Water Dragon

Here is the Water Dragon. He lives in a lake that surrounds a particularly bleak castle. Some people think he is guarding treasure, but no one has ever been able to get near enough to find out for sure! Some people say his fins sting in a similar manner to the stings from a jelly fish. I wonder how they know?


I used a fabric I have been calling a mystery fabric. It is very thin and paper like. I used silk organza for a base and laid on various layers of different colours, fully covering the organza. Then I fused them in place with a light grey blue piece fused with Misty Fuse. The dragon is made using a metallic organza of blue shot with silver. His flowing fins are not caught down. The quilting is done with transparent thread. the windows of the castle are cut out with a soldering iron.

I tried to get a shot to show the transparency better. The top photo is taken laying on white paper. Here the piece hangs in front of a mirror and you can see the back as well.

I thought I would try doing horizontal layers. So, there is the lake shore, the line where the castle hits the water, and the castle crenelations/towers.

Lighter Than Air

This challenge is truly right up my alley! The circles are part of my series-Shapes.

The "bubbles are all sheer overlay to create transparency and interplay of colors mixing.

I think it could be considered 'low horizontal' in the background. The background is all dupioni silk.

I LOVE this kind of work...thanks Sandy for a fun challenge!

It measures 15"x22"

AS always...comments and suggestions are welcome :-)

Cherie

Challenge # 36 Transparency with Horizontal High, Low or Layers

Challenge # 36 - Friday, 28 August, 2008 Guest Hostess – Sandy Snowden, Bracknell, Berkshire, England

Working in Series: Continued

Color Concept: Transparency

Rosemary Claus-Gray works with transparent fabrics. Check out most of her recent works on her website. http://www.rosemaryclaus-gray.com/abstract.htm http://www.rosemaryclaus-gray.com/organic.htm Look at this piece as well. http://www.rosemaryclaus-gray.com/a-sheerfloral.htm

Another artist using transparent fabrics is Kathleen Laurel Sage. Kathleen layers sheer fabrics and then cuts back with a soldering iron to reveal colours. I can not find a website or blog, but if you do an image search on her name, you will find a lot to inspire you.

The illusion of transparency can also be achieved through strategically placed value and color choices. Katie Pasquini’s ghost layers are good example http://www.katiepm.com/bgettylarge.html http://www.katiepm.com/icebklarge.html

Elizabeth Barton’s work has a transparent look to it achieved by light values and shibori fabric. http://ebarton.myweb.uga.edu/watercityscapes.htm
And take a look at Carol Shin’s Sheer Curtains http://www.carolshinn.com/i/sheer-curtains.jpg

Composition Concept: Low Horizontal, High Horizontal or Horizontal layers

http://www.scrapjazz.com/topics/Photography/Lessons/606.php

High horizon –importance for what is below the horizon emphasises depth.

http://www.artistsnetwork.com/article/The-Allure-of-a-High-Horizon/ http://tinyurl.com/lejeof

Artist example – Sidney Nolan http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/stories/s2085557.htm several of these paintings show the High Horizon.

Low Horizon – give emphasis to what is above the horizon, such as a dramatic sky, emphasises height.

http://www.thedigitalstory.com/blog/2005/11/low_horizon_line_for.html

http://tinyurl.com/n5baj7 Very good description of the use of low horizon by Dutch landscape painters.

Artist example –Elina Brotherus http://www.elinabrotherus.com/photography/the-new-painting/ click through the photography of horizons. The 12th photograph begins the series with Low Horizon and moves on to Very Low Horizon.

Horizontal Layers-
Investigate the work of Ferdinand Hodler who introduced the horizontal layer composition, particularly evident in his series on Lake Geneva http://tinyurl.com/m6z9yj http://tinyurl.com/n5pew8 http://tinyurl.com/nfcp9n
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ferdinand_Hodler_003.jpg http://tinyurl.com/ktshxd

Discussion - The following is included for informational purposes only:

