Some of my last postings were about my small art quilts whose photos didn’t make it on to my web site, so I thought I’d continue on that same theme and show some more of my tiny treasures. “Undersea Garden – Blue” (13.5″W x 14″T or 34 cm W x 35.5 cm T) has a multitude of shiny buttons and beads to simulate bubbles and froth. Even the binding is moiré satin ribbon to mimic wave patterns left on the ocean floor. I am a rabid, avid “dirty nails” gardener on land, but on solid ground, I have much more control over where things stay when I plant them than if I were trying to cultivate a garden in the sea. Here, however, in my sewn water garden, I can have the same sort of control, so that the navy lace cutouts that I used to portray fan coral will stay next to the acrylic star from the hardware store that’s sold to hold mirrors on a wall. I, however, used that clear, star/flower shape to be my make an image of a jellyfish. (upper right of photo above). If you look hard enough, you can find fabric with just about any design you want on it, and there are navy sea urchin shapes along the bottom edge of this mini-quilt. (In another larger, earlier piece, when flipped over to the reverse side, these same motifs, while much softer in color on the back side, were meteors hurtling through space.
I love going to the National Aquarium in Baltimore, and many of the tanks are filled with various types of seaweed, coral, sea anemones, and tiny forms of undersea life. I used Crow beads sewn on their sides, to simulate various polyp growths. There are mother-of-pearl buttons and some made out of mirrors, which were all added for their reflective qualities. The lower right even has a metal starfish button. While it has a shank on it and was meant to go through a buttonhole, I can’t imagine it fitting through such an opening. It was just perfect, however, to add to this piece, as its knobby surface makes a delightful texture against some of the flat ones from which it stands out. Shiny drup, or teardrop beads are added in strings to duplicate the air bladders in some types of seaweed.
I am fortunate that I have a vast supply of materials from which to choose, and one of these is a roll of green antique ribbon with a pierced edge picot. When cut at an angle, it looks for all the world, ot at least in my eyes, like seaweed waving in the water currents. Glass rondelle beads with an aurora borealis finish on them, add to the wealth of treasures in my version of an undersea world.
How have you used a “diiferent” kind of material to simulate something in your art medium?Why not share it with us and feed our imaginations to go forth and do likewise.
You can see more of my art work on my web site at www.fiberfantasies.com
As most of my friends know I love anything to do with the ocean/sea/sand… this quilt represents all that and more – I love every stitch! Have you ever put out a book? I’d love to be able to sit next to while you are stitching as your work puts me in a state of “awe”!
Dear Nicki Lee, Thanks so much for the compliments. Of course, having worked as an art quilter for 30 years doesn’t hurt when you’re developing your technique. I spent many years by the sea shore as a kid playing with the flotsom and jetsom that would wash ashore, so going down in a mini-sub in Barbados that I wrote you about on the Facebook page was magical. No book yet, as I’m working on new curriculumm for my spiritual practice. You might liike reading this recent blog that I posted about the Zen hours of stitching and how I get into “The Zone” when I’m working…. /?p=2709