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| Sonoma Sunflower |
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| Garage Detail |
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| Barn |
A local Barn as seen from the road side.
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| Beads in Napa |
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| Natural Heart |
Sunday, August 23, 2015
Summer Travels
A local Barn as seen from the road side.
Saturday, August 1, 2015
Symbolic Metal - Honoring the Spirit
Jewelry, metal working has inspired me to think of metal as an other dimensional element which can be incorporated into fiber art work. The main goal this summer was to learn how to work with different metals. I was able to acquire basic metal working skills through a summer class at our local community college.
The final piece, Honoring the Spirit, combined many of the skills I acquired through the six week class. Construction of the piece incorporated sawing, soldering, inlaying a stone, setting rivets and risers, and using a ball pin hammer and an embellishing tool to add texture. Materials used were a fossilized stone, copper, brass, brass wire, silver tubing, and silver bezel. The piece combines two different cultural icons, the Celtic Cross and the Hawaiian sea turtle, Honu and measures 5 by 7 inches.
The Celtic cross is often depicted with a joined cross and circle. The four arms of the cross are interpreted as the four elements (earth, air, fire, water), the four directions of the compass (north, south, east, west) or the four parts of man (mind, soul, heart, body). "In various cultures and traditions among ancient races, circles were used to represent the moon and a cross and circle conjoined symbolism the sun. So, it's likely that the Celtic cross was originally a Pagan sun or moon representation." (Celtic cross meaning)
The Hawaiian sea turtle, is the Hawaiian symbol of longevity, peace, good luck, humility, long life and the spirit within." According to Hawaiian mythology, the Turtle (Honu) Goddess, Kauila was empowered with the ability to turn herself from a turtle into human form and would play with the children along the shoreline and keep watch over them." (Honu mythology)
The final piece, Honoring the Spirit, combined many of the skills I acquired through the six week class. Construction of the piece incorporated sawing, soldering, inlaying a stone, setting rivets and risers, and using a ball pin hammer and an embellishing tool to add texture. Materials used were a fossilized stone, copper, brass, brass wire, silver tubing, and silver bezel. The piece combines two different cultural icons, the Celtic Cross and the Hawaiian sea turtle, Honu and measures 5 by 7 inches.
The Celtic cross is often depicted with a joined cross and circle. The four arms of the cross are interpreted as the four elements (earth, air, fire, water), the four directions of the compass (north, south, east, west) or the four parts of man (mind, soul, heart, body). "In various cultures and traditions among ancient races, circles were used to represent the moon and a cross and circle conjoined symbolism the sun. So, it's likely that the Celtic cross was originally a Pagan sun or moon representation." (Celtic cross meaning)
The Hawaiian sea turtle, is the Hawaiian symbol of longevity, peace, good luck, humility, long life and the spirit within." According to Hawaiian mythology, the Turtle (Honu) Goddess, Kauila was empowered with the ability to turn herself from a turtle into human form and would play with the children along the shoreline and keep watch over them." (Honu mythology)
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| Celtic Honu - 5 by 7 inches |
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| Detail showing three declensions |
Saturday, July 11, 2015
Summer Time Art
This summer the local community college offered a Jewelry class. I took the six week condensed class to learn about working with metal. Techniques in cutting, filing, drilling, riveting, stone setting, metal painting, polishing and soldering were taught by a gem of a teacher.
I was also able to make custom embellishments for a current fiber piece. Combining different elements into fiber is always rewarding; especially when you have total control of the designs desired.
The fiber piece, "Dead Horse Canyon - Mesa Verde", uses layered background piecing, hand and machine stitching, photo transfer, and Dewitt Inktense water color pencils. Here is a sneak peak of the almost finished project.
The custom made metal pieces added an other dimension. Below you'll see examples of the pieces constructed in class. Brass and copper were the predominate metals used to fabricate the images. I totally enjoyed working with metal and plan to do more in the future.
I was also able to make custom embellishments for a current fiber piece. Combining different elements into fiber is always rewarding; especially when you have total control of the designs desired.
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| Horse made of brass |
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| Fire Painted Horse attached to fiber |
The fiber piece, "Dead Horse Canyon - Mesa Verde", uses layered background piecing, hand and machine stitching, photo transfer, and Dewitt Inktense water color pencils. Here is a sneak peak of the almost finished project.
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| Painted with Skeleton Motifs |
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| Layered Background |
The custom made metal pieces added an other dimension. Below you'll see examples of the pieces constructed in class. Brass and copper were the predominate metals used to fabricate the images. I totally enjoyed working with metal and plan to do more in the future.
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| Copper Stairway to Ruins |
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| Brass Circle represents Kiva |
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| Copper Circles, Heat Painted |
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| Brass Horse, Polished then Heat Painted |
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| Brass Circles attached with thread |
A Spool of Thread by Any Other Name
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| Detail |
The piece stands 19 inches tall with an extended circumference of 15 inches.
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| Model Cut-Out |
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| Completed Spool |
I also played with using discarded material found around the lab. Resin is my new love !!!
