Showing posts with label Garden Fence Art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Garden Fence Art. Show all posts

Thursday, July 04, 2024

Outdoor Fibre Art Exhibit “Impermanence / Éphémère”

Hi and welcome! It's been hot and sunny here - perfect for installing our Outdoor Fibre Art Exhibit “Impermanence / Éphémère”. Let's hope that our pieces are not too impermanent and able to withstand the summer weather and wildlife 😊.

“Impermanence / Éphémère”


The vernissage for the exhibit is Friday (tomorrow, July 5th) at the Arbor Gallery in Vankleek Hill, east of Ottawa. I'll be sharing photos of the vernissage and other participants' art work in the next post. 

I finished all of my tasks (see last post) on Monday July 1st , around 6 p.m. and went to Vankleek Hill the next day to install the work. I had some great help from Garnet and it only took a little over an hour. 

The four Prayer Flags and me

Here is "In The Sky, an Outdoor Hanging Sculpture". I'm hoping to have a second part to it - maybe next year!

"In The Sky, an Outdoor Hanging Sculpture"

The three seasonal garden fence art pieces look great against the white of the back rustic door. We have "Raining Pink Petals" at the top (Spring), "Squirrel!" (Summer) in the middle and then "Essence of Leaves" (Fall) at the bottom. 

Three seasonal garden fence art 

This is what the art pieces look like at the back of the building.

Back of the Arbor Gallery

Here are close-up photos of each garden fence art pieces.

"Raining Pink Petals"

"Squirrel!" 

"Essence of Leaves" 

I've created a separate page for my work at the Arbour Gallery. On the back of my business card, I'll have the QR code linking to that page. 

“Impermanence / Éphémère” poster

What I learned
  • I'm so happy that I created that to-do list and included them on my last two posts. It really helped keep me on track. 
  • I did forget to add - Stitch nut shells to the "Squirrel!" piece. I almost forgot but as I was looking at my finished pieces, it came to me....thank goodness. I added a half shell by the squirrel. I had to enlarge a tiny hole on one side to stitch it down but it looks good! 😊
  • The "Squirrel!" piece was my last one and it only took a couple of days. It's a good thing that I had the little squirrel hoop piece to guide me (see previous post).
  • I'm not sure if I was tired and therefor more whimsical (less serious) but I ended up appliquéing all kinds of fun details to "Squirrel!" There is a bunny (of course), lots of butterflies and colourful birds.
  • I was so relieved after hanging the pieces that I spent all of the next day reading and trying to fill up an almost empty fridge!)I should have been writing this post - but I needed the time off!
  • I'm really looking forward to seeing if and how the pieces will change during the summer. At home I haven't had any critters play or try to eat my pieces. I guess we'll see how well behaved these guys are!
Related links
Linking parties

I'm linking up "Squirrel" as my July Favorite Finish with Quilting JetGirl.

Free Motion Mavericks


Welcome to week 488 of Free Motion Mavericks! We've had quite the party going on last week! Thanks so much for linking up your projects. 😍 Here are the projects from last week that included FMQ, ruler work or walking foot quilting. 

Quilting Gail went to Quilt Canada in Edmonton last week. If you haven't seen her video, I suggest that you take a look. Wow - what amazing quilts! Thanks so much for sharing! 

Here is a quilt that Gail finished in June as part of the Prism Blog Hop.

Prisms by Gail

Gail quilted this one using the Silly Moon Charming & Rocket quilting rulers. 

Details of the quilting on Prisms by Gail

Gretchen of Gretchen's Little Corner makes lovely quilts but doesn't like to quilt them. However, she's quilting her smaller quilts this summer and hoping that she'll get in the grove to quilt a larger one. Good luck Gretchen!

These are Christmas placemats that she finished in January, ready for next Christmas. 

Gretchen's Christmas placemats

Here's my favourite placemat, made from extra hexies from a Tula Pink project. I just love that fabric...and of course the hexies!

Gretchen's hexie placemat

Last week Frédérique of Quilting Patchwork Appliqué finished her 2023 SAHRR baby quilt. It is so colourful and cute! A Perfect baby quilt.

