Sunday, October 15, 2006

Spawning Salmon River Run

Measures 8.5 x 11 and is done horizontally as opposed to vertical as were the Journal Quilts.

Here on Vancouver Island and its Salmon Capital, the early morning mist slowly rises, revealing nature's annual phenomena... the spawning salmon river run. The fish come in here from the Sal Water and wait for the tides to rise and up the river they go. A feasting time for the birds, particularly the carrion bords, crows and seagulls.
I tried to depict all this using silk organza[the mist], painted fish [Koi in this case... loosly called salmon]a silk leaf [ depcting the alling leaves] and beads together with metallic thread to reflect the water and the moist air as the mist rises.
Additionally, I have placed a crow feather [black] at the top and a gull feather [white] at the bottom. A hapless star fish waits, too, for the rising tide, but for other reasons.
I know the sizes are not porportionate to each other and this was deliberate.
I look forward to your comments. Posted by Picasa

2 comments:

Cynthia Ann Morgan said...

Hi Carole,
Clever piece and I like your statement about it explaining the elements. The background looks like leaf-strewn water parted just enough to see the fish below. A couple things come to mind to consider:
Would the fish area be more dramatic/eyecatching if there was more contrast between the fish and the water?

Would it look more unified if backgrounds were a similiar temperature (the green leafy fabric is warm and the blue water fabric is cool)?

It's an interesting piece full of nature...good job. I love that black & metallic fabric at the very bottom, too.

I look forward to seeing more of your work!
Cynthia

laura west kong said...

I like that you're confident enough to make the proportions to suit your vision. It's a very engaging piece, full of layers and textures and things to look at.

It's true that it may be more dramatic if the fish had more contrast against the water, but what I like about the way they are is that I feel like they're really in the water, whereas if they were more vivid, they would appear to be popping out over the water.

A few sparkly beads on the spines of the leaves might be fun, but isn't necessary.