Lastly, I composed a mixed media piece incorporating four of the molded birds made previously and an old screened box found in the yard. Just fun.
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| Bird Cage |
Monday, May 4, 2015
Oysterville, WA ~ Then and Now
Art Quilt maps are a way to create a visual of a place. Designing with the element parameters of maps as we know them provides the viewer with a universal context in which to view the art. All that said, this piece, Oystervile, Now and Then, was a creative and fun adventure for me. I love the concept of layers and I enjoy adding detail to enhance design elements in a piece.
Last January I took a class with Valerie Goodwin which provided the techniques for this piece as well as inspiration for it's design. If you ever have a chance to attend a class with Valerie, I do highly recommend her. Ms. Goodwin also has written a concise book giving step by step easy to follow directions with illustrated details called "Art Quilt Maps ~ Capture A Sense Of Place With Fiber Collage - A visual Guide."
Oysterville, Now and Then depicts a loose interruption from an arial map of Oysterville, WA. Photos were incorporated to give a sense of time between the present and the past history of the land and the Willapa bay that surrounds it. The Bard-Heim Barn was a dairy barn once located on the property where my brother and his wife now reside. The photo of the old barn was the perfect representational element for time past. While the street map of the village is fairly accurate, I did allow artist license when selecting placement details of current elements such as structures and topography on the art map collage.
Oysterville, Now and Then, will be shown as a part of the Peninsula Quilt Guild entry into the Special Exhibits at the Northwest Quilting Expo in Portland Oregon on September 24 - 26, 2015. After the show the art quilt will go to a private collector in Oysterville, WA.
The Making Of An Art Quilt Map Collage ....
The background was created using scrapes of cotton fabric sewn to a stabilizer. I chose crinoline as the stabilizer.
Once the background for the map is flip sewn, then the raw edges was were hand stitched. The next step include painting the background. While the amount of paint, color and placement are choices, I choose to cover the entire background lightly. Dye-Flow fabric paint by Jaquard was watered down and extended with Golden's Gac100 medium.
To construct the roads I used crinoline. Elements such as roads can be made by painting as well. I like the texture that the crinoline adds.
The final touches were fusing shear layers, adding structures, hand stitching and embellishing. The house, the barn and the mariner's compass were painted first and then hand appliqued to the map.
Wikipedia:
"Oysterville is located at 46°32'56" North, 124°1'36" West (46.549021, -124.026735) on the Long Beach Peninsula. Oysterville is located on the east side of the (north-south running) peninsula, on the shallow and sheltered Willapa Bay.
Oysterville was first settled in 1841 by John Douglas, who married a local Chinook woman. Oysterville was established and named in 1854 by J.A. Clark. It was a hub of oyster farming as the name suggests."
Last January I took a class with Valerie Goodwin which provided the techniques for this piece as well as inspiration for it's design. If you ever have a chance to attend a class with Valerie, I do highly recommend her. Ms. Goodwin also has written a concise book giving step by step easy to follow directions with illustrated details called "Art Quilt Maps ~ Capture A Sense Of Place With Fiber Collage - A visual Guide."
Oysterville, Now and Then depicts a loose interruption from an arial map of Oysterville, WA. Photos were incorporated to give a sense of time between the present and the past history of the land and the Willapa bay that surrounds it. The Bard-Heim Barn was a dairy barn once located on the property where my brother and his wife now reside. The photo of the old barn was the perfect representational element for time past. While the street map of the village is fairly accurate, I did allow artist license when selecting placement details of current elements such as structures and topography on the art map collage.
Oysterville, Now and Then, will be shown as a part of the Peninsula Quilt Guild entry into the Special Exhibits at the Northwest Quilting Expo in Portland Oregon on September 24 - 26, 2015. After the show the art quilt will go to a private collector in Oysterville, WA.
The Making Of An Art Quilt Map Collage ....
The background was created using scrapes of cotton fabric sewn to a stabilizer. I chose crinoline as the stabilizer.
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| Fabric Background Construction |
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| Background with Photo for Placement |
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| Hand Stitching |
Once the background for the map is flip sewn, then the raw edges was were hand stitched. The next step include painting the background. While the amount of paint, color and placement are choices, I choose to cover the entire background lightly. Dye-Flow fabric paint by Jaquard was watered down and extended with Golden's Gac100 medium.
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| Construction - Back Lit |
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| Construction - Back Lit |
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| Painted Background Foundation |
To construct the roads I used crinoline. Elements such as roads can be made by painting as well. I like the texture that the crinoline adds.
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| Crinoline Place on top of Map |
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| Removal of extra Crinoline |
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| Roads Sewn from Backside |
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| Oysterville ~ Now and Then |
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| Detail |
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| Detail |
"Oysterville is located at 46°32'56" North, 124°1'36" West (46.549021, -124.026735) on the Long Beach Peninsula. Oysterville is located on the east side of the (north-south running) peninsula, on the shallow and sheltered Willapa Bay.
Oysterville was first settled in 1841 by John Douglas, who married a local Chinook woman. Oysterville was established and named in 1854 by J.A. Clark. It was a hub of oyster farming as the name suggests."
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