Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Kathy's Strong: SPARKY


This is our beautiful Wire-Hair Fox Terrier Sparky - the epitome of "Strong" in his strength and his courage.   Sparky is a rescued dog who adopted us December 21, 2012.  When we first made his acquaintance, Sparky was quite a mess.... he'd been thrown out of and/or hit by a truck and was found wandering on a rural highway.  He had huge ear-to-ear stitches across the top of his head; was skinny as a rail; was on medication for his injuries; and had just been neutered!  From head to tail he was hurting, but this beautiful, funny, high-energy canine stole our hearts the moment we saw him.   Sparky came home with us that same day and our family has never been the same !   We completed our first year just a few weeks ago, and we're thrilled that Sparky's adoption is complete - we are a "Forever Family."

To accomplish this Canine Portrait, I took the picture shown below and uploaded it to iPhoto on my MacBook computer.   The only changes I made were to crop the photo and "blur" the background a bit.  The photo was then printed onto Jacquard "Ink Jet Printing" Cotton (for use with inkjet printers & copiers).

Wanting to try some new techniques, I enhanced some areas of the printed image with Derwent Inktense water soluble Ink Pencils, and Caran D'ache water soluble wax (crayon-like) pastels that were purchased on-line from Dick Blick art supplies.   I had a blast "painting" with these water soluble pencils and crayons  ... no rules... just play time :-D



I heat-set the image then fused it onto black ultra-suede.    Inspired by Jennifer Day's extraordinary quilts at the Houston International Quilt Festival, I "thread-painted" over the entire image using several different colors of 40 weight, 50 weight, and monofilament threads.   Hours and hours of time were spent on this part of the quilt, which was time well spent !

For the border area, I free-motion quilted various sizes of round "pebble-like" circles to give depth and interest.   This quilting was done with 30 wt. Madeira rayon thread (my favorite of all the threads !)

This quilt was so much fun to make !  I was able to try new techniques, play with thread, and pay tribute to one of the strongest characters I've ever had the pleasure to meet - Sparky !

23 comments:

  1. He's a cutie and his story does depict a strong little guy! You must have used a ton of thread, but did get a furry friend in fiber quite nicely, I'd say.
    I like Inktense pencils too and did use them in my quilt as well.

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    1. Thanks Carol ! Thread "work" is my most favorite part of the quilting process, and you're right... there's a ton of thread on this small piece !

      Using the water soluble pencils and pastels was brand new to me, and I loved the extra dimension they added to the printed image :-D

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  2. Wow Kathy!! This is so realistic I feel like I am petting Sparky! He's so expressive and adorable. Your thread painting is spectacular. Houston trip very productive I would concur! Love it!

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    1. Thanks, Nedra ! Sparky loves to be petted, especially in that area right between his ears ! He's very affectionate, but also loves to run, jump, chase, play with his toys, and in general, he keeps us hopping ! And you're right about Houston - so inspiring :-D

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  3. I have such a soft spot in my heart for dogs, Kathy! Our two beloved dogs--Willie (named for Willie Nelson) and Plato (named for guess who--my husband teaches philosophy!) were a huge part of our family for 14 and 17 years. I am so glad that Sparky came to join your family; how lucky he is! This quilt demonstrates much work and devotion, and I love all the construction details. And your thread work...well, words fail me.

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    1. Hi Alice - What else can we say about our dogs, truly, they are like children to us ! Sparky is high energy, he's funny, curious, and is becoming more gentle and affectionate with each passing day. Glad you enjoyed the construction details ... I'm loving all these new techniques and tools (toys ? ! ) Thread... what can I say about thread - my fave part of the quilt making process :-D

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  4. Your portrait of Sparky is amazing and enlarging the photo showed the beauty of your thread painting! Love it!

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    1. Thanks, Judy ! My threads are like a fabulous paint box to me, and I love combining the different colors, textures and weights to make the quilts come alive. I've had some of the most wonderful teachers in the quilting art world, and I pour over my books and class work constantly to improve my techniques !

