3 New Pieces

"Just Another Parrotthead" 23 x 20" (c) Diane Hamburg

I just finished "Just Another Parrotthead" for my local Island Art Association's Nouveau Art Exhibit entitled "It's 5 o'clock somewhere."  My husband came up with the idea of using the parrot and a margarita.  I used Ellen Lindner's technique of double Reverse Applique!  Please go to Ellen's website to learn more about this very versatile technique.  I've fallen in love with it!

I created the following art pieces in June but forgot to photograph them before sending them off to FAN - Fiber Artists Network - my local fiber group.  We're completing our challenge to create fiber work for our 52 Pick up - really 54 cards are portrayed, including 2 jokers.  We'll be exhibiting the whole deck at Jacksonville, Florida's Quiltfest in September.  We're even making the deck into actual playing cards to sell!  Check FAN.

"3 of Clubs"  24 x 15.5" (c) Diane Hamburg

The background for the "3 of Clubs" was created using the wonderful mixed media techniques I learned from Valeria Goodwin during her workshop held in Florida this past June.  I will do this more and more.  It's such fun!   The turtle's were traced onto organza and fused down.

"4 of Spades" 14 x 15.5" (c) Diane Hamburg

The "4 of Spades" started with a dropcloth - painted and repainted in time as I worked on other printing projects.  I added some stenciling to unify the cloth and then used white paint as a light wash to tune it down.  The trees and grasses were appliqued on using fusible web.

I'm off to Europe for 3 weeks.  I hope to come back full of inspiration.  I know I'll come back eager to get back in my studio!  Bon Voyage!

Valerie Goodwin's Workshop

Last weekend I attended a workshop by Valerie Goodwin and created the above map piece.  Valerie had several templates printed out for us as well as the towers printed on fabric.  I'm not for one "doing a project" but I did have a great time.  The highlight of the whole weekend was Valerie's method of creating her background.  That in itself was worth the workshop fee.  I hope I can do justice to the process:  crinoline is used as the foundation (I've been using crinoline in my fabric portraits and love how it allows the finished quilt to be very flat with a straight edge) sew pieces of fabric down using the flip and sew method until the crinoline is covered - any fabric raw edges are machine or hand stitched down.  Next comes some fused pieces of transparent fabric like organza, which can be painted or dyed.  Then some painting - roughly and only in places.  That's the background.  I just love it.

So I came home and created the background to my "3 of Clubs" - oh, I know I did 3 turtles but they'll work for the playing card challenge of my fiber group FAN - Fiber Artists Network.  I followed Valerie's technique and added some stamping as well.

Also, one of the other members of FAN shared a technique of using fused transparent fabric like organza and tracing a motif (the tiny Pisa tower in the above piece and the turtles in this piece) and then fusing the motif to another fabric or to the background.  Cool!