New Confetti Fiber Art

For the past few weeks I've been working on a new confetti fiber art piece.  I'm not sure why but I love pictures of doors and  windows.  I found a picture of a blue door with a tree in  full bloom and I knew I wanted to recreate it in fabric.  I find confetti fiber art much like impressionistic art.  Instead of brushes you use  little tiny bits of fabric that are adhered to a background.  I'm still exploring different methods.  I've used lite Steam-a-Seam2, misty fuse, fusible batting and glue.   Still don't know which one I prefer.   I suspect I will end up with a combination.  In the pictures, you can see the progression of the piece.  I started by placing fabric with similar shape and color as the picture on the background and then added the fabric "confetti" on top.   Again, not sure I would do it again this way.  Some people paint this background area and some just put in outlines.   After all the "confetti" is placed, I laid brown tulle on top and then thread painted some details and also did random quilting over the larger areas to keep the confetti in place.   It also adds more dimension to the piece.  I put a black binding around the whole piece, stretched it over a canvas and mounted it in a floating frame.   Enjoy!!

  

Marsh at Sunset

Marsh at Sunset was created using tiny irregular strips and squares of fabric that have been applied like pallet knife strokes.   These is a tulle overlay which is held in place by free motion thread painting.   This textile art piece is 8 x 10 and is matted to fit 11 x 14 frame.   

Lenore's Story

Lenore--Concept and Design

 Lenore is a collaboration that I did with my son, Carson.  He likes fantasy art so I thought the Edgar Allan Poe challenge would be a good theme for us to collaborate on and come up with a doll that he would like to keep.  He came up with the concept drawings and I executed the design.   Here is the drawing that he did for the doll and costume.   I had to change to pose so that her face wouldn't be hidden behind the book but tried to keep everything else as close as possible to his concept.  

The costume was a challenge because the feathers had to be cut down to size to fit the dress.   Many of the feathers had to be sewn down individually to the dress.   Carson also designed the back of the dress to include a cape like train that was attached at the waist.  Here is the concept drawing and actual fabric train and back of the dress.  

 

The books she is sitting on were covered with fabric and then I printed out titles of books that Edgar Allan Poe wrote.    The book that she is holding contains the entire poem of The Raven, which I shrunk down to fit the book cover I had made.  

  

Creating Lenore

Lenore is a full body sculpt from polymer clay.  Here are some pictures of Lenore in process.  

When I sculpt the head I photograph it from all angles because it is easier to see when features are not quite symmetrical or balanced.  

  

A full body sculpt is baked in a series of steps.  I baked her head and then added it to her skeleton torso.  Because she is seated and her legs are crossed I next sculpted and baked her legs.  
You can see in this picture that I start with a basic skeleton shape and then fill
out the form.   

   

The next step was to fill out her torso. After her torso is baked, I then sculpt her arms, hands and feet.  And, of course, I always want my girls to have some sort of underwear and Lenore opted for a thong. 

 

  

After she is baked and before her costume is put on her make-up (face paint) and hair must be added.  

Before hair is styled, she looks like she had a wild night and just woke up.  

  

Lenore- Edgar Allan Poe Challenge Winner 2021--People's choice

The Challenge Doll this year was to be inspired by Edgar Allan Poe.   I chose "The Raven".   In the past I have made each of my sisters a special doll and this year I decided to dedicate this doll to my son, Carson.  Carson is also an artist so I asked him to collaborate with me.  He sent me concept drawings and I went from there.   This was the result of the collaboration.  

 Lenore is a full body polymer clay hand sculpt. No molds or patterns were used.  Her dress is made from silk with a silk tulle overlay.  Real feathers were trimmed to size and hand sewn to her dress.  Her hair is styled from mohair.  She has been hand painted in a Goth style.  Her shoes are hand made from leather.  She is sitting on rebound books which represent other Poe works.  In her hand she is holding a miniature book with the complete printing of “The Raven”.  Everything was handmade especially for Lenore.   

   

In the Pink

I recently took an online class with Ankie Daanen entitled Blue Blue Girl.  The class is available at http://www.aforartistic.com/.  Although I have sculpted in paperclay before, I am always exploring different methods of using the medium.  Instead of cloth for the body, Ankie uses Styrofoam for the base in the body and head.  The upper arms and upper legs are wires wrapped with stretchy bandages. 

