I had a sample of my original Oak and Birch photograph printed some time ago. While I waited for the large piece to arrive, I decided to start working it up. The colours are just what we need at this rather dull time of year.
I will take photographs tomorrow of the dynamic piece that arrived today!
Meantime, here is the original photograph.
The second piece in the Decew Series is a little different in perspective. It is a view straight on looking through the fall trees onto the back view of the old Morningstar Mill and waterfall. When out taking these shots, this view reminded me of Tom Thomson’s hypnotic work from 1914-15 titled Northern River. It has always held a spell-binding hypnosis for me and something quite spiritual.
When I received the printed version I found it to be a fair bit darker than the original photograph. However, the challenge will be to bring up what is important and leave other areas in a silhouette. Aquarelle’s have been invaluable for this purpose. Darker areas can be enhanced with charcoal to create even more depth. These photos taken with my cell phone for the purpose of blogging, are overexposed. I will try different lighting to bring out the richer tones of the actual piece.
The piece itself is quite fiddly. However, once I begin a section I do find it quite mesmerising to work on and am actually well into the piece now. I must think about the overall effect and how each of these smaller sections will eventually be part of the whole.
November 1, 2017
Although I have now completed the quilting of the this quilt, I will post more of the work and the finishing steps. There was a great deal of detail in this quilt that I had not realised/admitted to myself before starting into the work. However, it became very compelling and beckoned me each day. We call this “mapping” when venturing into something there is more to discover at each turn.
I am now at the point where the tree trunks must be backed to hold their vertical form. I found heavy felt that I’m hoping will provide this support. Select leaves also require filling to add more dimension. The final photograph in this series shows how the pull in tension, especially in the fine work of the background, has created an unevenness – not something that is uncommon.
The top was now complete and had to be corrected in size. The stabilizing cotton that I use for the backing was measured and a rectangle to the exact finished dimension drawn on its surface. The quilt was pinned down and carefully stitched to the drawn line. The work required a fair amount of stabilizing to hold the surface without rippling. I was pleased with the end result.
A few things were still bothering me about the darkness of the foliage, especially on the left side. I used “bleach,” yes, that drastic stuff, to lighten some of the bottom leaves. It went a little too light in a couple of areas, which meant using my aquarelle pencils to add colour back. After some time, I finally found what I was looking for and was glad I had made this correction.
The quilt now waits for its finishing border. I have two shades of gold that I will stitch together to create a fairly narrow border that will complement the golds and help lighten the overall effect.
Last fall I took a journey into the Decew Falls conservation area, close to my home in Pelham. My objective was to capture suitable imagery for my new-found passion for sculptural quilting. Line, shape, colour, texture, light and ultimately form served as inspiration in this piece. I have for the last year been searching for a printing company who could accurately render my photographs on quilting fabric with no limit to size and at a reasonable cost. This spring I found such a company “Design Your Fabric” located in Mississauga that I cannot speak more highly of. I would recommend them to anyone interested in this pursuit.
I worked up a small 8 x 8 inch sample of one image to see how the end result would look and was pleased enough to go BIG – 80 x 110 inches.
I was excited by the prospects of beginning work on this image, although slightly overwhelmed by the size and time it would take – still, no longer than some of my former projects. I estimate around 50 hours to complete.
As with other quilting projects, the subject necessarily dictates the technique. The photo itself is ambiguous to read. It is heavy with shadows and light, thus creating projections of shapes and colours. This is what I particularly liked about this photo.
My aim is to project to the viewer the texture and dimension of the image. I began here with the sumac leaves aiming to create the feel of the slightly jagged edges. At times a straight running stitch for outlining is all that the image requires. Working up the branches, especially the heavier ones requires some form of trapunto (back stuffing) technique – whether without stuffing or with some degree of rigidity. My earlier attempts at giving these branches a rigid form were not satisfactory which sent me to my reserve of fabrics. I found a piece of old ironing board underlay which did the trick – never throw anything away! Deciding what to leave unquilted for a distant background effect was also an aspect of the decision making. I am presently working on my first sumac bud. I always find this type of texturing a lot of fun. I call it my free-form smocking technique.
I am now just over 3 weeks into the project and thinking ahead to the next quilt and further pieces. My aim is to complete 20 quilts. My thinking is evolving as I see this dynamic of colour and form in nature and perhaps the way in which we see it juxtaposed against a human made landscape. This part I will keep hidden for a while yet.
The process of creating a raised surface continues from one area to another, dictating the technique that will provide the texture and profile that I feel will most compliment the photograph. I don’t know why I feel this necessity to take the illusion of 3-D into the ream of the “real.” I have challenged this concept before asking the question “what is real?” I am moreover mesmerised by the process and am completely transported when engaged, this despite the neck cramps and worse. I try to get up and move periodically and try not to work more than 5-6 hours a day at the same task.
The final stage involves cutting and pinning the surface area, which is now fairly warped, to a background which is exactly rectangular to the narrowest measurement horizontally and vertically. The extra surface area is pinned down to create more dimension. Areas such as the feature sumac are back padded to add the amount of height/dimension that looks right. There is a lot of perspective correction and decision involved here until all comes together in a way that looks natural and pleases the eye. The completed surface is now sewn down by hand in just enough places to hold firmly. The perimeter is sewn down exactly along a drawn line. I must admit that I am quite fussy about the exactness of measurements and angles of the corners. I expect the viewer to appreciate the work itself and not be distracted by skewed borders.
At this point I am leaving the work for a while to start my next project, but have purchased a lovely heritage blue that works with the sky to create a fairly narrow border that extends the sky background of the quilt. I will post when that is completed.