Frédérique's finished 2023 SAHRR baby quilt.

Details of Frédérique's quilting

Denise also participated in the Prisms Blog Hop with her latest quilt, Tiptoe Through The Pines. What gorgeous fabric and colours!

Denise's Tiptoe Through The Pines.

Denise quilted diagonal lines throughout the center with feathers on the inside border.

Denise FMQ Tiptoe Through The Pines.

It's now your turn!

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Thursday, June 20, 2024

Outdoor art pieces coming along on Free Motion Mavericks

Hi and welcome to week 486 of Free Motion Mavericks. I'm staying away from the heat and humidity by being productive in my studio. The garden will have to fend for itself for the week 🌞 while I make more garden art for Fibre 15's upcoming show.

Raining Pink Petals


My first fence art piece is finished and looked rather nice in the backyard for its photo shoot. 😊

Raining Pink Petals fence art piece ✔

There wasn't much left to do to finish this piece except to add more petals on the sides. I looked through my fabric and found a perfect bunny and 4 butterflies to add to the piece. I used fusible web to attach them. I will be adding at least one or two invisible stitches in each of them before the installation. I'm creating a list below of all that's left to do to finalize these pieces for the installation.

Essence of Leaves


I've created another fence art piece using one of Connie's Textile Art fabric pieces that I bought last year. I mentioned her work in May when I bought more of her fabric at Fibre Fling 2024. I asked Connie how she had created this piece. She replied "I think I sun printed the lighter coloured ones and then used textile paint to stamp/print the darker coloured ones.  All done at the family cottage with leaves growing there.  I also used coarse salt on it."

Essence of Leaves

I attached the fabric to the outdoor woven fabric that I've used for all of my fence art pieces. I then FMQ the darker leaves and then the lighter ghost leaves. It still needs a little more stitching but I want to keep the emphasis on the leaves. I'm thinking of echoing the leaves in an orange thread that matches the background.

Our show's theme is "Impermanence". I named this piece Essence of Leaves since we can only capture the essence of the leaf in our art since they are impermanent.

Prayer Flags


I made the first of a series of Prayer Flags that will hang in the trees surrounding Arbor Gallery. A new workshop in the TextileArtist.org Stitch Club peaked my interest. I haven't had much time to participate in the last few months but this one came at the perfect time. The workshop to make a stitched and dyed sampler with Deb Cooper, is perfect for creating my Prayer Flags.

"Thanks" Prayer Flag dyed in tea

I made this first sampler using mostly white and off-white fabric. In the image below, I've placed the original fabric next to the dyed piece. I used a variety of thread - white #8 and #12 perle cotton, beige perle cotton, white linen cotton as well as white cotton sewing thread. I included a commercial fabric that had a white background with black lines. It's really interesting to see how the fabrics have taken, or not taken, the tea dye.

Dyed fabric with the original fabrics and thread

I embroidered the work "Thanks" on the t-shirt fabric on the right (two fabrics from the stick). I've added colour by threading through the back stitch. If you're wondering about the stick in the photo above... I learned a new technique - you stitch around a stick, remove the stick and voilà! It makes for very cool thread rings. In this case, I added some fluffy yarn (acrylic I suspect since it didn't take the dye) to create texture.

Prayer Flag - "Thanks"

Outdoor Hanging Sculpture - In The Sky


The hanging sculpture is looking good. I attached the Suns and Clouds to a branch. I painted Golden GAC-400, a textile stiffener, to the edges of the sun. What a difference it made. Hopefully it will be ok in the rain.

Applying some GAC-400 to stiffen the edges of the sun

Sunset with the fabric stiffener

As I put the sculpture together, I realised that my instincts were correct. My pretty cloud is too small. I will make another fluffy blue cloud to attach to the one already made.

Need to add to the fluffy blue cloud

After the cloud, all that remains is to make a bird(s) on the branch below. I thought of using one of my tamarack geese as a model, but they really do look like geese. Next to the geese, I found a beautiful soapstone bird. I'll use that as a model to make one or more birds out of wire and fabric.

