Mandala XVII

(Above:  Mandala XVII. 30" x 30".  Assorted found objects hand-stitched to a section of an old Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt.  Among the items are brass hinges, felt covered piano hammers, clock gears, beer bottle caps, Tinker Toy wooden wheels, white plastic rings, Mahjong tiles, keys, baggage zipper tabs, blue concrete screws, plastic spoons, binder clips, tiny ceramic insulators, name badge clips with rings, two early 20th century metal awards, alarm clock face, and half of 400' film reel.  $550 plus sales tax and shipping. Click on any image to enlarge.)

Even as Mandala XVI was enjoying hundreds of "likes" and "shares" on social media, I was busy stitching on the next piece.  Like the earlier one, I challenged myself to allow the Grandmother's Flower Basket pattern to play a integral part of the finished look (as opposed to covering up most of surface, almost obliterating the quilt pattern ... like I seemed to do with Mandala XV.)  Because the motifs do not actually perfectly align either horizontally or vertically, (they align only on diagonals!) this really is a challenge! 

(Above:  Detail of Mandala XVII.)

Because of this, I also attempted to create a sense of motion by placing the plastic spoons at an angle.  I think it really worked.  The fact that the center hexagon on the top motif is slightly to the left of the center hexagon on the center motif isn't any more noticeable than the center hexagon on the lower motif being slightly to the right.  It all looks symmetrical ... even though it isn't!  Success!

(Above:  Detail of Mandala XVII.)

I am also quite happy with the colors of the quilt impacting the whole.  It was fun to drill holes in the Mahjong tiles.  It was hard to separate the two sides of the 400' film reel but I managed.  This means I still have another side for a future piece.  Without separating it, the reel felt too thick.  I had to use a flat head screw driver and a hammer to break the solder holding the two sides together.  It was worth it!

(Above:  Ernie helping to ship Mandala XVI to California ... or attempting to become a stowaway!)

These mandalas are truly challenging me and I'm loving every one. What's even better is the fact that others like them too.  In fact, a nice lady in California asked her "Santa" to arrange a special holiday gift.  It was carefully wrapped in fabric.  A piece of upholstery foam protected the front.  It went into a large conservation glass box ... which is when Ernie, our new cat, decided to help!  He truly seemed to be thinking about becoming a stowaway in the large, corrugated box in which the inner package was placed! 

(Above:  Detail of Mandala XVII.)
 

Of course ... I'm already stitching on the next mandala!  Love doing this!

Mandala XVI

(Above:  Mandala XVI. 30" x 30". Assorted found objects hand-stitched to a section of an old Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt.  Among the items are square cut nails, screw eyes, keys, sewing machine bobbins, little ceramic insulators, clock gears, buttons, cabinet hinges donated by a cyber friend, wire key rings, brass knob plates, loose leaf binder rings, one-inch white plastic rings, an old rotary telephone dial, and lots of Scrabble game tiles spelling out words.  Click on any image to enlarge.)

The last mandala I finished was the first one on a scrap of an old Grandmother's Flower Basket quilt.  At that time, I was perplexed about the alignment of the hexagonal motifs.  With only two small, hexagonal pieces between the larger, colorful floral designs ... well ... nothing really lined up, not vertically and not horizontally.  So to combat that, I sort of loaded the work with plenty of found objects that more-or-less obscured the quilt pattern.  Only the central motif is in a perfect place, in the dead middle of the square, and it's the only obvious part of the underlying quilt.  That mandala looks wonderful.  (CLICK HERE to see its blog post.)

(Above:  Detail of Mandala XVI.)

When approaching this mandala, I challenged myself to let the vintage quilt be part of the overall finished expression.  I attempted to add more color by back-stitching around the floral designs and to allow the asymmetrical alignment to show.  My thoughts were to encourage viewers to see the old, comfortable "Grandmother's Flower Garden" as well as the found objects.  To further that end, I added Scrabble tiles.

 

(Above:  Mandala XVI, detail.)

I don't think I had an entire set of Scrabble tiles but I was able to stitch words like Art, Hope, and Love near the perimeter.  Around the center is "Wonder and Joy".  These are words that I think compliment the spirit of the old quilt.  At the very center is an old rotary telephone dial.  I ripped the inserted paper to show only the area code, not someone's once-upon-a-time telephone number that might well be some other person's current number!

 

(Above:  Ernie, inspecting framing hardware, in the back room where pictures are closed.)

Of course Ernie was involved in the entire project.  I really wanted him to sit still beside the finished piece so that I could show a sense of size and scale.  Ernie, however, has a mind of his own ... so ...

...I had to do it!

