Evening Walk - Auditioning Organza

 

Now that the block printing is done - it is time to put this up on the design wall and start auditioning the placement of the bushes.  I have many bushes screen printed onto natural silk organza.  These have already been treated to a Mistyfuse application on the back - so once I get the placement right - I can just fuse them in the chosen position.

Here, I am trying to decide whether to go with the bushes or the cottonwood grove. 

We will have a quiet New Years Eve with friends in Bridger.  We will probably play dominoes until midnight and we are staying overnight so we don't have to drive (only an hour) home with all the drunks on the road!

Block Printing on Gray

 So here it is with the block printing.  I have used opaque white Setacolor paints for the printing.
Above is a detail, below - the full piece.

Gray Collage

So, here's that gray collage!   I have been working up to doing it, but paving the way with a couple of smaller pieces.  This one is sort of a medium large size - about 50" wide.   The fabrics are all hand painted with Setacolor transparent fabric paints.  I put fusible web (Mistyfuse) on the back of all these fabrics and they are fused to the batting.  This makes a good smooth surface for printing.  The printing will be coming up next!

I just have to say - this working without color is a bit of a stretch for me.  I just don't do gray.  This is a first!

Block Printing over Gray

 I wanted to see how it would look if I overprinted the gray with blue and yellow.  I am thinking about Starry Night here - I guess it is obvious.  I just have to say that no matter how many times I do the block printing I am still always surprised by the way it completely transforms the piece.  I love the fact that this happens. . . . and especially that it is still possible to see the underlying fabric and any screen printing I may have done already.  I find this process really interesting, compelling me to continue with it.

A few yellow branches screen printed on - well, I am not crazy about the way the branches look here - they would have been better in white or very pale gray, I think - or even black.  Hmmmm.....this gives me something to ponder as I turn to a larger piece in gray.

Working with Gray

 

I am interested in continuing the Winter Walk series - but would like to shift from winter grass colors to an evening, dusky color.  That was the reason for the small piece I finished up on my December 23rd post - a trial for the idea I have in my head.  This is another trial before I begin working in a large size.  I did not have much in the way of gray fabric in the studio so I spent several days hand painting several yards of cotton sateen and raw silk with fabric paints.  I was able to tint each batch with another color, so some are sort of pinky, some more purple and another batch was tinted with blue.  I painted sort of an ombre so I would have lighter to darker shades of the same colors.  Above - I have fused some patches on a small piece of batting for my collage background.  Below - screen printing - this is all text I have written - my feelings about winter!

I created screens in various sizes using the same handwriting.

Big Sky Quilt Retreat Gig!

Hope you all had a great holiday!

I am thrilled to announce that I will be teaching at the upcoming Big Sky Quilt Retreat in Billings.  The dates are March 7, 8 and 9, 2013

Here is a link to the website  .http://www.bigskyquiltassociation.com/

Black Canyon of the Gunnison

 Travel Log Tuesday

North Vista Trail at Black Canyon of the Gunnison

Merry Christmas to everyone!  I am celebrating with my parents and siblings at my parent's ranch in Coffee Creek, Montana!

Surface Explorations Announcement!

I am so thrilled to announce my upcoming solo exhibition at Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum in Golden,  Colorado.

 The show is called, "Surface Explorations"

The dates are January 28 - April 27, 2013

The Opening Reception will be on Friday, February 1 at 5 PM

Merry Christmas Everyone!  We will be celebrating with family - our traditional Christmas eve meal of sushi!

Cottonwood Moon Quilted

It's finished!  It is so much fun to make a small piece like this that can be finished so quickly!

Cottonwood Moon

Here it is - Cottonwood trees printed!  I really like this little piece!

Block Printing Over the Moon

I first printed this fabric with text, but it fades out after the overprinting with block prints.  I carved a couple of new blocks inspired by the swirling sky of Van Gogh's "Starry Night"!

Fat Quarter Moon

 I wanted to play around a bit with the moon that I screen printed onto dark silk organza (and decided not to use in Winter Walk #4) so I pulled out this blue gray hand dyed fat quarter and fused it in place.  Next, I will cover the surface with block printing.

Winter Walk #4 Quilted and Bound

 I finished the machine quilting on this piece and it is bound with the fused and quilted binding.  I decided to save the moon and deer for another, smaller piece in which they will be more balanced.  I have to say I think this piece looks better in person than it does in the picture.  Not sure why - perhaps there is more light reflecting off the organza making it really stand out.  Quilting detail images below:

Black Canyon of the Gunnison - Painted Wall

 Travel Log Tuesday

The Painted Wall is one of the most dramatic viewpoints of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison.

It makes me think I need to make a quilt with these lines across the surface!  Insipiring!

Deer in the Bushes?

 

We've had a lot of deer hanging around our place lately.   I took this picture (above) through the window of my house.  This got me thinking about maybe there should be a buck or two hanging in the bushes.

Actually, there are three of them here.  Can you find them?  I am not sure they are going to stay.   I'll think about that for a while before I fuse.

Winter Walk Moon?

 Sort of impulsively - I decide to try adding a moon to see if it helps to have an obvious focal point.

I have a little trouble finding a place for the moon that I really like.  This last one is my preference at this point.  But is it too distracting?  Too bold among the delicate bushes and the printing?  Possibly.

Auditioning Bush Arrangement

I've been playing around with the arrangement of the bushes on this piece.  Here is one of the  arrangements that I think has a nice flow and depth.

Winter Walk #4 Printing Done

Done with the printing now.  This piece measures about 70" x  48".

Block Printing Winter Walk #4

 Here is the piece on my print table.  There isn't room for it on the 3' x 4' table so it has to hang off and I move it around to do the printing.  This means I have to have my idea firmly in place before I begin. Detail below:

First Layer - Screen Printing Text

 Here are some details of the first round of screen printing.  I used dark brown / black screen printing ink on the bronze hand dyed section

 On the pale winter grass background, I have printed with gold and white - mixing them on the palette to get a range of shades.

 I am happy with this so far. 

Black Canyon of the Gunnison

 Travel Log Tuesday

 More images from our visit to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison in Colorado.

We visited last June (2012).

 We walked down every trail in the park to take advantage of every view.

Winter Walk #4 Collage

For this piece, I have added Mistyfuse to the back of my fabrics.  These are cut up randomly and arranged on the batting - then fused in place.  This creates a nice smooth background for my printing.

This is a bit of deviation from my usual approach.  I usually do the collage background by attaching the fabric pieces to a fusible batting - which results in loose edges where the fabrics overlap.  I have been doing a free motion zig zag around the fabric pieces to attach them more firmly, but this results in an irregular surface for printing and the prints can turn out kind of wonky in the recessed areas where there is stitching. I get blobs of paint where excess bleeds through the Thermofax screen.

I have been reluctant to pre-fuse all my fabrics on account of the huge amount of Mistyfuse it takes.  I don't know yet if it is worth it - but at this point, I am appreciating the nice smooth surface I have for printing!