Friday, October 14, 2016

Dee Merrell - Reflections - Quilt: "Autumn is Reflection"



  
Dee Stewart Merrell – Reflection-  Quilt: “Autumn is Reflection”



   

I made this photograph of my granddaughter last spring not long after she had just begun walking.  She always took every step I took, so she was a bit puzzled when I stepped out onto the porch without her.  When I looked back into the house and saw her looking at me, I could see the sky, yard and trees behind me reflected in the window along with her sweet little face. I could also see myself with my glasses perched on top on my head.  It was one of those special moments when you can see someone seeing their world.

I love this quote by Mitchell Burgess which seemed so appropriate;   “If winter is slumber and spring is birth and summer life, then autumn rounds out to be reflection.  It’s a time of year when the leaves are down and the harvest is in and the perennials are gone.  Mother Earth just closed up the drapes on another year and it’s to reflect on what’s come before.”  - Mitchell Burgess

Techniques:  a white commercial fabric with blue and grey design was used and with a Pentel Gel Roller fabric pen I wrote the quote above onto the fabric.   I used a laser printer for the  photo and generously covered the photo with “Golden” gel medium – extra heavy molding paste and pressed it onto the  fabric and left it to dry for 24 hours.   I heavily spritzed the dried photo back with water, scratching the back with a pin to help the water soak in.  The picture you see is what was left after scraping and rubbing the paper away.  The remaining image is thick, ok for an art quilt , but would not be good for a bed quilt.  I layered it with batting and backing and quilted it.  Finished size 12” x 12”. 

11 comments:

  1. So cute! Love the text in the background.

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  2. Dee, wow, this is one beautiful quilt. Your technique was inventive and I want to learn more about it! And that quotation! Absolutely one of the best about autumn I have ever read! Congratulations of a great quilt!

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  3. Dee, I absolutely love this! What a priceless treasure for your granddaughter when she becomes an adult! Would you please teach us this technique at our Spring Retreat? A stunning quilt!

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  4. Stunning! Creative! Yes please demo this technique for us! Hope to see it in person at the retreat. What a personal quilt with such depth!

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  5. What an outstanding interpretation of the theme! I love the quote about the seasons - how perfect. I can't find enough superlatives to describe the effect you have achieved with the text being superimposed onto the picture and the entire composition. WOW!!

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  7. What an amazing quote and so perfect for this theme. The image of your grand daughter is perfect for this. Beautifully done!

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  8. What a wonderful photo and great interpretation of the theme. I, too want to see this in person and learn that technique. I love what you did!

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  9. Beautiful and precious! I've always wanted to try that technique and I love how it turned out so clear.

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  10. Dee I love this interpretation - the picture is perfect and I am really impressed at how good the image transfer was (I've never been successful with gel medium). Very beautiful and appropriate interpretation of the theme

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