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    2. What are some of your favorite books? Teachers?

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    3. Hi Linda .... I've taken classes from incredible teachers including: Maurine Noble, Libby Lehman, Yvonne Porcella, Rachel Clark, Jane Sassaman, Deidre Amsden, David Walker, Ruth McDowell, Lee Hackman, Jane Dunnewold, Marci Tilton, Vikki Pignatelli, Judy Hopkins, Roberta Horton, Linda Lee, Debbie Caffrey, Trish Stuart, and a most notable Alaska teacher Loretta Tibor.

      Almost anything written by the above teachers is fabulous ! And I have tons of Quilting Arts / Cloth, Paper, Scissors DVDs so I can watch incredible teachers in the comfort of my own studio. I'm constantly gathering new sources of information :-D

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  5. I am in awe of your thread painting!!!!!!! Wow!!!!!!!

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    1. Hi Lois .... Thread painting is my favorite part of the quilting process, and I love playing with all the different kinds of threads I've gathered over the years. I kind of get into my own Zen-like space when I'm thread painting, and I find it very relaxing ! Glad you enjoyed my quilt :-D

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  6. I agree with everyone about your thread painting! It's my least favorite thing to do!! Sparky is beautifully portrayed and very lucky to have you. My daughter had friends who rescued her puppy from running the streets in Tijuana, Mexico. They are now living and loving Maui.

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    1. Hi Barbara ... I'd trade just about anyone if they'd do the piecing and let me do the thread work ! I moan & groan at the thought of cutting pieces of fabric, and sewing them back together to make a quilt top :-D These rescue(d) dogs are so special... I think they really appreciate the good lives we're able to give them !

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  7. Thank you soooo much for making me realize how one can use photos effectively in quilts. I usually find them weak and uninteresting. INK INTENSE! Thread painting ...Whatever... to embellish the photo. Congrats on a wonderful quilt and I wish that dog were mine!!!!!

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    1. HI Linda - I've transferred photos to fabric in the past, but this is the first time I've used a photo as the basis for my thread painting. I was so inspired by Jennifer Day's award winning quilts at IQF in Houston that I just knew I had to try it. Check out her website to see her spectacular quilts :-D

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  8. Your depiction of Sparky is truly amazing and inspiring. The way that you have "treated" the photo transfer has totally transformed your photo from a really cute picture to a piece of art that expresses real vitality. I can almost see Sparky wiggling his rear-end! I'm diffidently going to pull out my Inktense pencils and start playing with them!

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    1. Hi Andrea ! The funny(ier) story behind the photo to fabric process is that the actual transferred photo came out kind of weird... neon green eyes and nose (probably because one or more of my color ink cartridges was low or out of ink !) And so.... out came the water soluble inks and pastels (literally a photo-makeover !), and then the intense thread painting. The art muses literally pushed me into trying some of these new products and I'm so glad they did :-D

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  9. What a wonderful story. We also have a rescue dog and cat. They are so loving. You did such a wonderful job. I have always wanted to try and depict one of my animal. Maybe this will encourage me to do it.

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    1. Hi Tricia ! We actually have 2 rescue dogs! Sparky, of course, and our precious little Holly, a Chihuahua we rescued and brought with us from Alaska. Holly's almost 7 years old, and she rolls-her-eyes at Sparky when he's running, jumping and acting like a crazy little kid :-) They're so funny together and we're grateful they adopted us ! Glad you enjoyed my quilt !

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  10. Kathy, this is my fav Maven piece by you! Mr. Sparky's attentive expression is soooo him. Your chosen art techniques were beautifully executed. Bravo.

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  11. Hi Sistah ! THANKS ! I think this is my fav too... I love that dog ! It was great having the opportunity to try some of those new products & techniques... kind of like you and I used to have "Play Dates" in each other's studios in Anchorage... ahhhh..the memories ! Love ya ! Kath

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  12. Love your thread-painted Sparky! Great job!

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