Transparency
From Wikipedia – “In the field of optics, transparency is the physical property of allowing light to pass through a material. The opposite property is opacity. Transparent materials are clear (i.e. they can be seen through). Translucent materials allow light to pass through them only diffusely (i.e. they cannot be seen through clearly)…. Some materials allow much of the light that falls on them to be transmitted through without being reflected or refracted; such materials are called optically transparent. More here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transparency_%28optics%29
Light passing through transparent material which has colour can change the look of other things. For instance, sunbeams through stained glass throw rainbows of colour onto interiors. Looking through coloured glass also changes the perception of the colours of objects. At the same time, layered transparent fabrics have a similar effect, so one needs to consider knowledge of colour mixing when doing so.
Horizon Line
From the Drawing Professor - “The Horizon Line is an imaginary line positioned at eye level and is the primary line of reference when constructing perspective. It is important to understand that the horizon line referred to in drawing is not the same as the horizon we would typically refer to in daily life (the line at which the sky and earth meet). When it comes to drawing, the horizon line is not constant; it changes according to the position of the viewer. To establish the horizon line from any working position, hold a ruler in front of your eyes horizontally so you see only its upper edge. Make a mental note of the line the ruler makes across the scene in front of you. Mark this line across your drawing to represent the horizon. Depending on the composition you wish to create, you can draw this line anywhere on your paper to incorporate subjects above and/or below this line. One can also affect the illusion of depth in a drawing by altering the position of the horizon line.”
Excellent images of Horizon lines can be found by searching Google with the words Low Horizon or High Horizon.
Due - Saturday, Noon EST, 5 September, 2008

One final requirement - HAVE FUN WITH THIS!

Flight of Dragons

Finally finished the challenge for this month. With the 6" x 12" size I have been limiting myself to, I could only do a sort of half radial. I started with the dragons, thinking of a similar thing to the British Red Arrows flight team.

I decided to use the elements for the colours of nature. But I also included a black and white dragon which I am calling the element of Word. So, from right to left I have water, fire, word, earth, sky. They are all made from hand dyed silks, except the black and white one, which is from a black and white silk tie. They all have a ball of fire in front of them. This is similar to the oriental dragons chasing a pearl. But you can decide if they are chasing it or if it comes from them. Because I fused the dragons on, the thin silk they are made of actually darkened a bit. If I made something similar larger, I would use brighter colours for the dragons. At the end, I tried to draw out the brighter colours a bit with a yellow border that has a bit of green paintstick highlights.

The dragons on their own were not enough, so it sat a while. Finally, after much consideration, I decided to do clouds. I realised the best way would be to stitch synthetic organza and then cut it back with the soldering iron.

This piece is really something I think has been a good trial for attempting to do in a larger size at sometime. It would definitely work better if I didn't have to cram it into a small area.

Golden Ferns and Bouncing Limes by Ann

I've been having more fun printmaking. I used a fern and a dried lime . For medium I used Lumiere fabric paints on cotton fabrics. The ferns are stitched with Sulky Metallic Gold. All other stitching is black cotton. The colors are those that would be found in a gem show.I'm much happier with the results than when I used the doily. I also like making these small things because they are fast. Of course the part that seems to take me forever is the finishing. I'm leaning toward doing some kind of 'rough' finish in the future. Not sure what it will be. Ideas always welcome.

For printing with the lime half, I first tried dabbing the paint on the lime, wrapping fabric around and rubbing with my finger to make the print. The better method for me was to wrap the fabric around the lime, dip my finger in the paint and then rub over the lime to make the print. I waited between each print for the paint to dry. I used a different color for each individual lime print. The limes have symmetry in themselves, but not of course in this print.

For the fern prints, my method was to put some paint on the fern with a brush, move the 'painted fern' onto a clean sheet of paper, place fabric over and then transfer the color using a brayer. I let each one dry before putting on the next fern point in the radial pattern. After I was finished, someone told me it is better to use the back side of the fern or leaf. I'll try that the next time. Using the Lumiere yielded many different shades although I only used one color for this print.

Wishing you JOY on your Journey,

Ann

www.designerann.blogspot.com/

Rhoda Seeds of Change

Well...in my busyness I deleted the whole post rather than the just the picture.
So here is a new picture, you can enlarge it and see the faces.
Cynthia and Wendy thanks for your comments.
"Thanks for the wonderful challenge Wendy.
Mine is definitely a work in progress,
Continuing with my 'woman' theme, this time I have a woman and child, something
I've been meaning to do for awhile.
I did the radial symmetry background using paperpieceing. I used colors of the
sky and water.Unfortunately it looks quite grey in the photo.
The mother and child are done in bright nature colors, colors of hope. The hand
is dropping some seeds, in hope of change. I painted the faces using Tsukineko
ink. No thread painting yet, so it is very much a work in progress. I will post
again when it is completed."
Here is a photo of the finished piece. I added a water pump and plants. I have to say the whole piece evolved with me thinking about the hungry children in the world.
So the seeds are; the child, the seeds and water. A helping hand to help those in need.
Great challenge, even though it took me a long time to finish it :)
Rhoda

