Thread Drawing - Wading Bird

Today I just couldn't bring myself to toss a remnant of painter's drop cloth so I thought It might be a good pallet on which to practice some improvisational, free motion thread drawing.  Since the remnant was long and narrow, whatever I drew seemed to beg to be elongated.  What better than a long legged wading bird?  This is what emerged.

Here are a few close-ups to show the stitching.

Even though I used two layers of stabilizer under the canvas, the dense, free motion thread drawing tended to make fabric outside of the edges of the bird image become somewhat "rumpled".  To salvage the thread drawing, I cut around it and then zigzag stitched it onto another canvas remnant.  That did the trick.  Because canvas tends to fray terribly, I applied a thin layer of Weldbond glue around the edges and spread it thinly with a soft bristle paint brush.  The glue dries clear and is no problem to stitch through. 

And, once again, here is the finished bird.  I used a silver Sharpie pen to color in the bill.  When completed, I hemmed both the top and bottom edges and left the ends open so that those spaces would accept a small dowel rod.  In my stash of laces and pipings, etc., I found a length of braided cotton cording that seemed to work perfectly for hanging.

Always remember, never fear to experiment.  

Sometimes wonderful things happen.

© Linda Friedman 2017.  All rights reserved

Flight Feathers #1 - Mounted Fiber Art

Flight Feathers #1 - 8"x8" - Mounted Art Quilt

Recently I completed a 40" x 40" work that featured a crow on a telephone wire.*  The theme had emotional significance for me because the call of crow on a wire was in the background as my father and I hugged and said for the last time, "I love you", before an accident took his life the next day.  Every time I see or hear a crow, I am reminded of my father and that he loved me very much.

Because many of my works have implicit undertones, I wanted to have a white feather in the bird's beak that would, to me, signify my father leaving this plane of existence.  This led to my experimenting with thread to create the perfect feather.  Unfortunately, white was "lost" on a silver lame field.  Still, I liked the feathers and knew that if I put them away for future use, they would surely become one with a growing drawer of "someday to use" items.

Thus, I set about making a sandwich of black fabric and batting and free motion quilted a background for the thread feathers.  I then stitched the leaves onto the mini quilt.  In my stash was an 8"x8" stretched canvas.  It was perfect for mounting this mini art quilt.

Close-up of First Feather

Close-up of Second Feather

Close-up of Third Feather

Once the quilt was mounted to the stretched canvas, I used a stenciling brush to lightly apply acrylic paint mixed with fabric medium to the four corners.

Last I backed the work with black mat board and attached D-rings to make the piece ready for hanging.

Back of Mounted Mini Quilt

*Once the large, 40"x40" quilt begins to travel, I will provide a picture and write-up of that, but I will post a "teaser" here.  The crow is constructed with dark blue and black satin and is heavily thread painted on the head and the breast.

Beginning of the Crow

Always remember, never fear to experiment.  

Sometimes wonderful things happen.

© Linda Friedman 2016.  All rights reserved