Saturday, February 27, 2016

OverGrowth



Had a lot of help with this one.  Whether it was the dorozome silk I used- dyed in the mud in Okinawa, or the rough natural raw silk, or the rust stained handwoven cottons, this piece is beloved of the cats.
The base structure of the piece is turned edge appliquéd silks that were machine quilted before getting an overlay of the rusted cottons.

started with my favorite- a blank piece of paper with the design blocked out roughly.
I cut the shapes out, and used them as templates to iron down the edges of my fabrics-


like this


eyeball the shapes from a distance as they are being stitched down-
the finished base.


I spent a month hand stitching down the top layer, mostly with perle cotton.
the overlay was manipulated and stitched slowly, area by area- each zone responding to and reflecting 
its neighbor.



it's easy to see the crackle effect I painted on top of the raw silk here- I used Jane Dunnewold's flour paste resist technique.


OverGrowth  40x32"


9 comments:

  1. OMG it's gorgeous!! (I am now afraid to upload mine)

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  2. Super! The hand stitched texture, the growth, the colours all wonderful!

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  3. Just stunning - - I love the stitching and texture!

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  4. Fantastic stitching and painting effects! I wish I could see this one in person, up close.

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  5. All that sewing and you have made a piece of seamless beauty. Your use of color inspires me!

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  6. So very beautiful, Betty. I love all the texture, it is a stunning piece and I would love to see it up close.

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  7. Amazing piece! Stunning hand stitching, marvelous subtle colors, love the overlaying. Hope to see it in person. Thank you for shearing and inspiration!

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