ADINKRAHENE

Adinkrahene is one of the many Adinkra symbols from Ashanti region in Ghana.  All the symbols have meaning.  This is a symbol of greatness, charisma and leadership - not that it applies to me!  It is one of the most important Adinkra symbols and apparently the basis for many others.  I have, of course, used it as it suits my circles theme.  But it also fills another need - of wanting to make some pieces based on Adinkra symbols. The three circles at the bottom have been stamped using a traditional calabash Adinkra stamp.

Magie

 

Bamboo III

One of my goals for my art quilting this year is to use color to add depth and perspective.  I believe this piece accomplishes that quite well.  I challenged myself to make this quilt using fabrics that I don't normally use in large quantities.  I used silk and polyester taffeta.  The "sky" piece behind the bamboo leaves is my own hand painted silk and the moon is my own photograph printed on silk (I love that moon photograph and use it often). It is interesting that I was finishing this piece during the most recent "super moon". 

I very much enjoyed working with the silk fabrics.  The taffeta, while gorgeous and shiny, was difficult to work with.  I'm glad I didn't try to make the entire quilt from taffeta, although I can see how it would make a fascinating whole-cloth quilt.  It really picks up dimension from machine quilting.

The "Bamboo Series" is revealing itself to me as a series about daydreams.  As I design these pieces, I realize how much that little bamboo plant has been a conduit for my creative thoughts and how much time I spend gazing through it at the scene outside my window and at the scenes developing inside my head!

Being a member of this talented Voyage group has been one of the best things that could have happened to me as an art quilter.  I am forced to get the ideas out of my head and into the tangible form of the art quilt.  Seeing the work of each artist is inspiring and leaves me awe-struck.  We are really beginning to gain insight into each others creative minds and lives!

Frances

Peeling Birch

Well, I think this gets me caught up in Voyage believe it or not!

The third in my Up Close and Personal series...."Peeling Birch."  As usual, it is shown below alongside its photo inspiration.  It does have a bit of a 3-D feature. I used heavy duty aluminum foil between two colors of hand-dyed fabrics to give structure to the peeling bark part.  Fun and interesting to work with! But in this case...I think it accomplished its purpose!

Peeling Birch

replacement

Done at last! When I met Jean and Shoshi in Eindhoven earlier this year, we agreed that we could replace one or more of the quilts made for the first series. I decided to replace the sentinel because it did not feel like a 100 per cent me-quilt. I loved working with Dijanne's image, but her work is so recognizable and so much who she is, that it just did not feel right to submit that as my own. So, I came up with something else close to my heart :

 

Just like the miner that I used in my Egoli-quilt, this Khoi-lady has been sitting at my side for a long time. She has got such a look of patience and something timeless about her. Here is a detail:



Weathered Red Door

I know I'm behind but I'm catching up!!

This is supposed to be the third in the Up Close and Personal pieces inspired by several of my own macro photos.  But I had to dye some extra fabric for the second one so it will be done probably tomorrow and posted on Sunday or Monday.

This is from another photo I took in a small town in Texas on a trip there. I LOVE peeling paint and old buildings and doors and this just fit all of those. It is from an old store front but the premises were empty at the time we were there. Wish I could have found a date on the building or something but all I know is...it was very old.

The door is from a breakdown screen print I had done at least a year ago. Found it interesting how much it looked like the weathered red door without a whole lot of altering!! I cut out portions so the black could show through when appliqued. I also used acrylic paints and Shiva paint sticks to get just the right look.  The "grate" in front of the door is some silver mesh.  It was way too shiny for this old door so I painted it with a charcoal gray acrylic.  I love the way it turned out.  So....here it is....along with it's inspiration photo.

Weathered Red Door

Circles on the edge.

Circles don't have straight edges so I have arranged these as close to the edge of the size for this year as possible. I still like the idea of dangly bits so decided not to fill the centre but leave just a trail of circles passing through. I assembled the piece as quilt as you go in a rectangle then trimmed out the 'spaces' in the centre. Then added more machine quilting. Once again I have used fabrics all ftrom my stash, this time choosing primary colours. I got stuck when the structure worked and colours weren't enough. Thanks to Esther in Jo'burg for the black and white idea! Alison

I like to make my Journal Quilts and Voyage Quilts inspired by places I have been, so that they have special memories for me. Dijanne and I were exhibiting our work at Beaujolais in France in April. I had a day after the Show in Lyon and visited the Textiles Museum and the Silk Museum.

The design for my quilt is based on the Eighteenth Century French Silk designs that Lyon is famous for. The spots are for the jacquard cards, the numbers are taken from the printing trays and the curly printing to represent the iron work of the balconys. It is made of laminated paper that looks like a fabric.

The quilting grid is taken from the drawings / design work. I always start my quilts by doing some drawings 

A Quilter's Toolbox

A Quilter's Toolbox

I have long admired the work of Sara Impey and wanted to try out her technique. It required some accurate measuring to keep to our correct size and some accurate free motion quilting as well.

Thanks to Laura Wasilowski for the background material and to Sara Impey for the inspiration.

Voyager.. 2nd piece.

This piece is about  Balance  in life and in Nature.

In the quilting I have written some of the elements that help us to obtain a healthy balance in life.(and some that apply to nature)

Balance,           Stability,     Mental,       Emotional.     Love,      Proportions,    

Elements,         Regulate,    Weight,       Opinions,       Emotions,  life,

Health,              Temperature,                 Health,            Exercise ,    Work,

Play,                  Fresh Air,                     Stimulation,      Creativity,   Harmony.

Trust.

Hi all,
Sorry it has taken so long to get the second piece done and posted!!!!!
This piece is all about Balance.... In life and in Nature..
Love
Margie

Sent from my iPad