A totally hand-stitched In Box and a Commission

(Above:  Detail of In Box CCCLXXXVII, a totally hand-stitched artwork.  Click on any image to enlarge.)

I don't know why it happens so often, but frequently several pieces on which I'm working come to an end on the same day.  It happened again this morning.  A commission for three Seasonal Leaves got finished, framed, photographed, and documented on the same day as In Box CCCLXXXVII got done.

(Above:  In Box CCCLXXXVII.  Layers of polyester stretch velvet fused to recycled, synthetic felt with hand stitching and melting techniques. Unframed: 15" x 11"; framed: 22" x 18".)

I stitched this piece during the drive to and from the Philadelphia area. Steve and I went there last weekend and stayed with friends who picked up my artwork from Wildflowers Too, a seasonal art gallery on the New Jersey shore.  We also got to visit Longwood Gardens. It was beautiful!

(Above:  Me with In Box CCCLXXXVII.)

So ... here's me with the finished piece. I'm trying to remember to take this sort of photo because it is a good way to really show the presentation, scale, and size of the finished piece.  In the background are two of the three Seasonal Leaves commission.

(Above:  Three Seasonal Leaves:  Summer, Winter, and Autumn.)

This commission resulted from an invitational show held last February at the Carrollton Art Center in Georgia.  I had a set of four Seasonal Leaves on display.  Later, they were sold through an interior design firm to Children's Hospital in Boston.  Then last month, a nice couple from Carrollton contacted me to purchase three of them.  Obviously, I couldn't sell them again ... but I offered to recreate the desired three. 

(Above:  A composite image showing the palette of polyester stretch velvet for Winter and the resulting foundation layer of the piece.)

When accepting a commission, I try to take photos during every step of the process.  These are used to write a PDF for the client.  It lets them see the stages of development and explains my techniques.

(Above:  Summer, constructed and covered with strips of sheer, scarf-weight chiffon.)

I didn't take photos of all three pieces in every stage of development, but the PDF does show the progression from the basic construction ...

...to the free-motion machine stitching using 100% black cotton thread ...

... to being stapled to a stretcher bar and melted.  In fact, I shot a fourteen second video to illustrate the melting.  It is HERE on You Tube.

I included this image too.  It shows how I trim the excess, partly melted felt around the perimeter.  This fringe is really just a line of cotton sewing thread to which the felt is still attached. All the little "bridges" between the polyester stretch velvet shapes are also just a line, back-and-forth, of cotton thread.  The cotton thread does not melt; it holds the shapes together.

(Above:  Seasonal Leaves, Autumn.  Unframed: 29" x 17"; Framed: 33 1/2" x 21 1/2".)

(Above:  Seasonal Leaves: Summer.)

(Above:  Detail of Seasonal Leaves, Summer.)

(Above:  Seasonal Leaves: Winter.)

(Above:  Detail of Seasonal Leaves, Winter.)

Mandala XV

 

(Above:  Mandala XV. 28 1/2" x 28 1/2".  Hand stitched on a section of an antique Grandmother's Flower Basket quilt section.  Assorted found objects include: textile mill spindles, felt piano hammers, brass lamp fixtures, keys, Nehi bottle caps, slides, buttons, metal washers, pieces of a folding yardstick, clock gears, perle cotton labels, square cut nails, assorted paper clips, U-shaped brackets, single pronged drapery hook, bolts, plastic and metal rings, and hardware from a bi-folding door donated to my stash by my Facebook friend Kim Davison.)

 

 

(Above:  Mandala XV, detail.)

I was a little sad when the last scrap of the antique blue-and-white quilt turned into Mandala XIV.  Why?  Well, I didn't have any more of it left.  I was going to have to find another vintage or antique quilt to use as a base.  I wasn't sure I had such an old quilt but then I found this battered, well worn Grandmother's Flower Basket quilt in my stash.  It presented a challenge.  Could I go from the now familiar square blocks to one with all those little hexagons? 

 

(Above:  Mandala XV, detail.)

Not being a traditional quilter and never really inspecting a Grandmother's Flower Basket quilt as closely as needed for this project, I was temporarily stumped.  The rows of hexagons don't actually line up.  The rows can be viewed horizontally and vertically but also on every diagonal imaginable.  Stretching a quarter of the quilt over my stretcher bar took a lot of concentration but finally worked. The only way to approach this was to first trace two giant circles around the center motif.

  

(Above: Mandala XV, detail.)

Once the two circles of brown buttons were stitched down, the spindles were put into place.  The rest of the piece came together quite quickly after that.  I'm already stitching on the next mandala ... so come back again!

Lots of new "In Box" series pieces!

 

(Above:  In Box CCCLXXV, a composite image showing the work and then me holding the piece inside its frame. Framed:  19 3/4" x 15 3/4". $235.  Click on any image to enlarge.)

