Deep Sea Ballet in Fiber - Scene 2

...And the dance goes on...

Capturing the movement of fish through water with the use of a hand held needle punch machine offered by Keeling's Krafts has been great fun.  Watching the form take shape is quite exciting.  Below is the 2nd of four fish that will ultimately perform a water dance.

Needle Punched Fish #2

One element of the sea floor was made from a woven fabric and manipulated to suggest algae type growth.  Once the fabric was arranged in way that I wanted it, I tacked it with Bonash adhesive powder and then free motion stitched it to the bottom of the quilt.  I created another type of kelp image by dyeing a stretchy fabric, cutting the fabric into strips and then slashing the edges.  Finally it was loosely gathered and stitched along the center.  The edges were left free to suggest movement in water.

Lower Left Side of "Sea Floor" Bottom

Soon I will post the third of four fish that will finally take their place in this Deep Sea Ballet.  Until then...

Always remember, never fear to experiment.  

Sometimes wonderful things happen.

© Linda Friedman 2015.  All rights reserved

Deep Sea Ballet in Fiber - Scene One

Several years ago I started a 40+" x 40"+ whole cloth quilt that was a lot of fun creating.  Somehow other projects including shows and exhibits intervened and it was set aside and became one of those UFO's (unfinished objects) that I promised to get back to one day.

This has been the week to set about finishing the work.  Because it may be in a very large exhibit for the entire month of August, 2015, I am only going to show elements of it until the exhibit is past.

I first designed and hand cut a freezer paper stencil of two kelp images. each with two branches and then painted the images onto the commercial background fabric with fabric paint.

You may be able to see that I inserted cording between the top and the batting and then stitched on either side of the cording.  This is just one small area of the quilt.

At the time I was originally working on this, I was also exploring needle punching with a battery operated needle punch machine that I purchased from Keeling's Krafts and created three fairly large needle punch fish onto the quilt top.  This was done before the quilt top was added to batting and a backing.  Here is one of the fish images.

To add another type of kelp flora, I cut strips of an old stretchy type garment and then slashed it up and down the strip length.  This element rises from what will be the sea floor.  It is only stitched along the middle of the strip from top to bottom.  The edges are left free to create a feeling of movement.

I'm actually becoming quite excited about the way that this work is developing and it's all I can do to hold back sharing the entire piece. The next post will show another element though.

Should you happen to be in the Orange County area in California during the month of August, you might enjoy visiting the Mission Viejo Library where this work will be exhibited and where each of us in the Beyond the Edge Fiber Artists group will have a full 11'x8' of wall space for our works.  There are 10 of us in the group so it promises to be a spectacular exhibit.

I'll be BAAAAAAAAACK...

Always remember, never fear to experiment.  

Sometimes wonderful things happen.

© Linda Friedman 2015.  All rights reserved

Possible New Works from Quick Sketches

Composite of Quick Sketch Paintings

I'm still straightening up the studio, culling, sorting, storing and whatever one does to put one's space in order.  Today I ran across these several 8 1/2" x 11" quick sketched works that I did months ago.  Four were finished and three still called for paint, so I hauled out the paints and completed the unfinished ones. 

Each of these were created, as follows:

1.  I ripped pages from an old telephone book, tore the pages into smaller pieces and randomly glued the strips onto card stock with gel medium.

2.  After the pages were dry, I quickly sketched flowers and birds over the collaged telephone page strips.  (If you haven't guessed, these are "Linda birds and flowers" for I doubt very seriously that one would ever find anything like them in nature.)

3.  I squirted various colors of acrylic paint onto a palette and took out a variety of brush sizes.

4.  With no color placement or planning, I painted over and around the drawn images.

Here are the individual paintings that are in the composite image above.

After a distance was created by months of being out of sight, I find that I rather like a few of these and may consider making them into art quilts.

The best part of putting the studio in order is finding things that had totally slipped my mind.  The worst part is that with each discovery, I am magnetically pulled away from the housekeeping that needs to be done.  Ahh, if life were only filled with such problems, it would be a constantly joyous experience.