Soapstone bird to use as a model

To Do List


The installation deadline is July 3rd (in 2 weeks) and I have lots of work left to do. I hope you don't mind if I keep a running tab of what needs to be done here. 😊
  • Raining Pink Petals
    • Stitch the bunny and butterflies in place
    • Prepare the dowel for hanging
    • Create a label
  • Essence of Leaves
    • Finish FMQ the background
    • Fix the hanging sleeve and prepare the dowel for hanging
    • Create a label
  • "Thanks" Prayer Flag
    • Prepare for hanging once the others are done
    • Create a label for the series
  • Create one more fence art piece called Squirrel! 
  • Create 3 or 4 more Prayer Flags
  • Outdoor hanging sculpture
    • Make another fluffy blue cloud
    • Make one or more birds
What I learned
  • I have so many pieces on the go that it was really good to spend the time figuring out what is left to do.
  • Most of the work is not too daunting. I have an idea and a title (Squirrel!) for the third fence art  - I just need to figure out how to do it (i.e. appliqué, FMQ, etc.) It will be something simple and fun.
  • The birds make me a little nervous but now that I've found my model, I'll find the YouTube video and get going!
  • I've had a lot of fun with stitching and dying with tea. I'm going to experiment with other types of tea to see what effects I can get. The stitching takes a while but it's relaxing and I can do that easily in the evenings.
  • I started a piece in Alaska that I was going to use as a prayer flag. For some reason, I kept hesitating. I finally figured out that our theme, "Impermanence" just didn't go with the very solid mountains of Alaska. I guess in the grand scheme of things everything is impermanent but I thought that it was stretching it. Besides, I couldn't make 3 or 4 more like it - it's just too time consuming. I'll share it with you, as soon as it's done.
  • As well, I'll be facilitating a journal making playdate for OOTB on Monday. I'm looking forward to it, but it is making things busy 😊
Related links
Linking parties



Free Motion Mavericks


It was a busy week! Thanks for linking up. Here are the projects from last week that included FMQ, ruler work or walking foot quilting. 

Kat of Scrap Box Quilts has finished her Dino quilt. She quilted it with lots of wavy lines - it will make a great toddler play quilt. 😃

Kat's great Dino play quilt

Frédérique finished another donation baby quilt. She used her very cute llama fabric and quilted it using a template to make the Pearl and Squares stitching in the sashing. Isn't it lovely? Lightly quilting and pretty 😍
Llamas Baby Quilt by Frédérique

It's now your turn!

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Wednesday, May 29, 2024

Raining Pink Petals - a Garden Fence Art Quilt

Hi and welcome 😊 This week was about the garden and I even had time to work on the first of my garden fence art quilts. This will be one of the pieces shown outside at the Arbor Gallery from July to September. Things are slowly coming together!

Raining Pink Petals


Have you ever noticed in the fall, the leaves falling like rain? Well, this is the spring version of that. A tree down the street has gorgeous pink blossoms in the spring. Eventually they fall, like pink rain. 😁

The inspiration for Raining Pink Petals

This is as far as I've gotten. The petals still need work to make them flow like my sketch. I will also even out the falling petals.

Raining Pink Petals - so far

The sketch from the photo.

I wasn't sure how to get the tree onto the background so I attached three large pieces of paper together to draw it out to size. I then cut out templates of both the tree top and the trunk.

The template for the tree

I pinned the trunk template to the reverse of an upholstery scrap that I got last week from a fellow OOTB artist.

Trunk pinned on the back of upholstery fabric

For the tree, I used green and white scrappy fabric that I got in that same batch of scraps. I pieced it together and then cut it out following the template.

Starting to put it together

The pink for the petals come from the same hand-dyed fabric that I used to make the 3D tulips last month. I cut them up into snippets, first with scissors and them the rotary cutter. I placed the snippets on the tree and then covered these with pink tule. The tule is not very noticeable on the tree but you can see it against the background.