For months and months, I worked on all sorts of other artwork.  The ongoing pandemic has provides so much time to explore new ideas. So I did. It seemed silly to make more In Box and Stained Glass Series pieces.  After all, shows were being cancelled.  The Grovewood Gallery in Asheville where I'm represented was closed and obviously not selling anything.  There was no need to make more.  There was no reason to invest in more frames or more polyester stretch velvet ... and then things changed.   

 

(Above:  Ernie, making himself comfortable in my studio, on my stash of polyester stretch velvet.)

The Grovewood opened.  Artwork started selling.  I got into the Philadelphia Museum of Art's upcoming virtual craft show and needed lots of new work, especially pieces that could be photographed in their frames but before being fitted with glass ... with me holding them as a way to show presentation and scale.  Happily, I went back to my studio and have been on a roll.  Thankfully, my stash of polyester stretch velvet is quite diverse.  Even Ernie seemed to love all the colors.

 

(Above:  Piles of polyester stretch velvet hand cut into various sizes of squares and rectangle, ready to be used in the construction of my In Box Series.)

 

When making "a bunch" of these pieces, I approach the marathon of creativity by cutting up lots and lots of squares and rectangles of polyester stretch velvet.  That way, I can see all the possible colors and easily grab whatever I need.  Every piece of this tacky material already has a heat-activated adhesive (Wonder Under, Pellon #805) ironed to its reverse.  I laid out all the foundation pieces on all twelve works before going back and adding more and more layers.  Then, one after another, I free motion machine stitched them.  Finally, but one at a time, they were put on a stretcher bar, taken to the garage, and subjected to my melting techniques:  melting holes through the layers with soldering irons and melting the space between the shapes away with an industrial heat gun.

 

(Above:  In Box CCCLXXXV, a large sized piece framed at 33 1/2" x 21 1/2".  $550.)

Once all the melting was done, each one is carefully trimmed, stitched to acid-free mat board, and framed.  Yet, I photographed each one before putting glass into the frame.  I delayed the exposure for ten seconds in order to hold each piece for its finished photo shot.  These composite images are the ones I'm using to create a platform for (hopefully) selling my work during the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show (Nov. 6 - 8).

 

(Above:  In Box CCCLXXXVI, another large piece.)

Here on this blog, however, I really like the straight-forward pictures.  Why?  Well, they can easily be enlarged for people reading to see the details, especially the individual motifs stitched into every box.

 

(Above:  In Box CCCLXXXIV, a medium sized piece.  Framed:  22" x 18". $325.)

In addition to the large pieces, I stitched three medium-sized ones. 

(Above:  In Box CCCLXXXIII, another medium sized piece.)

 

(Above:  In Box CCCLXXXII, another medium sized piece.)

 

 

(Above:  Ernie, helping with the mounting of each piece.)

Ernie followed me around for days while I worked. He sat on my Babylock Tiara while I stitched and he was up on my mat cutter while I mounted them.  He is so grown up now!  Below are the small sized In Box series pieces.  Please scroll through and enjoy!

(Above:  In Box CCCLXXIX, a small sized piece.  Below are the other small-sized ones.  Each frame measuring 19 3/4" x 15 3/4" for $235.)

 

(Above:  In Box CCCLXXVI, a small sized piece.)

(Above:  In Box CCCLXXVII, a small sized piece.)

 

(Above:  In Box CCCLXXVIII, a small sized piece.)

 

 

(Above:  In Box CCCLXXX, a small sized piece.)

 

(Above:  In Box CCCLXXXI, a small sized piece.)

Mandala XIV

(Above:  Mandala XIV.  Click on any image to enlarge.)

The is the last mandala made from a tattered, vintage blue-and-white quilt. The porcelain clock face can turn so that it can be hung as a square. On point, it measures 29" x 29" and includes antique medals donated to my stash by my friend Phillippa Lack from Wyoming, square cut nails, keys, clock parts, vintage paper clips and modern ones too, beer bottle lids, hair clips, miniature locks, nail clippers, buttons, and screw eyes. I'm now working on a new mandala that is on a vintage Grandmother's Flower Basket quilt section.

(Above:  Detail of Mandala XIV.)

Everything is stitched down using pale blue #5 perle cotton.  Generally, I don't use glue on my fiber artwork but this piece had to have some.  Hot glue keeps the medals from flipping over, especially the ones on the top that wouldn't stay in that position.  Thankfully, hot glue is actually acid-free.  It just doesn't come off fabric very well.  Yet, it doesn't damage the cool, antique awards that are dated from 1907 to 1911.  

(Above:  Detail of Mandala XIV.)

