Contemporary Applique

Experimenting with Leaves and Landscapes

This last week I have been playing with ideas for my Leaf Series,  in part prompted by the drawing class challenge I shared last week (I'll show you how I'm going at the end of this post).

Decided to try combining a simple landscape with one of my favorite leaf designs and to make the leaves using a 2 step reverse applique to give a line effect.  I wasn't altogether satisfied with the result.  I think it would have worked better if I had used a darker tone for the line element?

This seemed like a good opportunity to try our another idea for adding a dimensional effect, by using what I might describe as free form applique.  In this case I stitched the leaf shapes to the piece along the vein lines so the edges are free to lift and curl.  

I have also been adding some hand stitching for texture to complement the machine quilting which is less dense than my usual style (the hand stitching is  nice work to do in front of the fire on these chilly evenings!!)

And now in a completely different style .... I've added another layer of dark tone to the drawing class challenge piece from last week.   I've used "shards" of dark turquoise silk and covered the piece with some wedding tule to keep it in place. 

I'm still playing with it and there is still the stitching to be added .... what do you think.... an improvement????

Thanks for reading ......CC

New Grevillea Artwork Underway

This week I 've had my head down,  working on the next Grevillea piece and specifically the stitching ....  

The design has come together with the applique and reverse applique completed.  This piece at 20" x 30"  is somewhat  larger than much of my recent work ... so its taken a bit longer to get to this stage and takes more time to stitch and there is a deadline looming!  Great motivation!!

The big questions now revolve around the quilting and choice of thread color.  After a few experiments,  I've settled on the stitching around  the flowers and the reverse applique shapes, but have yet to decide on the other areas!!  

                                  © CarolynCollinsArt 2017  'Grevillea 8  Detail'   

                                  © CarolynCollinsArt 2017  'Grevillea 8  Detail'   

So back to the stitching .....   Thanks for reading ....  CC

Grevillea's in Review

My Grevillea Series has been rolling along for a while now and before I launch into Number 10, I thought it would be a good idea to review  progress.  Looking back and seeing the work all together is helpful with new directions and new ideas ... not to mention that it makes me get my photo files into order and update my art database!!

So here they are in sequence of construction .....

The first piece turned out to be a disaster from a technical point of view!  The issue related to layering fabric over the printed organza making for a very unstable piece when it came to the stitching!!!  However I like the color and design ideas and this piece remains on my design wall for inspiration.

After that experience,  I stuck to applique and reverse applique (with no fancy fabrics)  with a good result and second grevillea is part of the SAQA 2017 Trunk Show.  

In the Pink Grevillea piece I was determined to master the organza, because I really like the effect of printing on it,  and tried a variety of  flower shapes. This was a good learning experience but it lacks something from a design perspective!

In the middle row ...  the stylised fower design and development of the backgrounds by incorporating hand printed fabric has worked well and I am really pleased with these.  Peaches and Cream was part of an exhibition at Kangaroo Valley and now hangs in a new home!  

Recently I have been exploring a more abstracted flower design in the pink/purple pieces and have returned to the original idea of stitching the flower design ....... with much more success!

The final two pieces use the backgounds I made a couple of weeks ago,  now stitched and appliqued.  I think the blue/green/yellow piece is the most successful.

While I contemplate what next,  I would love to know which grevillea you like best??

Thanks for reading .....  CC

Stepping Stones in Greens

Over the last year or so I have been working on my Stepping Stones series and have recently completed a couple more pieces.....

I love making these pieces because they let me try out all sorts of ideas on a small scale within the parameters of the series,  but I often wonder what others make of this work ..... 

When I was reading the Introduction in the David Hockney exhibition (see previous post)  I came across a description of his approach by Simon Maidment, Curator of Contemporary Art at the NGV    " [David Hockney] does things his own way and forges ahead in the direction he finds most interesting"  and this encourages me to keep going  .....  

Having made a total of 16 Stepping Stones pieces I thought it would be fabulous to see them all in one place ..... like the David Hockney portrait series at the National Gallery of Victoria !!!

The best I've been able to do is to create this gallery block.  Here are a collection of the green pieces   .....

   © CarolynCollinsArt  2017 'Green Stepping Stones'  Hand dyed & printed fabric, batik

   © CarolynCollinsArt  2017 'Green Stepping Stones'  Hand dyed & printed fabric, batik

It's got me thinking about a larger Stepping Stones design .....

Do you have a series you are working on??

Thanks for dropping by ...CC

 

 

More Reverse Applique

This week I've been working on two new pieces for the Stepping Stones Series.  

I love stitching the reverse applique and with these new pieces I decided to put the horizon line behind the applique ... like a landscape within a landscape .....

Part way through the applique process,  I wondered what if I only reveal part of the landscape and left some of the stepping stones in the top fabric ... and stitched the stepping stones shapes but without revealing the landscape beneath .

Here is the finished result .....

                 Stepping Stones Series # 12  ' Open Road'  12"x12"   © CarolynCollinsArt 2016

                 Stepping Stones Series # 12  ' Open Road'  12"x12"   © CarolynCollinsArt 2016

Tried a reversal of the color combination for the second piece .......

      Stepping Stones Series #13  ' Over the Hills ....'   12" x 12"   © CarolynCollinsArt 2016

      Stepping Stones Series #13  ' Over the Hills ....'   12" x 12"   © CarolynCollinsArt 2016

I'm off to stitch this second piece ....  Thanks for dropping by   CC

New Work .... Mangroves

This week I've finished the quilting and facings for the Mangroves piece .......

Happy with the end result .... enjoyed the quilting .....

but can see refinements for the construction process ....  so on to the next mangroves piece!!  

Thanks for dropping by .....  CC