Always remember, never fear to experiment.  

Sometimes wonderful things happen.

© Linda Friedman 2015.  All rights reserved

Stenciling with Glue and Glitter

After success with using overhead projection sheets to cut stencils I wondered if these stencils could be used with glue so that glitter could be applied to fabric.

1.  I used the stencil I cut yesterday.

 

2. Poured a dollop of Weldbond glue onto a scrap piece of paper.

3. Placed the stencil over fabric and applied glue with a small "makeup" sponge.

4. Carefully lifted the stencil from the fabric to reveal the pattern of glue on the fabric.

5. Before the glue dried, I sprinkled extra fine, almost powdery, glitter made by Recollections, over the entire glued surface.

6. When the glue was dry, I shook the excess glitter onto a piece folded paper so that I could return it to the container and then used a soft brush to remove any remaining loose glitter.

Here is a close-up of one print made with the stencil, glue and glitter.

I continued printing more images with the glue.  I sprinkled each image with glitter as it was made.  This was done to make sure that the glue was still wet.  If I had waited until all images were printed, the first glued images might have been too dry for the glitter to adhere.

Here are repeated, glittered images.

After applying glue, I washed the stencil with warm water and used a soft brush to remove any glue that didn't wipe off easily. 

Since the overhead projection sheet has remained totally intact, I'm thinking that it might even be used to apply a textured medium to greeting cards and journal pages.  Hmmmm.  Discovering multiple uses for things is great fun.  If you happen to try this stencil cutting method, I'd love to hear how it works for you.

Always remember, never fear to experiment.  

Sometimes wonderful things happen.

© Linda Friedman 2015.  All rights reserved

Cut Stencils from Overhead Projector Sheets

This morning as I was tidying up the studio that had become a total wreck after working 3 weeks on the peacock work (which is FINISHED :-), I ran across a partial overhead projector sheet.  The choice was to either throw it away or use it.  Guess what I chose to do?  Relegating things to the trash is like pulling teeth for me, especially if they might have a future use.  I wondered if the sheet would make a good and permanent surface for cutting stencils, so I started somewhat small.  After all, it was an experiment, I told myself.

Here's how the process developed.

1.  Tools used.

2.  I used a painter's tape roll to draw a circle onto the transparency sheet.

3.  I then drew a pattern onto the sheet and cut out the stencil shapes with a craft knife.  When drawing the pattern, I made sure to leave uncut "bridge" spaces so that the stencil would not fall apart.

 4.  Since I was low on white fabric paint I mixed textile medium with craft paint in a small roller pan.

5.  I then laid the stencil onto black fabric and used the sponge roller pictured above to apply paint.

6.  The stenciled image was very crisp.

7.  I was so pleased with the result that I continued using the stencil to make multiple images.

7.  My only limitation was the length of the black fabric remnant.

I'm quite excited that the transparency sheet was so easy to cut--much easier than anything else I have used in the past and will definitely use this process again in the future.  I liked the outcome so much that I wish I had printed on a few yards of fabric so that I could make a garment out of it.

Always remember, never fear to experiment.  

Sometimes wonderful things happen.

© Linda Friedman 2015.  All rights reserved

Thread Painting a Peacock with Metallic Threads

Thread painting with metallic threads on the peacock continues...

Blending Metallic Threads

 Working with metallic threads and non-metallic Floriani threads is what I've been looking forward to, so I'm having great fun.  This morning I pinned the peacock to the design board so that I could step back to see how the thread work is blending.  I see that at this point the peacock looks like it has a flat head.  Oh, no!  Oh, yes.  This means that I need to add more of the lime green metallic thread to where the curve is.

Sometimes standing back from a work is a really good thing to do.  Up close and personal everything looks good, but the perspective that is gained from stepping back and assessing the work as a whole can be very useful.  By doing this, I see where more work needs to be done.  Here is a picture  of thread blending where the neck meets the breast of the peacock.  it definitely needs more blending of the fuchsia colored threads with the turquoise threads.

