Saturday, May 04, 2013

Night Vision

15" x 19"

5/9 -- I have renamed this piece "Night Vision" instead of "Night Eye"!
----------- Setting out to do this challenge, I looked up drawing an eye in a "how to" book for the basic shape.  The original picture was in pencil, so there was only dark versus light -- and the dark seemed to prevail in what came together!  The "eyebrow" is from a fabric scrap from a costume project I did this winter, which had a grey floral border on black fabric, used for a 1910's mourning dress, but the curve seemed right for an eyebrow.  The red of the eye came from another costume scrap.  It doesn't show very much, but above the eye I used some navy blue as "eye shadow".  The netting and a bit of thread painting created the shading in the upper part of the eye.

I had tried out a silver sharpie for lines below the eye, but it wasn't right.  Black ink did not cover it, and unfortunately seeped into the white.  I ended up using black foil to cover the silver, and a bit of silver foil to create the reflection of light in the eye.

For a quote, I had this in mind: "The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light."  Various translations have the words "healthy", "sound", "unclouded" or "good" instead of "single" so maybe I should try to get that black smudge out!

Comments welcome -- as well as suggestions for a better title!

6 comments:

  1. I absolutely love the eyebrow. That was such an innovative choice you made. Also like how you used a transparent fabric for the eyelid. You've created a very striking quilt. How big is it?

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  2. I forgot to sign my critique above, since I was signed in under Fast Friday. Pam Clark

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  3. Very interesting piece! Looks realistic while having elements of a more abstract piece. I really appreciate your use of fibers beyond everyday cotton and thinking outside the box. I too just love the eyebrow and that eyelid is very cool! Excellent work!

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  4. Striking! The red eye is wonderful, and the eyelid terrific. I love the eyebrow. Great use of fabric!

    Robert Hartley

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  5. A mysterious eye with awesome an eyebrow and eyelid!

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