These medals were for things like "signaling" and "range finding".  I'm now precisely sure what these activities even were.  Others were for swimming and reading.  I had the perfect number for this quilt ... alternating one side and then the other.  Phillippa also sent the many, tiny keys. 

(Above:  Mandala XIV, detail.)

I've been collecting beer caps forever.  I get them from all sorts of places, not just by drinking beer.  Luckily, I had enough Heineken and New Castle caps to have a total ring with alternating red and blue stars.
 

Lancet Windows and Peacock Feathers

(Above: Lancet Window CCXXVIII. Framed: 31 1/4" x 11 1/4".  Layers of fused polyester stretch velvet on recycled industrial felt with free motion machine embroidery and melting techniques.  Click on any image to enlarge.)

I have been really busy making new work in anticipation of the upcoming Philadelphia Museum of Art's virtual craft show.  Whether any of it actually sells during this event or not isn't my concern.  Right now, I'm just "making" and soon I'll be turning my attention to my website ... trying to create a platform for selling the work myself (before, during, and after the show!)  One of the things that seems necessary is to present images that give an accurate sense of size and scale.  Thus, I'm photographing each piece while I'm holding it.  Each one was temporarily put into its frame ... but without glass.

(Above:  Lancet Window CCXXVI.  Framed:  31 1/4" x 11 1/4".)

This piece is based on motifs found in Owen Jones' Grammar of Ornament, a 19th century reference book featuring patterns and designs from all over the world and every era.  It is not the first time I've constructed a piece like this.  I blogged about the first one HERE.  Even those I've used the same basic foundation pieces, no two are really alike.  In fact, every one of my "Stained Glass" pieces is a unique, one-of-a-kind work of art.

(Above:  Peacock Feather XXIII.  Framed: 31 1/4" x 11 1/4".)

No matter how many peacock feathers I've stitched, no two of these are ever alike either.  Each feather seems to have its own style and number of individual strands.  The eyes might look similar but close inspection reveals that no two of them are alike either.

(Above:  Ernie was tired but he stayed on my mat cutter while I mounted all this work!)

Each time I share a post of new work, I try to write about something new.  Considering that I've made over two hundred Lancet Windows, this can be a challenging idea ... but I don't think I've ever written about "the fringe". 

(Above:  A composite image featuring the lower section of Lancet Window CCXXVIII.  The top part shows the fringe with the left half trimmed and the right half untrimmed.  The lower section shows all of the fringe after it was trimmed.)

The fringe is created by first stitching line ... in the back ... from the side of a polyester stretch velvet shape.  The substrata (which is where this line is stitched) is on the recycled black industrial felt.  Because the felt is a synthetic, it melts along with the felt that was between the polyester stretch velvet shapes.  Because the thread is 100% cotton, it doesn't melt.  The thread holds the shapes together.  The thread that becomes the fringe is just thread to which some of the felt clings.  It looks pretty scrappy until I trim it with dull scissors.

(Above:  Stitching Lancet Window CCXXVIII to a piece of acid-free, 8511 Bainbridge Sea Mist mat board.)

Once the excess felt it neatly trimmed, each piece is then hand stitched to a piece of acid-free mat board.  At that time, I gently put each piece into a frame and snapped photos holding it.  This was done to avoid the glare of glass.  Afterwards, each piece went into its frame after the glass was held in place by strips of acid-free foam-centered board "walls".

(Above:  Fitting the artwork into a frame with "walls".)

The image above shows the glass in the frame and the foam-centered board strips glued inside the frame's lip.  The strips are just a little shorter than the inside lip of the frame ... which creates a "ledge" on which the mat board can rest.  The result is a space between the artwork/mat board and the glass ... like a "mini shadowbox".  (By the way, one doesn't need foam-centered board to do this.  Balsa wood strips can be used too!)

(Above:  The back of the mat board showing the line of stitching used to mount the artwork.) 

The image above shows the mat board in place ... resting on the ledge created by the foam-centered board strips.  At this point, I also put another piece of foam-centered board behind the artwork and staple it in place with a point driver.

(Above:  Lancet Window CCXXV, detail of the corner once installed in the frame with glass.)

The image above shows the space created between the mat board/artwork and the glass.  Below are images of the other work recently finished.  I really hope that this sort of composite image gives an accurate sense of scale and presentation!

(Above:  Lancet Window CCXXVI.  Framed: 31 1/4" x 11 1/4".  Each Lancet Window and Peacock Feather is $395.)

(Above:  Lancet Window CCXXVII.  Framed 31 1/4" x 11 1/4". $395.)

(Above:  Peacock Feather XXIV.  Framed: 31 1/4" x 11 1/4". $395.)