Friday, October 9, 2009

Fiber Art, Texture, Leaves

Today I wanted to do a bit of looking at texture in fiber art. I have always loved being able to reproduce with a certain amount of ability realistic items in my fiber pieces. I use a lot of techniques and supplies. Some I may have posted before, but as a cohesive post, my outlook on the art in general may be a bit clearer.


My first photo is a sketch of pears, done with oil pastel and then stitched, fluid acrylic added for background (which the oil pastel resists), some quilting, then more acrylic paint. At the end, I have a small still life sketch, an exercise in materials.

The lily is a combination of realistic work and background abstraction. The leaves and flower are the centers of attention; I love dimension in leaves...these being two layers of cotton fabric sandwiched in felt, stitched and then a heat tool used to burn out most of the felt. The flower is on watercolor paper sent through the printer. The curve of the leaves adds a sense of the lily coming off the background, into the here and now.

These next two shots are of dimensional leaves and a flower, stitched with batting and a lining fabric, trimmed carefully, turned right side out and then stitched again to add realistic details such as leaf veins and the separation of the flower petals. Beads are added for stamens on the flowers, and set in a crystallized glue for water droplets on the leaves. They are to represent a loose form of a lily pad, set atop a quilt with silk pieced fish. Having the leaves loose above and not pieced into the surface provides another layer of visual depth.

I was experimenting with a fabric collage background when I did this small work. The butterfly and leaf skeletons are dimensional. The rest of the piece is quilted and has bobbin thread work to provide the proper texture for the fiddle head ferns. Layers of tulle build shadow and depth. The leaf skeletons hang over the edge of the background, adding a little motion to the whole...moving the view from the butterfly, to the ferns, and off the picture plane.
The next two photos are from a piece I did during the Summer Olympics held in Athens Greece. The victor's laurel wreath of tradition is pieced into the background, the freestanding leaves are a repetition of the pieced motif.

These were made from a textured silk fused to a cotton background and are quite sturdy.

The last piece is a landscape done from pieces of diverse cotton fabrics, with both print and stitch used to achieve a realistic view. It is a small piece and still holds much detail; worth a click to enlarge and see how it was put together.
I often have to educate people who have not had the opportunity to see fiber art on the difference between it and it's first cousin, traditional quilting. It is *ART*, just made with fabric rather than paint. Or it is art ON fabric, as the case of the pears, but using traditional quilting methods for texture. There are endless possibilities with these methods. I try to explore as many as possible and see what works best for whatever project it is I have at hand.
In today's fiber art world, there are so many options it is becoming hard to keep up with all of them! For those of us choosing fiber as a medium of expression--even for part of our work--we live in a time when it is exciting but also when we can get lost in too many things to try. Keeping balance and focus as to what our final outcome/goal is probably has become even more difficult.
I think there is a Chinese proverb, to paraphrase: "May you live in interesting times."
We certainly do! May your art show it!
I bid you....
Pax.

22 comments:

yoborobo said...

Ooooh, I love all of them. The lily and the little landscape might (might!) be my favorites. You are amazing! Love all the dimensions to your work, too. Lovely, lovely! Have a great weekend - supposedly the internet gurus are coming out next week to give us an overhaul. We had a guy here all day yesterday, and he couldn't figure it out. So far, all I can do is comment today. So comment I will! xoxox Pam

Anonymous said...

So... so beautiful!!
Thanks for the birthday greetings!!
Have a wonderful day!
Love,
Marilyn

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Hi Pam,
Geez....a whole day and they don't know what the problem is??? Then THEY have a problem. Holy moly....I would have lost my mind!
Wish you could see these in person; I was taking quick pics and not bothering to correct color. (migraine) They are quite fun!
Hope you're fully back online TODAY!
have a great weekend!

XXOO!!
Anne

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Hi Marilyn!

Thanks! Do hope your birthday is wonderful!!!!! (and good weather too!)

XXOO!!
Anne

Leslie said...

Wow, what great examples of texture. Kewl, love the lily pads, especially.

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Hey Leslie,

I guess I am most fond of the lily pads too....I just had the right fabrics and idea to make it work. actually, they cover up points in the blocks that refused to meet due to the satin weave of the silk! Nothing was square! Necessity is the mother of invention......right? :)

XXOO!!
Anne

teri said...

You are soooooo talented!!!!!

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Teri, coming from you that is quite the complement!!!
Thank You!!!
I'll put a tourniquet on my neck so my head doesn't swell too much......SNARF!!!!!

