A Different Perspective

After a snowy weekend I am back in the studio. Winter has really shown itself this year and we are digging out of 17″ of snow. Though, it is beautiful while it falls and white snow brightens the gray days.

Today’s photo is of the piece, A Different Perspective. I loved creating this design…A photo that I took in a backyard garden was the inspiration. I loved the vivid colors and the composition of the small flower as seen from the bottom. I thought the unusual design it had from this angle gave a different perspective, or view, from how we normally look at flowers. And of course, what could brighten a February day better than this!?

A Different Perspective, rayon on cotton. 45" x  45",   © 2014 Joni Beach. Pieced, free-motion quilting. applique, threadsketching.($2000)
A Different Perspective, 45″ x 45″, rayon on cotton , © 2014 Joni Beach. Pieced, free-motion quilting. applique, thread=sketching.

The photo was enlarged and a size was selected. I used the copy as a guide to make the individual pieces and assembled the flower on batting. This was shown in an earlier post...See Here! A glue stick was used to “tack” the design together. This allows for moving pieces and making changes as I work. After the basic flower was formed, details were added and layered on top.

The background was then placed around the central design. Extensive thread-sketching was used to finish the raw edges and bring out the sections of the flower. Thread-painting was then used to add contouring and shading. I used dense-stitch quilting using free-motion techniques on the background, which gives dimension and accents the flower. A facing was added to finish the edges and a hanging sleeve was added to the back. I try to remember to always sign and date the wall-hanging in thread, using free-motion quilting!

You can see this and other art quilts in my website’s Art Gallery!

Available Artwork May Be Purchased Through: Eucalyptus Massage Center Gallery.

Visions of Spain

Visions of Spain is a new series I began this summer, which are expressions inspired by the amazing country of Spain. Its sights, sounds, art, history, vistas, food, and music…In this piece, The Present Through the Past, one looks through an arch of a Roman Aqueduct and gets a view of the wonderful city of Segovia with the snow-covered mountains in the background.

The Present Through the Past (Roman Aqueduct, Segovia), rayon and cotton on cotton.  © 2014 Joni Beach. Applique, threadpainting, free-motion quilting. ($975)
The Present Through the Past (Roman Aqueduct, Segovia), rayon and cotton on cotton. © 2014 Joni Beach. Applique, thread-painting, free-motion quilting.

On this piece I enlarged one of my photos and printed it in black and white in a few different sizes. Sketching the desired size onto interfacing to use as a guide, I used 3 photos as inspirations and to compose the design. Here is a picture as I began to cut and place the pieces of the center scene. 

PiecingSegovia

After the center was pieced and some of the details were thread-painted, I began cutting and placing the stones, surrounding the middle.

StonesForSegovia

I experimented and improvised to discover what the materials would do and which fabrics would give shading, depth, and the look I wanted. 

photo

 After the arch was pieced, it was put in place on the interfacing around the Segovia scene. Additional free-motion thread-painting and  quilting added to the texture and gave the scene more details and dimension. I added a facing to finish the edges and liked the results for this wall-hanging.

See this piece and others in this series, Visions of Spain, in my website Art Gallery!

Available Artwork May Be Purchased Through: Eucalyptus Massage Center Gallery

New Art~ Lifeweaving #3

Lifeweaving #3: 9 Stages of Life has been in process for a long time and finally it is the key piece in an exhibit, Lifeweavings: A Creative Journey! 

It was so exciting to finish this piece because it has so many layers of meaning for me. Inspired by books by Joan Anderson (A Walk on the Beach and others) and Joan Erickson’s 9th stage of life, this is the 3rd Lifeweaving in a series entitled, Transitions.

Lifeweaving #3: 9 Stages of Life,  59" x 45", rayon and metallic on cotton. Woven fabric strips, machine and free-motion quilting. (c) 2014 Joni Beach. ($2400)
Lifeweaving #3: 9 Stages of Life, 59″ x 45″, rayon and metallic on cotton. Woven fabric strips, machine and free-motion quilting. (c) 2014 Joni Beach.

In earlier posts, you have seen its beginnings when I first wove the strips of fabric together. Recently the quilting to hold it all together was completed. I decided to use a small zigzag to join the strips and stabilize the piece. Because of the raw edges I found a double row of stitching worked much better. 

When it came time to quilt more lines of color through each section, I had to quilt sideways from left to right in order to  write the words using free-motion. Adding the words as quilted line provided an additional layer of meaning…

The words are the strengths and traits people can gain at each stage of life, from infancy through very old adulthood. For example, in stage 1 , trust and hope. It was interesting how in the process of creating, I had time to consider each stage, my experiences, and what I feel I’ve gain along the way through-out my life…Where am I located on the wall hanging? In the middle? Near the top? At the bottom?

People at the exhibit’s opening on Friday enjoyed viewing Lifeweavings #3 and had fun trying to find the words that were in each section. It will be on exhibit through March 31st and available at Eucalyptus Massage Center Gallery. Please visit my website Art Gallery to view other pieces in the Transitions series!

Related Posts:

Thursday in the Studio–The Final Stages (jonibeach.com)

Life Transitions and Life Completion: Joan Erikson’s 9th Stage of Pyschosocial Development  (lifetransitionslifecompletion.blogspot.com)

Joan Anderson–A Walk on the Beach  (joanandersononline.com)