Challah Collaboration

 

I am working in collaboration with our local Hillel and PassionWorks artists, on some Challah covers for show and sale May 5th.  Students worked with PassionWorks artists to create colorful, unique challah covers, and then they were turned over to me to enhance with stitching and to finish up.  Each piece is one of a kind.  They all measure approximately 22” x 22”, so they can cover a lot of challah.

Here is the first one that I’ve finished.

You can see how pretty the colors are.  Each piece is different, but all are colorful and fun.  I stitched the outlines using Kreinik gold machine embroidery thread.

You can see the detail here.  Once this was done, I had to figure out how to finish the edges of the burlap.

Here is a picture of  basting stitches I put in as a sewing guide for the stay stitch and decorative cording.

I zigzagged over the basting stitch to keep the burlap from unravelling.

Then I zigzagged some Kreinik #16 braid over the zigzags, to add extra sparkle.  You can see where I also did that on the edge of the painting.

Here’s the finished piece.  I’m really happy with how it turned out.

Now to do this at least 28 more times!

From Start to Finish

Sometimes art takes a long time to be created.  I drew this bird of paradise twenty years ago while finishing my undergraduate degree.  It is soft pastel on Mi-Tientes paper.  I still can remember the piles of pastel dust that formed on the easel as I worked.  Having a toddler at the time, I was concerned about her safety, and so the pastels went away.

Two months ago, while cleaning in the studio, I came across the original drawing, as well as some photographs I’d taken of it at the time.  Since I’ve been working with machine embroidery on photo transfer, I decided to revisit the image.

 

I printed out the picture onto Avery transfer paper, after flipping it in my paint program so that it was a mirror image.  I ironed it onto some white twill that I got at Dharma Trading Company, and backed that with several sheets of interfacing designed for machine embroidery.  Here you can see the piece in process.

The piece, stitching complete.

 

A detail of the stitching.  You really can see the bird in the flower in this segment. 

I chose to finish this piece differently than the small water tower pieces, and chose some fabric from my stash to sew borders onto the piece.  Then  I stretched that over a 12” x 14” pre-stretched canvas I bought at Dick Blick.  I preferred to use a pre-stretched canvas because the fabric on the piece would be protected from any acids in the stretcher bars.  If I used plain stretcher bars I would seal them first.

 

The finished piece, available in my Etsy shop. 

I once told a friend that time is never wasted making something we love.  This certainly was true for this piece.  Even though I never exhibited the original, it still makes me happy to see it and has inspired several pieces over the years.

Friday Flowers

One subject which often appears in artwork is the humble flower.  From the old Dutch masters to Georgia O’Keeffe and more, many artists have  chosen to recreate flowers in paint, clay and fabric.

Over the past twenty years I have created many floral pieces as well.  here is a small sampling.

 Anthurium 1989  Acrylic on canvas.  30” x 40”

Flowers for Keiko 2004  7” x 9”  Machine embroidery, machine quilted.

Flowers for Angie 2006  24” x 18”  Hand quilted, machine quilted, embellished with beads, sequins and mirrors.

Tulip Time 2010 6” x 6”  Machine applique.

August 2002 Journal Quilt Project, handmade felt, machine embroidery, 3D appliques, shisha mirror embroidery.

Hollyhock Journal Page 2009  11” x 8.5”  India ink, watercolor, paint pen and found quote

Floral Medley 2010  24” x 40” Applique, found objects, machine embroidery, machine quilted.

Bird of Paradise 1989 22” x 30”  Dry pastel on paper.  This image is reversed from the original so that I could make a photo transfer with it.

Bird of Paradise II (Study in Orange and Green) 2011 8.5” x 11” Machine embroidery on cotton twill. 

No matter how many times I revisit floral imagery, I always find something new to marvel at.  Do you have any favorite subjects that you return to again and again?