The background fabric looks different in the light

What I learned
  • I started by cutting up the snippets with the scissors but it went so much faster using the rotary cutter.
  • Isn't it crazy how the background fabric looks gray in the light but brown in my studio? It'll be interesting to see how it looks on the fence at the Arbour Gallery.
  • This morning I went to the back yard to look at my first garden art piece to see how I had finished it. I'll be machine stitching around the outside of the background to stop it from fraying. I'll then add one or two sleeves at the top and bottom of the back to hold the dowels for hanging.
  • There does seem to be a lot of puckering on this piece. If that's still the case when I hang it, I may have to add some interfacing to the back.
  • I'm hoping to get this piece finished before I leave for Alaska on Sunday. That will be one piece less to do when I come back with only three weeks before we hang the art at the Gallery.
  • Since I'll be away on holidays next week, I'll let the Free Motion Mavericks linking party up for two weeks. I hope that you'll link up as often as you want!😊
Related links
Linking parties
I'll be linking up to many fun linking parties. You may wish to check them out, after you've linked up below! Design Wall Monday, Sew & Tell, Midweek Makers, Needle & Thread Thursday, Put your foot down, Off The Wall Friday, Finished (Or Not) Friday, Patchwork & Quilts, 15 Minutes to Stitch 2024, 

Free Motion Mavericks


It's been another busy week out there in quilt-land. So many fun quilts being made and given. Thanks for linking up. Here are the projects from last week that included FMQ, ruler work or walking foot quilting.

Gail of Quilting Gail participated in the On The Road Again Blog HopOn The Road Again Blog Hop. Since she couldn't decide on where she would like to go, she choose a real doozy - to the stars! She quilted this beauty using two Silly Moon rulers, Rocket and Twinkle, as well as doing some FMQ.

Gail's project for On The Road Again Blog Hop

Quilting details of Gail's On The Road Again Blog Hop

Melva finished her three Memory Quilts and had time to make some really cute placemats. Here are her memory quilts.

Melva's three Memory Quilts 

I jumped ahead to see her finished quilted placemats - so here they are!

Melva's finished placemats and their cute labels

Preeti of Sew Preeti Quilts has done it again! She has another lovely quilt pattern, Diva, published in Make Modern...and it's on the cover!

Preeti's Diva on the cover of Make Modern!

Vicki of Vicki's Crafts and Quilting has another lovely runner finished. This one made up of watermelon pieces. It sure screams Summer!

Vicki's Watermelon runner

Kat of Scrapbox Quilts has made another quilt - this one is Charming Rails. It's so cute. She quilted it in straight lines and gave it a fleece backing. That is going to be so great to cuddle up in!

 Charming Rails by Kat

It's now your turn!

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Thursday, May 16, 2024

Mixture of Sun and Clouds on Free Motion Mavericks

Hello! I hope that Spring has found you and that you have a little sunshine in your days. We've had lots of clouds and rain, but I've been busy making my own Suns and clouds in the studio, getting the second part of my Outdoor Hanging Sculpture ready.

Finished Suns


The three Suns are ready - there's Sunrise, Noon Sun and Sunset. They were finished so I hung them out in the back yard to see how they would do. 

Sunrise, Noon Sun and Sunset hanging off the umbrella

Once I had done both Sunrise and Noon Sun, it took me less than 2 hours to make Sunset. It seems that I had worked out what I wanted and just did it! Here are process pictures. 

I started off with an orange silk scarf that I bought at Fibrefest a couple of years ago. The silk was fragile and rather difficult to work with. I wasn't worried because I knew that I would be adding layers on top of the silk background.

Free Motion Quilting (FMQ) layers of tule, organza, etc. over the silk

I made sure to work outside of the primary area so that it would overlap when placed in the smaller hoop.

In the hoop, before trimming it.

Here's what it looks like now, after having spent a few days outside. Since the silk and layers are not stiff, I'll be adding something to stiffen the outside edges. I was looking into a spray that would be waterproof, or I could also add a couple of layers of tule like my Noon Sun. I'll have to work on that 😊

Sunset

Here is a picture of my yard art - the Tibetan Prayer Flags on the left, the Suns in the centre and the fence art to the right.

