Latest Fabric Portrait

Sweetie 22x17 in



My latest fabric portrait.  This one of my granddaughter, Brenna.  Her momma and brother call her "Sweetie" and she is a sweetie!  I've entered the portrait in exhibit "Portraits and Figures" at the St Augustine Art Association.  I used double reverse applique method taught by Ellen Lindner.

Logger

Logger 18 x 24"  $240

I just completed "Logger."  I fell back on Ellen Lindner's double reverse applique method for the sea turtle.  The rocks, coral and jellies were regular raw edged applique.  I'm hoping this will get excepted in an art exhibit at St. Augustine Art Association - Florida Wildlife.  I'll report later this summer..

I'm still hand stitching - the name "slow cloth" is quite appropriate.  How I love the in and out of thread and needle.

Apples

"Oh, Delicious" © Diane Hamburg 12x16"

"Une Pomme" © Diane Hamburg 12x12"

Our local theater, Amelia Community Theatre, is performing "God's Favorite" in August.  Hopefully the above pieces are accepted for their lobby art exhibit.  The theme is "Temptation."  I got the idea of Adam and Eve in my head and couldn't veer from it no matter how hard I tried.  I really didn't want to do people so settled on the apple.  Both are done using Ellen Lindner's technique double reverse applique for the hand and apples.  For the background I adopted the look from my fiber friend, Mary Rhopa.  I took that tree workshop from her last week.  Many of her backgrounds are small pieces of different fabrics.  I decided to use rectangles but I've used organic shapes before.  Viewing Mary's quilts brought me back to my stash of commercially printed fabrics.

Low Tide

"Low Tide"  12 x 12" created by Diane Hamburg $150

"Low Tide" detail.

www.fanfarejax.blogspot.com (please visit this blog to see what the others have created) is the blog that 19 fiber artists of Jacksonville, FL is sharing their art pieces of different themes.  The first theme was "Free to Play."  I choose to use an image of my grandson Max, playing freely on the beach.  He had a great time!  And this grandma, Granny, had a great time watching him explore the place she holds quite dear.  I used my standby technique of Ellen Lindner - double reverse applique.  I worked harder with the background which was quite enjoyable.  I'm pleased with the result and plan on developing more images of Max at the beach in the near future.

Oh, it's been way to long

Why, oh, why was it so hard to get back to blogging??????  I have been working in the studio, even taking images........

I plan on blogging frequently in the next few days in order to catch up.

Today's entry is all about being accepted by my local theater - Amelia Community Theater.  Each time there is a wonderful new play performed by local actors an art exhibit is shown in the lobby.  I've been slow to enter but enter I did this time.  The play is "In the Woods"  and the theme of the exhibit is "Forests and Fairy Tales."  I entered three very different pieces and to my delight, all 3 were accepted.  So now you get to see them.

Walking in the Mountains, 31 x 22", $250 created by Diane Hamburg

Can't See the Forest, 20 x 28"  $280, created by Diane Hamburg

Can't see the Forest detail

Trees, 10 x10"  $75, created by Diane Hamburg

The first is a piece I created a couple years back.  The background is raw-edged applique using a variety of fabrics.  I was going for an abstract view of tree trunks.  The floating leaves were the result of hand printing real leaves and then fusing them to the background.  And, of course, there's lots of machine quilting.

"Can't see the Forest" was just created beginning with a manipulated photograph (using Photoshop Elements) and intrepreting it with fabrics and the double reverse applique method of Ellen Lindner.  Extensive machine quilting finished the piece.

The last is a small piece using the monotype technique - on cloth - with a tree paper applique on top and machine quilting.  This one is mounted on a canvas wrapped frame.

I'll be going to the play later this month and plan to take a picture of the show.

Another Fabric Portrait



One Plus One Equals Three by Diane Hamburg

This fabric portrait is one of my daughter, Kara, and her husband, Matt.  The photo was taken by a friend of Kara's while Kara was waiting for baby Max to enter the family.  The faces were done using Ellen Lindner's technique Double Reverse Applique.  The background was the challenge!  The show this was made for is entitled "Split Complements."  I had to design a background using the split complementary colors of the blue dyed fabrics I used for the faces.  After several tries, I ended up with a mixed media background - I collaged old book pages using matt medium and heat adhered painted silk organza on top of a dyed blue fabric that was painted using a stencil and Shiva oilsticks.  I'm pleased with my efforts.

And I am pleased to have received an Honorable Mention for this at my local Island Art Association's Nouveau Art Exhibit.

The Wee Fella

"The Wee Fella" is a fabric portrait of Max, my grandson.   The piece is 23" x 24."  He's one adorable baby, if I say so myself.  Same technique as in my other portraits.  I used my own hand dyed fabric.

Latest Piece of Art

"Kentucky Rose"  23 x 26"  using the double raw applique technique of Ellen Lindner's.  I sure enjoy this method of reproducing an abstract of a photograph.

Queen of Hearts Done!

                         

The Queen of Hearts is completed. I had a deadline in mind as I will be out of town when it is really due.  My fiber group is beginning a Playing Card Challenge.  I've completed the Ace of Clubs as well.  I'll get that image up shortly.   The image below is a work in progress.  I wasn't getting the values correct and almost trashed it.  Once again my fiber friends in FAN - Fiber Artists Networks, Jacksonville, FL spurred me on to work on the values more.  So, I'm still working on it.  The lips and eyes need more attention plus more hair elements are in the works.  My model, darling daughter is quite a beauty.  I don't want her portrait anything but beautiful.  Again for both these portraits, I've used Ellen Lindner's applique technique.

             

Work in Progress

New work

I almost gave up on this self- portrait as the materials I used were very thick and I kept breaking my needles while machine quilting.  A fiber friend suggested a larger jean needle and voila - it's done.  I'm not really crazy about it up close but do like the view from a distance.  Obviously I need to work on the portrait thing some more.

This is my other adorable grand dog, Baxter.  My son-in-law took this picture which I just had to use Ellen Lindner's technique on.  A technique that is perfect for hairy dogs.  This one is 22 x 30" in size.  Makes a statement.