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)

In the Studio~2012 in Review

It has been a busy time this week in the studio (and office) after the holidays ended.                     And, the New Year has officially begun!

***2013***

River...Flows
Life as a River~

WordPress sends a Year in Review blog report at the end of December.  In it they list the most-viewed posts during the year. I love to see what was of interest to the most people. If you missed them and would like to view them now, they are listed below–with links to the posts.

Batik Cotton
Artist’s Materials

Top 5 Posts for 2012

1 Living Life Using Creativity [from November 2011]

2 Quote…Life as a River [from May 2011]

3 Tuesday…In the Studio–“An Artist’s Response to Materials”  [from May 2011]

4 Thursday In the Studio–The Final Stages…  [from August 2011] 

5 In the Studio~Child’s Play [from April 2012]

Playtime Games, (c) 2012, Joni Beach.
Playtime Games, (c) 2012 Joni Beach.

Thank-you to all my readers this year~ to everyone who commented, liked a post, or began following! You have made this an enjoyable experience and I appreciate your visits…

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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*If you have a favorite post not on the Top 5 list, I would love to hear what it is…! 🙂