Monday, January 15, 2018

Carolyn's Rock: Goddess of the Garden


Added Detail
My inspiration for this quilt is a cast stone garden sculpture that was given to me by my husband for a very special anniversary.  It is a reproduction of a sculpture by Frank Lloyd Wright named “Nacoma”.  This Native American name means “Great Spirit” or “The Wise and Loving Woman”.  Nacoma stands with a young girl by her side and a babe wrapped in a blanket on her back.  The mother and young girl hold American Indian pots. 

For me, the sculpture has been and continues to be the Goddess of my garden.  First, in my beautiful garden in my Dallas home, and now at the entrance to my new patio home.

My first step in creating this quilt was to make a photo of the sculpture.  Then I digitally photo transferred it onto fabric. I added shading and detail to the transfer with fabric pencils.  The transfer was fused onto a commercial hand-dyed cotton fabric for the background.  Free-cut leaves and flowers were added to the design using batik fabrics.  To give the quilt a spiritual and peaceful feeling, I covered the entire piece with two layers of a very soft pink tulle.  

Original Photo
I added additional detail to the sculpture by machine quilting it with gray threads in light and dark Aurifil. Then I used variegated rayon thread to quilt the background. The large leaves were quilted with pink Aurifil thread and the flowers in the grass were quilted with using Ricky Tims Art Studio Thread in a periwinkle blue.   Now, my Garden Goddess is visible both inside and outside of my home.






10 comments:

  1. What a lovely quilt, Carolyn! I'm so glad that this beautiful statue was able to be moved to your new home! The quilt that you made based on a photo of the work is serene and peaceful, just the feeling you wanted to convey. I love the soft colors and all the added detail!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow! This is fantastic!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Such a peaceful, serene study. Your statue is really special. I am glad you included a photo so we can get an idea of scale.
    Attention to detail is always an important part of your quilts.

    ReplyDelete
  4. This is beautifully done and so peaceful. I love the sentiment it evokes too - treasured gift from your husband for a special event that you can now look at it inside and outside of your home

    ReplyDelete
  5. OH ! What a stunningly beautiful piece ! I could feel the tranquility and calm coming through both your photo, and your actual quilt. Thanks for the narrative you provided, and for sharing the details of how you constructed your quilt !

    ReplyDelete
  6. Great statue and quilt. I had to take a second look to take it all in. Just like a mother with kids hanging on her watching over the critters and plants being fruitful in the garden. The circle of life. Your quilt is perfect as usual, beautiful colors.

    ReplyDelete
  7. A beautiful and serene quilt that speaks of the beauty in your heart and soul, and the love that you as a couple share. Thank you for the detail information on how you created this piece. It helped me to see why the quilt evoked the feeling of piece and nurturing.

    ReplyDelete
  8. This is so beautiful and detailed - it is graceful and welcoming. you did such a perfect likeness. I am very interested in your 'digitally transfer' method; does that mean that you printed it onto fabric from your computer/printer? if so - what kind of printer do you use? does your paper feed from the top or pull from the bottom?

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thank you everyone for your kind remarks. Dee, I have an Epson ET 2650 inkjet printer and printed it onto VV200 thread count cotton fabric sheet paper (www.vvprints.com). Then I touched it up with fabric pencils to increase the details in the statue. Hope this helps.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. yes, thank you for the information here and the private email you sent.!

      Delete