Ch 35 - Peacock

I had a hard time deciding what to do for radial symmetry until I saw a neighbor's peacock disappearing in the bushes alongside the road. This piece is 9 x 11 1/2 inches. The background is hand dyed fabric, and other fabrics are both hand painted and commercial. This peacock is bejewelled with sequins and beads,

as well as thread painting. The black outlines and feather stems are heavy black "Levi" thread. Thank you Wendy for this challenge. Linda Mac in WY

Too Many Tomatoes

In keeping with my theme, "Can I Eat It?', and in keeping with the "I can never seem to finish on time" problem, here is my addition to the current challenge. Radial symmetry presented a problem for me in that I coud not for the life of me figure out how to do a representation of something to eat. That is, until I started cutting vegetables for my husband's salad. And there it was - radial symmetery inside the tomato! I used hand dyed fabric, a bit of a Fossil Fern fabric, and the wrong side of an old calico. Now the only thing left to do with this little quilt is a bit of beading for the seeds.

Spinning Out of Control

I started this challenge right away, doing a couple of small sketches that I liked. I picked one and fussed with choosing fabric for it, couldn't come up with anything that worked, so dropped and switched to another sketch. Then I spent last Friday morning procrastinating by vacuuming, dusting and rearranging bookshelves! Finally that afternoon, I picked my fabric and got started. I was really liking the way it developed, so I took my time finishing the design and getting the quilting done. So no apologies for being late-this one just had its own schedule.

My series is what happened in my life in the month-and at first I thought of this as the fireworks for July 4th. Then it hit me that it was a perfect visualization of the health problem that hit in July (which seems to be on the mend fortunately). I set the main element off center-going off the side and top and called it "Spinning Out of Control".

Nancy Schlegel

Galapagos Stars

I combined two photos from our Galapagos diving trip. The red/orange starfish are Panamic Cushions and the yellow is a Chocolate Chip Star. I sponge painted over a blue fabric for the background. The dimensional corals are thread tangles from washing frayed, dyed fabrics. The quilt is bound in yarn and embellished with a variety of beads. Size: 10 X 14

Hulk Haiku

Here is the 3rd in my Haiku series. "Hulk" which is the common name of this aster. It is still unfinished, needs quilting, binding, and the Haiku put on. Not sure how I am going to do that yet, may put them on a banner, or embroider them, haven't decided. Right now I just added them using the text feature :-)
I found a silk plant somebody was tossing so I brought it home and pulled all the leaves off from the plastic veins. I knew I would use them for something and this was perfect. Didn't have enough for a whole flower, only a half, but didn't like it so went with 1/4. They are attached with invisible thread and I purposely left wrinkles and bumps for texture.
The white part of the flower is 2 layers of batting, which I attached with white embroidery floss. I went over the edges to give it more of a flower appearance instead of a circle. On top of that is a small arc of 2 layers of batting which I painted yellow, again attaching with yellow embroidery floss and doing the same extended stitching. Throughout the top white and yellow areas I scattered some yellow french knots and the bottom white has echo quilting.
I put a detail photo of the center too. I wanted it too look 3D like the leaves and to have a puffy center, which I got :-)
I did this all by hand in one day, just got too hectic around here for me to finish it in time.
My nature colors are pretty obvious :-)
Oh, because I wanted to use the leaves as flower petal, I did a search for green petaled flowers which is how I found this flower. It was the only one that fit my vision. I think I have met the challenge, although after seeing what every one else did I am not sure..LOL
This is 18"wide x 20" long

Wildwood (extracts from Artists Book)

I know this is a slight cheat - I have been making these pages for several months now, completing an exhibit for the UK's Festival of Quilts. Had decided to shift my theme to woodland, and it occurred to me that the one I was finishing off (the dormouse below) met the challenge requirements, as did the berries and ramsons (wild garlic) pages.

As these pages are tiny (6" squares) I've included the three of them. They are translucent (like woodland) so back-to-back pages have to have mirror outlines but different images (the two above are back to back) which has been a little tricky to say the least.

Each side of the page begins with silk-dyed pelmet vilene (pellon), the design cut out with a scalpel, then the whole page covered in hand-dyed silk organza and stitched. The two sides are sandwiched together with silk tulle net in the centre, then quilted and partially cut back to the net and finally satin-stitched round the edge. There are sixteen double-sided pages in all, each containing different woodland plants and creatures.