Background work

Medina   4.5" x 6.5"

I needed to create a quick little quiltlet for the SAQA Spotlight auction. It needed to be 6" x 8" but only 4.5" x 6.5" will be revealed after it was matted.

This seemed like a great opportunity to start playing with backgrounds. This one clearly derives from Taylor's original painting but that's OK. I tend to bleaker subject matter and the little piece needs to be somewhat visually attractive for auction purposes.

This is entirely composed of hand-dyed fabrics from my friend Debbie Vandermeulen.

Inspired by CFT, #3

Inspired by CFT, #3  12" x 12"

detail Inspired by CFT, #3

Why 

I wanted to explore what would happen if the background was as simple as possible - one fabric with some basic straight line stitching.

What

Doodle from my iPad.

How

Hand-dyed fabric fused to white acrylic felt. Straight line stitching (horizontal first) with King Tut. Commercial fabric pleated, fused to backing fabric, and fused to background, Bars are hand-dyed fabric fused to black wool felt and fused down. Bars stitched with Sulky rayon thread. Embroidery floss used to pull the pleats open and down.

Thoughts

This went together very quickly. In the end I abandoned the starting image and created a new design. I was glad to take the step of moving away from a per-determined outcome. There is lots I like about the effect of a single background fabric but in the end I don't think it has any power to convey meaning.

Next

I want to explore more interesting methods of creating backgrounds. I will let the background and the 'story' which develops as I work on it define the placement of the bars.

Inspired by CFT, #2

Inspired by CFT, #2 10" x 16"

Inspired by CFT, #2 detail

Why

Second in the series. These first few are just about doing the work. I am determined not to fuss over anything except getting them done.

What

Another doodle from my iPad. I thought it would a good idea to see if there was a difference when working with diagonals. I decided to include textured fabric to learn about how to apply it to the backing

How

Commercial cottons, fused to white acrylic felt. Mid-value fabric was textured with free motion quilting in a multicolor thread (King Tut) and the Pellon version of Texture Magic, then basted to the felt background. Bars fused to black acrylic felt and then fused to surface. Stitched with Sulky rayon. Faced.

Thoughts

This went together much more quickly than the first. I am developing a system for transferring my sketches to fabric quickly and precisely (in the event that precision will be needed down the line). I don't like the black acrylic felt quite as much as the wool/rayon - bars don't stand as proud of the surface - but the difference is minor and I'm probably the only one who would notice.

I chose to diminish the width of the bars compared to #1 - background becomes much more important.

The original drawing was done in this orientation. Fabric choices and the resulting suggested imagery can make a big difference to the final choice in terms of how to display these.

Next

I want to experiment with the application of a very heavily textured fabric - one that may seriousl interfere with my ability to stitch through the piece.  I think I will also follow the path of reducing the number of fabrics in the background, probably to one. That might mean that I can increase the width of the bars so the foreground becomes the main player in the composition.