 

I followed the construction methods but decided to use my own vision for the costume and face sculpt.  She is whimsical and definitely not BLUE.   She is "IN THE PINK!"  Her costume is made from a variety of silks and is hand beaded.  Her hair is mohair and her face is hand painted.  Hands, legs and face are all hand sculpted; no molds are used. 

Her stockings are made from swiss dot soft tulle.  

More Adventures in Textile Art

During this shut down, I have found the need to explore new ways to create art.  I've been reading about different methods using textiles and paint to create art.  One article that I read was from a 2007 Quilting Arts Magazine which was written by Jeanne Raffer Beck and titled Textural Surfaces for Stitch.  In the article she detailed ways to develop improvisational compositions using a variety of techniques and materials.  All the techniques described start with a fabric background (which might also be painted) and is then layered with hand painted scrim, painted fusibles, fabric, yarn, Tyvek, thread, Angelina fibers, organza, etc.    Really the layers can be anything you have on hand.   You can either start with a composition in mind or just let it develop.  

Underwater Seascape

The first one pictured here called Underwater Seascape was not planned.  I just developed  during the creative process.  I started with a piece of unbleached muslin, add a layer of  painted fusible web and then started adding bits of scrim, yarn, painted Tyvek, and Angelina  fibers.  I finished the piece with hand stitching   and a few beads.  It is approximately 8 x 10  and  is matted and framed but no glass.  The frame is 11 x 14.  

  

Abstract Cityscape

The second picture was more planned.  The painted  fusible web reminded me of an abstract city scape so I positioned the layers with that composition in mind.  The layers are hand painted scrim and organza.  I used hand stitching to create "windows" and define the buildings.    8   x 10 picture matted in 11 x 14 frame 

  

Latest figurative work--Sacagawea

Every year the  Indy Cloth Dollmakers Club has a themed doll maker's challenge for their members.  This year, since 2020 is the 100th anniversary of women's right to vote, we decided our challenge should be a Woman in History.    I chose Sacagawea.   

Here is her story:  

Sacagawea was a Shoshone interpreter best known for serving as a member of the Lewis and Clark expedition into the American West — and for being the only woman on the famous excursion.  At the time she joined the expedition in Nov. of 1804, at the age of 16, she was pregnant with her first child but she chose to accompany her husband on this expedition.  A son, Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, was born in February 1805.  Despite traveling with a newborn child during the trek, Sacagawea proved to be helpful in many ways during her 26 months with the expedition.  She was skilled at finding edible plants.  When a boat in which she was riding capsized, she was able to save some of its cargo, including important documents and supplies.  Sacagawea was able to arrange, through her Indian kinsmen, for the expedition’s safe passage over the Rockies. After the expedition, she bore a second child but died a few months later.   Clark was her children’s godfather.  After her death, he raised and educated her children.   

Sacagawea became a symbol for women’s rights and a face for the National American Woman Suffrage Association in 1905. Sacagawea was a Shoshone interpreter best known for serving as a member of the Lewis and Clark expedition into the American West — and for being the only woman on the famous excursion.  At the time she joined the expedition in Nov. of 1804, at the age of 16, she was pregnant with her first child but she chose to accompany her husband on this expedition.  A son, Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, was born in February 1805.  Despite traveling with a newborn child during the trek, Sacagawea proved to be helpful in many ways during her 26 months with the expedition.  She was skilled at finding edible plants.  When a boat in which she was riding capsized, she was able to save some of its cargo, including important documents and supplies.  Sacagawea was able to arrange, through her Indian kinsmen, for the expedition’s safe passage over the Rockies. After the expedition, she bore a second child but died a few months later.   Clark was her children’s godfather.  After her death, he raised and educated her children.   

Sacagawea became a symbol for women’s rights and a face for the National American Woman Suffrage Association in 1905.  

Info about Sacagawea the doll:  

Sacagawea and baby are original art dolls, no pattern or molds were used.  Sacagawea has a cloth body and polymer clay head and hands.  The baby is all polymer clay.  Her lamb suede garments, moccasins and cradle board are hand sewn. Her dress is in the style of the early 1800’s Plains Indians.  The yoke is accented with beads and a small tuft of fur.  The fringe was wetted and twisted to give a graceful look.  Her belt and cradle board is hand beaded by the artist.  Her braided hair is Merino wool.  She is about 12 inches tall and stands on a flat rock.