painted batting.  Then I stitched it and the background using wavy lines in yellow green thread.  Then I added the small painted squares with the dark red violet squares behind them.  These were top stitched inside the edge of the painted squares and done.

I like the piece, but I'm a bit miffed that the square with the blackest background and full pink swirl is crooked.  I may have to do the nastiest deed on earth.... pick out the stitches, straighten it out and re-stitch it.  We'll see.

Though it's simple, I like the movement and rhythm that it has and the coloration is cool yet dramatic.

That's it till tomorrow,

Heather

Art Every Day, Tuesday, July 2, 2013

 

Art Every Day, Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Good Morning,

Here is today's new piece.  I wanted to pair the large block print with a bit of hand painted fabric that I had left over and decided that black, white and red solid fabrics would show them both off the best.  I layered white on top of red dye painted batting.  Topped it with a rectangle of black linen which I topped with the block print.  Then I ripped some red strips, a large one to hold the strip of painted fabric and a small one to tuck under the edges of the block print.  I positioned the red so as to spread it around and to isolate the painted strip from the block print.  

The white background is stitched in white in alternating segments of wavy lines and the block print is stitched in the white areas only.  The red and the painted strip are top stitched in black.  My favorite parts are the two areas of white below and above the short red strips with the black stitched swirls. The stitched swirls add a bit of humor to an otherwise bold, strident color way and design.  All in all, the piece has nice depth and makes a bold, pleasing statement.  

Till tomorrow,

Heather

Art Every Day, Monday, July 1, 2013

Art Every Day, Monday, July 1, 2013,

Good Afternoon,
It's been one hell of a week since I last entered a new piece.  I apologize, but, my computer was murdered on my plane ride out to Columbus.  I wasn't paying attention and when I was forced to give my carry on up on the small "puddle jumper" plane that I was taking on the second part of my flight, I forgot that my laptop was in there and though I'm not sure exactly what torture they put my poor bag through, my computer is dust!  So, I had no access the five days that I was gone.  But, I'll try to make up for it this week.
This piece is made from a couple of the weird fabrics that I made a couple of weeks ago while painting with thickened dyes.  I laid the larger piece down, whole on a red violet piece of dye painted batting.  Then I ripped a portion from the second piece that highlighted the large swirl.  I laid it on top of some ripped red violet cotton then laid them both on top of a cotton dyed blue/blue green.  After setting that large stack down at a weird angle, I added the narrow, stacked strips of red violet canvas and deep blue green cotton. 
The background is heavily quilted with a stipple around the circle motifs which really pushes the circles forward.  The big swirl in the center rectangle is stitched around then the background is stitched closely with long lines.  The pink rectangle behind it is top stitched along its long sides and stitched with angled straight lines on the top and bottom and the blue green beneath it is stitched with some circles on both ends.
What I like most about this piece is the strange color combo, the depth and texture, but mostly how it looks like if you were to push down on the short, narrow pink/blue strip on the upper right that it would set the rectangle with the swirl on it in motion.  Kinda cool!
Till tomorrow,
Heather