Morning Tea and Healing Doll

 "Morning Tea" is my entry for the Nouveau Art exhibit entitled "Everyday Stuff" being held by my local Island Art Association.  Last minute is NOT the way to go.  I enjoy my tea each and every morning using an old teapot my old nursing school roommate gave my eons ago.  I thought of that teapot as soon as I read about the theme.  The background is a not-so-great deconstructive screen print I attempted with my sister.  I tore it in strips and did some weaving.  I rather like the effect.  Lesson: never give up on something.  I photographed my teapot and used the outline to stitch upon an old tea towel I embroidered as a little girl.  Just love it.  All stitched down, stretched on stretcher bars, photographed, then realized the teapot melts into the background.  If I had more time, I would have taken it apart and machine stitch or something to bring out the teapot.   Since time ran out, I handstitched around the edge - better, but not great.  Oh well.  Lesson: spend more time in the design!

The next project was a healing doll for a friend of mine just diagnosed with breast cancer.  The whole poem or rather a song of "Deep Peace" is quite moving.  I'll post the source later.  Hope the words I chose and the doll itself bring comfort and peace to this dear friend.

  

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.

New Work - Wandjina Revisited

Detail of Wandjina Revisited before completion

 I meant to post photos in process - failed.  Here is some - I discharged - taking the color out of the black fabric using a product called Decolourant- applied wet, ironed when dry.  I used plain - the white marks.  Then I used the copper.  There is no change in the hand of the fabric - no stiffness. 

The next image is the body - I used Decolourant - producing the white.   The curved design was created using the Decolourant on the gelli plate.  How I love monoprinting with this plate!  The black with the rust like color was discharged using a bleach scrub.  This is the same black fabric.  I love the rusty look but bleach is caustic.


Wandjina Revisited - body before quilting and appliques

Wandjina Revisited 47x20" 

 I thought I'd show you the quilting.  Once turned, and ironed, I did more stitching to attach all the layers.

Quilting completed, before attaching front to backing

I was inspired by the petroglyphs of Kimberely, Australia.  Check this site for the history.  http://poleshift.ning.com/profiles/blogs/wandjina-rock-art-kimberley-au  

Studio Work Plus Gallery Opening

Here are some of the note cards completed.  How I just love to print leaves.  I can get into such a relaxed, meditative state printing nature.  The feel of the leaves are I press and rub them to transfer the paint onto the paper/fabric is soothing.  I printed the back of the envelops as well.

 I drove to St. Augustine - 1.5 hours- for the opening of the Fiber Art Gallery, a part of Butterfield Garage Art Gallery.  Lots of folks came and enjoyed an evening of art and refreshments.  Here is some of my work on display.  Most of the "fiber Art" is wearables.  The room looks very nice.

 I played with paint, leaves and the gelli plate on paper and fabric.  I'm working on layering.  This is one of my favorites.  I'll put more up later.

During Wimbledon Tennis matches and tour de France, I've been working through these two books - folding books.  A rediscovered love as you know from previous posts.  I'll be doing some stitch bindings soon. 

Do back soon.  Thanks for visiting.



I'm published!

Was I ever thrilled to received "The Natural World" by Martha Seilman yesterday in the mail.  And on page 53 is my "Beach Combers."  The book is fabulous and I am honored to be a part of it.  Thank you, Martha!

Beach Combers, 21" x 27"" by Diane Hamburg

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.

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!

New Work

"Silent Charlie", 24 x 12" on stretcher bars, was a last minute piece I've created for the latest Nouveau Art show at my local Island Art Association. The theme is "Art at the Movies." For some odd reason, Charlie Chaplin just got stuck in my mind, so I gave me and created this piece. Fun to do! "Amelia's Heron", 22 x 14" on stretcher bars, was created using my own image of the heron that visits the beach where I walk. He always brings a smile to my face. Ever so graceful in his search for his meal.

I have a sea gull in the making. The gull is fused, so all I have to do is create the watery background.