Art with Fabric

 I don't know much about art. I can recognize Warhol, Picasso, Monet . . . by name and style.

I recognize the New York Museum of Art and the Louvre. 

I don't remember studying any of it during required art classes in elementary school.

So when Alida invited me to participate in this blog hop, initially, I said no. She, of course, said think about it. It sat there, niggling in the back of my brain. I didn't even know where to begin.

One day I walked into the library, took my normal path to the discontinued books. My decision was made instantly.

I found this book:

I recognized the artist's name. I wasn't familiar with his work, but the cover grabbed me and wouldn't let go. I could see this hanging on my wall. I could see the colors.

I could see the batiks !!!!

I said yes !

For me the process began with an invitation and a book. I already decided on a wall hanging.

I continued to play with the fabrics over the summer trying to make a final decision. I worked on other projects and commitments in the mean time, including another deadline for October. I finally put in some serious time at the end of September. 

Timing is everything. Newton went camping for the weekend and Honey Do agreed to carry out and no cooking.

Several years ago, Honey Do had a business trip to Hawaii - yeah, I know. I got to go too :)

Absolutely gorgeous, nine days of perfection. When I looked at the Matisse piece I saw ocean water and coral. I decided on a blue background I found in my stash. Then I started choosing my "coral" colors and came up with this combination above.

Matisse's book generously provided the patterns.

 

(from Matisse, a Second Life)

I traced the designs on fusible web. My favorite is Wonder Under  because it's really light weight. Even Heat and Bond Light is too heavy for most of my projects. Once it was ironed on to the fabric, I spent an evening cutting them out and playing around with the layout.

Once I made a final decision,

I set them with the iron so that I could start appliquing by machine. I normally like to hand stitch, but wanted to play with some Aurifil  thread I won over the summer.

And the sewing began, dark in some places but I really love the variegated thread.

After just a couple of days, I had the applique finished, and the project sandwiched.

Next, quilting by machine.

Once the quilting was done, binding. I was going to sew on the binding but decided to just bring it from the back. I like how it turned out.

 

Next I added some glittery buttons for added interest.

And a finished project, including the label.

Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you a day filled with creativity . . . no matter the source.