XXOO!!
Anne

Anonymous said...

Oh, more awesome work...You are amazing, Anne! It's so neat to double click and enlarge these...
seeing details..the last one ..i think of an underwater scene...so serene and beautiful!
thanks for sharing...
I agree about there being so much new to learn these days!...hard to decide just which way one wants to go!
gypsy

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

It is so odd; several people have commented that little landscape looks like an underwater scene. When I was working on it, it was strictly an impression of a wetland or a little thicket after a rain.
it is fun how others observe your work; I learn a lot that way!
I was just reading the new issue of Q.A. and there was a project I thought looked interesting until I saw the supply list.......how many hundreds of $$$ would I have to spend to see if I even LIKED the technique? I'm trying to rethink it in a more simple manner.....it's gotten awfully expensive to *try* a project.
Okay, rant and stomp over! LOL!!!

XXOO!!
Anne

Magpie's Mumblings said...

I'm so glad I've discovered you and your work, because I already know I like it, just from the few pieces I've seen so far. And, your comment about the financial cost to even try some projects is spot on. It's not only a financial strain, but also sometimes an impossibility to even find the raw materials unless you are willing to order over the internet.

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

That's basically how it is where I am in Indiana. Yes, I could drive an hour+ both ways to cities that have the supplies, but then there is that cost too. ACK.
Don't get me wrong---I love trying new things, but I get frustrated when magazines *expect* readers to have full-blown production studios.
I mean, if I had that, well.....I'd have someone to clean my house too!!! LOL!!!
And I do order most of my supplies on line, but there are some things I want to see first, to look at the construction, is it worth the price.....yadda yadda.....
I'm just a tightwad I guess.

XXOO!!
Anne

Georgina said...

Wovwey, just wovwey. Damn Anne, you do great stuff...I knew you did, but your pics took my breath away. I know what you mean, sometimes people lose focus and their work is scattered. I once attended an out door art show, and this one stand had paintings, ceramic pieces and small quilts...huh!!! Too much for the ol' brain to zoom into one thing, so yes, stay focused...well, as much as you can!!!!

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

I do basically two things; mixed media and then the fiber. I keep doing the fiber because of the church work, and it pays. Then I can do the mixed media, which I love, but takes money to keep up. There are so many things I'd like to *try* and I know better than to start.
Oh, occasionally I do some dying for the fabrics for the art pieces....but I know better than to get too involved in that.
I swear I have ADD......
And yes, that booth must have been a nightmare! It's one or the other!

XXOO!!!
Anne

Jan said...

Fine examples of your work. Keep it up! Thanks for sharing.

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

hey Jan, I'm going to run out one of these days.....I need blog pics!
Was out in the rain with an umbrella shooting toadstools and wet leaves.....
I need a life....real soon! LOL!

XXOO!!
Anne

Linda and Michelle said...

These are all such fun! Gives me lots of ideas for green marbled fabrics, as I also love leaves - and BARK! I love bark!!! Burning through the felt - cool idea. I just love how you experiment!

dtbrents said...

Your art is beautiful. I enjoy your blog. Doylene

Mary Helen-Art Saves Lives said...

Your work is so inviting...I want to touch the soft layers of colors and stitches...I am in love with the fern like images ...I am addicted to the magic of ferns. But the underwater images are spectacular..I think you need to pursue this exploration. I am so happy that you shared this assortment of your sacred marks with us your admirers. Imagine and Live in Peace, Mary Helen Fernandez Stewart

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Hi Doylene!

Thanks for stopping by and reading--glad you enjoy the blog. (me too! fun!)
And thanks so much for the kind words on my work!

XXOO!!
Anne

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Hi Mary Helen,

Everyone sees that landsaceape as an underwater scene, therefore, I think I will say it is from now on! I actually was working for the look of a thicket after a rain, or a wetlands look (it all can be one or the other) But I guess, in the end, it is what people see, and that's fine by me!

XXOO!!
Anne

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Hey Linda,

Marbled fabrics would be wonderful for any of the pieces I showed. I love the texture of bark also and am always trying to find the right print whent I want to imitate it in work.
Burning the felt away was fun; you can manipulate how much you burn/melt on each side, to make the piece curve the way you want it to. I am anxious to try it again, with colored felt (this was black) and see if the color remains or if it just turns black.
Glad you got ideas from this!!!

XXOO!!
Anne

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