Monday, September 8, 2008

Art is...and other progress

In the Fiber Art Traders group, we are making embellish felt leaves with inspiring messages to trade.



I first tried to needle felt some leaves with some orangish roving I had, but that turned out awful. I took the brown felt I had planned for backing and felted some baby camel wool onto the front. Loved the look, but since the brown felt is acrylic, the camel wool didn't stay attached. Thank goodness the silk yarn I sewed on for veins held most of it, and the beads and tag words helped.

My encouraging words are:
create/believe/achieve
art is/joy/beauty/life
be/creative/yourself
hope/create/believe

I think I like the "art is" group the best. I might have to do a series of pieces with those words.

The words are written on painted lutradur. It's a stiff but semi-sheer product with many uses. I wanted to see how it took paint from some paint pens I recently bought. It ended up a bit more opaque than I wanted. Next time I'll try thinned-down acrylics for a hint of color.



Another project I am working on is a quilt for my younger daughter to give her mother-in-law for Christmas. My daughter found a pattern online, then found some fabrics she liked. I ordered it all and this weekend, made a sample so they could see how it all worked. We (my daughter, son-in-law and I) agree that we like the dragonfly part, but not the borders. So, we've decided that an in-person meeting is needed to dig through my stash and see what we like best. I'll post another photo of what we decide!