This blog entry is meant to showcase some of the art quilts I have created over the years. They are all special to me. Each posed a new challenge that required a lot of thought in order to resolve.
I hope you enjoy perusing this blog entry.
This art quilt of the Nubble Lighthouse in York, Maine was my first attempt. I took this photo on one of our trips to New England. My photo was the basis for this creation.
This art quilt is the Strawberry Schoolhouse in Strawberry, Arizona. It too was created using a photo I took of this log building. I actually shingled the roof, using stiffened shingle designed fabric strips. I took a ribbon at the Rim Country Quilt Roundup show, in Payson, Arizona.
This art quilt was not based on a photo. Instead, the inspiration for this creation came from the leftover hexagonal pieces. I used them as lily pad flowers surrounded by the green lily pad leaves. If you look closely, you can see the dragonflies I added to the piece.
This art quilt is called,
Sunrise: A Fire on the Rim. It was my first attempt at creating a mountainous landscape. I used a photo I took of the nearby Mogollon Rim to help me with the layout and color choices. The bike rider is a tip of the hat to the annual Fire on the Rim mountain bike race held in Pine and Strawberry, Arizona. The proceeds from which are used to created trails, fire breaks and forest thinning in and around this area.
This little wall hanging is called, Pottery and Shards. What makes this unique is the very narrow slits of fabric sewn into the turquoise blocks. This was a technique I had never used on other projects. It adds some visual interest as do the shard pieces affixed to the quilt.
The inspiration for this art quilt comes from the initial Dale Chihuly glass installation at the Phoenix Botanical Gardens in Phoenix, Arizona. I had a great time photographing his displays that were placed throughout the garden. This piece is a combination of two photos. What makes it unique is the boat and its contents. The boat is a single unit sewn onto the quilt with the top edge left free. Some of the orbs were created using button covers in order to create the sense of dimension.
This art quilt was made from a photo taken at a subsequent Dale Chihuly glass installation at the Phoenix Botanical Gardens in Phoenix, Arizona. In order to create the various color changes on the glass spears, I utilized the thread painting technique. Also, I employed some bead work on the glass pieces where there was sunlight reflection.
A friend asked if I could create a series of iris to decorate one of the rooms in his bed and breakfast. I found an iris pattern and used batik fabrics as well as thread painting to make the pieces for him. What is shown here combines the iris and lavender. My friend is now into growing lavender. Since he has a fondness for iris and lavender, I created the above art quilt. Its uniqueness comes from the confetti piecing I used to create the lavender plants.
The art quilt shown here is from a photo I took of the birch lined path at the St. Gaudens National Historical Park in Cornish, New Hampshire. I learned a lot about depth and perspective working on this piece. The biggest issue for me was how to create the variety of leaves. I used the confetti piecing process and a number of different green fabrics. Confetti piecing is very tedious as all of the pieces are very small, about the size of a little fingernail. I had to use a tweezer to place many of the pieces. It was an effort that took many hours and patience.
Well, that's the end of this presentation. I have done many other art quilting works, but these are my favorites. I hope you enjoyed this blog entry, and thanks for looking at it.
