We have a
friend, a professional photographer and artist, who has gifted us many of his
wonderful photographs. Ever since
starting on this Art Quilt Journey, I have wanted to make a quilt of one of his
art images, especially this particular photo.
I just needed the right word. So
with Barney’s permission (actually he said it would be an honor) this is my
rendition of a sunflower in front of a reflection garden installation,
surrounded by stone pavers. Below you see his image.
To construct
this quilt, I first needed to resize Barney’s black and white original 6 x 9
image up to 11 x 14. The copy of the photo was then traced onto
plastic. Fabrics were selected that
would approximate the scene in color.
The stone pavers and grass were accomplished by reverse applique. The applique also served as the quilting for
this piece. The stones around the
reflection mirror were fused into place and then a hole was cut to allow the
mirror to show through. The stone fabric
was wrapped to the back to cover the edges of the hole. The sunflower was
superimposed on top of the background.
The sunflower center was quilted onto a piece of sunflower center-shaped
batting and the edges were also wrapped to the back. The petals are a double layer of fused fabric
which are glued into place behind the flower center. And in case you are wondering, the mirror is
a $2 small hand held mirror from Dollar General. To get a reflection of the sky
in the mirror, a piece of cloud fabric was held up behind the camera so the
background in the mirror looked “true.”
[Note: Alice posted this for Rita since she continues to have baffling issues with the blog and is therefore unable to post herself!]
[Note: Alice posted this for Rita since she continues to have baffling issues with the blog and is therefore unable to post herself!]
Rita, we can always expect an outstanding art quilt from you! I can well understand your wanting to use Barney's photo in a quilt. Your version, using so many techniques, is wonderful. Thanks for such a good explanation of how you rendered this quilt.
ReplyDeleteGoodness, I need to go back to perspective school! Your perspective and angles are perfect. Of course the work is impeccable as we've come to expect from Rita. Ingenious how you reflected the blue sky!
ReplyDeleteAgree with Gail, perspective and circular lines of the pavers are spot on!! Would not expect anything less from you, Rita! Did not understand how you achieved the sky in the mirror but I think I just figured it out - Did you or Randy hold the fabric behind the camera when you took the picture for the blog? Clever !!! I'm sure Barney is thrilled with your quilt!
ReplyDeleteWow This is really beautiful. I love th e reverse applique. I haven't tried that yet. The trick with the mirror is wonderful. Very ingenious. I like how you made the sunflower petals three dimensional.
ReplyDeleteOh my. I am very impressed with everything you did to create this beauty! It is truly lovely.
ReplyDeleteYou amaze me with every single quilt you make Rita - both art quilts and traditional quilts. The techniques you used to recreate the photograph are so clever. You should send this to Art Quilt Magazine! Stunning!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful piece! Love all the techniques you used. Thanks for telling us the process it helps to see it when we look at the photo of your quilt.
ReplyDeleteIf there is a "perspective school" please sign me up. I am in awe of the reverse applique, and the other techniques as well! I would like a hands on in reverse applique. this is a beautiful piece.
ReplyDeleteVery nice. Love the composition.
ReplyDeleteWow! You really captured the scene - I hope I get to see this one in person.
ReplyDelete