Blending Metallic Threads in the Breast Area

 So now that I've stepped back and appraised the thread painting so far, I'll head back to the sewing machine and continue.  Love this part.  The treads are beautiful and working with them is such a joy.

I'll be baaaaack...

Always remember, never fear to experiment.  

Sometimes wonderful things happen.

© Linda Friedman 2015.  All rights reserved

Peacock Crown in Fiber

The peacock quilted work that I am creating to mount on a 18" x 36" stretched canvas with tail feathers extending beyond the edge is progressing.  The background onto which the bird will be appliqued is complete and the feather crown has been created.  (To have a glimpse into the colors and size of the peacock, see my February 25, 2015 post.)

Thread Painted Feather Crown

Close-Up of Thread Painted Feather Crown

Now that the entire background work has been completed, I'm moving on to thread work on the peacock's tail feathers.

Stitching with Bronze Metallic and Floriani threads

 The thread painting on this came to an abrupt halt at the very start because the threads wanted to knot and flay (not fray).  A dear friend and accomplished fiber artists, Cynthia Catlin, led me to the Floriani Chrome needles by Schmetz at Red Rock Threads.  These needles seem to have been created specifically for the beautiful Floriani threads because once they were delivered and I started using them, all the fun came back to working on this creation.  They go through all three layers, including very thick, fusible Pellon,™ like a knife cutting through warm butter and there is absolutely no problem with the threads. 

Onward...

"Stay tuned." 

 I'll be back with more posts as the work progresses.  

Always remember, never fear to experiment.  

Sometimes wonderful things happen.

© Linda Friedman 2015.  All rights reserved

"Emergence" - an "Inner Self Portrait" in Fiber Art

Sometime ago I promised to write about my quilt, "Emergence," that was shown with the Beyond the Edge Fiber Artists exhibit and that was titled, "My Inner Self Portrait".

The exhibit first debuted at:

Road to California Quilters Conference and Showcase

"Best in the West"at the

Ontario Conference Center, Ontario, California

from January 22-25, 2015

"Emergence"

 

 The theme of this Beyond the Edge Fiber Artist exhibit was, and is, the following:

"A fine arts fiber exhibit exploring aspects of self-portraiture. In this exhibit the artist was asked to look beyond the mere physical and instead present an inner view. The art work may reflect how the artist sees themselves at this time, or at a formative moment in their life. Each piece reveals something unique to the individual and at the same time, that which is universal to all."

The inspiration for my quilt stemmed from the following:

I perceive that every life has a purpose and that over time an evolving process leads to the birth and development of dreams and aspirations.  By protecting the spirit and letting it grow there can finally be an actualization and emergence of the driving forces in every unique human being.

In my next blog post I will provide a few pictures of how this work began, how it developed, what techniques were employed, and what materials and tools were used.

Where the Exhibit Will Travel in 2015 (after Road to California concluded)

New Jersey

When the Road to California show concluded, my quilt, along with all the quilts from the Beyond the Edge Fiber Artists exhibit, traveled to New Jersey with the Mancuso show and will be exhibited at the Garden State Exhibit Center in Somerset, New Jersey in The Quilt Fest of New Jersey XI from March 5 - 8, 2015.

Georgia

When the exhibit leaves New Jersey, it will head to Quiltfest Destination Savannah and will be there from March 26 - 29, 2015

Colorado

After Georgia, the exhibit will be shown at Denver National Quilt Festival from April 30 - May 2, 2015.

California

From Colorado the exhibit will head back to California for two more shows, as follows:

 - Quiltfest Oasis Palm Springs II from October 8 - 10, 2015

   and

- Pacific International Quilt Festival XXIV in Santa Clara, California, from  October 15 - 18, 2015.

Until we visit again...

Always remember, never fear to experiment.  

Sometimes wonderful things happen.

© Linda Friedman 2014.  All rights reserved