Backyard art

Clouds in the making


The next level on my sculpture are the clouds. The first fluffy cloud that I made turned out smaller than I expected. I'm using doubled 22 gauge wire and adding different colours of tulle, chiffon and other translucent fabrics. 

This first cloud is roughly 6" x 5" At this time, I'm thinking of making another small happy cloud to attach to the one below.

Fluffy happy cloud

The second cloud is starting off bigger at 9" x 7". I'm trying to keep it larger by not tightening the fabric as much. I've discovered that I can cover the wire with fabric and then stuff the layers with more fabric to change the colour and consistency. It's more 3D than the first cloud. 😊 

Supplies used to make the dark, storm cloud

Larger, storm cloud

The clouds and suns will look different in the various lights. That's part of the fun of it all.

Yesterday we went to visit the venue in Vankleek Hill. The outdoor exhibition will take place on the Arbor Gallery property. It's a really lovely area, slightly secluded with all of the beautiful trees, but with enough local traffic that everything should be safe outdoor.

There are the two outdoor settings that I've chosen for my art. The tree that is horizontal stands near the back of the property, near one of the parking areas. It will be perfect for my outdoor hanging structure (which will need a name soon!)

The horizontal tree for my outdoor hanging structure

My other spot will be along this wooden gate. I took out the fabric that I bought when I first made my fence art. If I have time, I hope to make three smaller fence art pieces to hang on the wooden gate. Now I have to figure out what to put on them. They will most likely be appliquéd and have natural elements attached.

Fence on the side of the property

Fence Art in my backyard

What I learned
  • Working with wire has been interesting. I've enjoyed adding pieces of translucent fabric between the wire sections.
  • I didn't want to glue anything down since I don't know if that will last outside in the rain etc.
  • My Suns are more or less finished, but I'll be ensuring that they are tight in their hoops, probably by stitching around the hoop in a few spots.
  • Even though the art will be outside for the summer, I expect to go see it at least once a month to see how it's doing. We will also get a call from the curator if something happens to the art.
  • I still have work on the clouds but I want to try hanging everything to see if I need a larger fluffy cloud, or if it will be enough. I will probably add to it since I would hate to have a bigger rain cloud that a fluffy one. That might be how our summer will work out, but I sure don't want to jinx it!😊 
  • The next step in the outdoor hanging sculpture is to finish it off. I'm hoping to add either a piece of bark or a branch, with a bird on it....we'll see 😎
Related links
Linking parties

Free Motion Mavericks

Welcome to week 482 of Free Motion Mavericks! I hope that this week will be as enjoyable and as productive as last week. Thanks for linking up.😊 Here are the projects from last week that included FMQ, ruler work or walking foot quilting. 

Melva has been very productive and this includes this green memory quilt for a client.

Melva's finished Memory Quilt #2

Gail of Quilting Gail had the pleasure of seeing some of the finished quilts that she had designed for last fall's mystery quilt at both a guild meeting and a quilt show. It's so lovely to see the different versions of the same quilt - colour really makes a difference! You'll want to check them out if you didn't see them last fall!

Fall Mystery Quilt by Gail

Another version of the Fall Mystery Quilt by Gail

Sew Preeti has been busy again in the Island Batik May Challenge and Blog Hop. This time she's made a challenging foundation paper pieced quilt. It's a good thing that it's stunning! 😍

Preeti's Wagon by Ikea

Kat of Scrapbox Quilts has finished a lovely Kobi quilt designed by GEQuiltDesigns.com. She has vowed to make many more of these....eventually. This is her second one.

Kat's Kobi quilt

Deb, the Scrappy Quilter has finally been able to add satin edging around her pineapple quilt! It was quite the process but it's done.

Deb's  pineapple quilt with the satin edging

Vicki has made another runner with a set of delectable mountain blocks. This time her runner has a South-West vibe to it. Vicki has also shared a tutorial for that block. You may want to check it out!

Vicki's South-West delectable mountain block runner

It's now your turn 😊

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter
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