Fast Start ... Slow Finish

Finally completed my series "Forces of Nature" for the Voyage 2015 Abstracted Nature theme. I had the first three completed by March 2015. But after a move to another state, this final one which was already started was nowhere to be found! Finally it showed up when searching for something else and I was able to finish my original vision for this piece.

For this piece I chose several circular motifs from my won surfaced designed stash. Some are stamped, some are resists and some are sunprinted. I felt they provided the continuity of the circular motion of the hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico. As a native Texan...this is not a stretch for a concept in this series! The "land" fabric is a pounded fabric which I felt had the beautiful look of a topographic map.

The hurricanes are unstoppable and often seem to have a mind of their own. Just when we think we know
the direction they will take and where landfall will be...it can change and head along a totally different path. Sometimes that is for the better but other times that change can cause widespread destruction. This lack of predictability is why I chose the title "Winds of Change"

WINDS  OF  CHANGE

Now to take a deep breath and start on 2016 Voyage!

Nature Abstracted

Talk about cutting it close!!
Only a few hours to go but I did it, finally got my last three pieces finished and ready to post.
Don't know where the year has gone!

Number two is "Cloud Monsters".
The central image was played with in Photoshop and transferred to fabric using a medium called "Image Maker". The border is hand marbled fabric, an ancient craft that I love to use on fabric.

The theme "Abstracted Nature" is wonderful, I adore the patterns found in nature. I think we have probably all watched clouds passing and seen all sorts of crazy animals and images flow across the sky!

And here's a detail:

Number three is "Momento Mori 1"

Here I'm back to the use of skulls, this one is created using images from nature, combined to make the skull shape. The images are again a photo transfer technique, a new one that I've been playing with quiet a lot lately. The quilting was done onto white fabric and then painted with intense blocks to add the colour.

and here's a detail:

"Momento Mori is latin for "remember we all must die", and was a medieval theory and practice of reflecting on mortality, especially as a means of considering the vanity of earthy life and the transient nature of all earthy goods and pursuits".

Skull imagery fascinates me and reminds me to appreciate what I have and make the most of my time.

And the final piece is "Momento Mori 2"

and the close up

Now that these are done I can get working on next years, one of which is started! 

Three Done - One to go

I completed the third piece for my series entitled "Forces of Nature" for the Voyage group.

This piece is entitled "Danger Below" and it is an iceberg. Again, these are all my own hand-dyed and surface designed fabrics. The exception is the top layer of the iceberg above water. That is a random, loosely woven piece given to me by a friend.  I think it makes the perfect iceberg!!

DANGER  BELOW

The fourth and final piece for Voyage this year is started. Plan is to have it completed before I go to Duluth for the Minnesota Quilters Association annual Quilt Show 2015.  More about that later!

Paula Rafferty first A2 Quilt of 2015

Thrilled to be a member of the group and delighted to be able to show the first of four A4 quilts for the "Abstracted Nature" theme.
Feel like I'm cheating a little as I already had this started for another project but decided to use it for this group.

This is an image of the earth from the air, played with in photoshop and printed on a large format printer.
I love the secondary images that are created when the original is flipped and repeated.
I see all sorts of crazy stuff in it so didn't want to quilt to densely to allow the viewer to explore some of the patterns and shapes.

Hope someone else can see the crazy faces or I'm in real trouble!!

Heres a close up;

For the next one I'm using cloud formations.

Forces of Nature

I have chosen Forces of Nature as the title of the series I'll be doing for 2015 Voyage Abstracted Nature. They are meant to depict 4 of the powerful forces of nature.

The first two have been completed.

"Over the Edge"

Lava Flow

"Fire in the Desert"

Lightening