Paper Angels

Here are some pictures of some retro inspired angels that I made last year. (Sorry, they are not the best photos, but it has been dark and rainy in my neck of the woods for days now, and as far as natural light, I just had to go with what I had.) I originally made them to sell, but I quickly became attached to them, as they look nice sitting atop my hutch, and decided to hang on to them. (This is one of those things that I had a lot of fun making, but will probably never make again.)

The tops are vintage magazine pictures, enhanced with glitter, backed with cardboard, and more vintage paper. The skirts are made from old pattern tissue, which I coated in beeswax. A bit of tulle netting and some angelina fibers complete the outfit, along with a dash of glitter and a pipe cleaner belt. The wings are also made from angelina fibers. Each one can stand on their own as shown, or hang from the attached beaded hook.

The angel above is a pretty big gal, measuring 16 inches. The blue angel is 11 inches tall, and the red angel is 8 1/2 inches. I also lined the two bigger angel's skirts with colored tissue paper, coating it with melted beeswax as well. I like the way the color peeks through the pattern tissue, and also it gives the skirts more strength.

Vintage Bling Brooches

This little piece of wearable fiber art is part of my "Vintage Bling Brooch" series. I added this one to my Etsy shop today and will be posting a few more this week. Each one is made from repurposed and recycled materials, such as bits of vintage fabrics and lace, old buttons, velvet flowers, guitar strings, and pieces of vintage jewelry. I think they look terrific this time of year worn on a coat or jacket!

Deconstructed /Reconstructed Doilys

I hope that everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving holiday! I spent my time enjoying family, great food, (none of which I was responsible for cooking... to which I am greatly thankful!) and participating in a wonderful, grass roots effort, the Community Arts Market in Lancaster's historic Eastern Market.

This week in my Etsy shop, I will be posting some of my Deconstructed/Reconstructed Doilies. Each one is made up of various bits and pieces of vintage textiles including lace, crochet, and embroidery work, along with snippets of fabric and ribbon. I have carefully cut, layered and machined stitched these random elements together to create a unified, organic looking piece of fiber art. Each one can be used on a table top, or hung and framed.

Loosening Up

Today I had two objectives in mind:
1) Come up with some designs to be later reinterpreted in fiber.
2) Loosen Up!
I decided to forgo pen and paper, and used the paint features in one of my mysterious, unexplored computer programs. (Yes, I know I am late to board the bus.)
Why had I not realized the potential that this little computer paint brush, and paint bucket held for creative brainstorming?
Drawing with the little paint brush feature was just awkward enough to prevent me from reverting to my usual anal-retentive ways! It allowed me to do exactly what I wanted to do, loosen up!
Adding color via the little paint bucket allowed me to play with lots of color combinations with no clean up!
I am in heaven!
Looking back on my two objectives, and at the dozen of designs I created today, I feel like I was very successful, and am looking forward towards finding some time to create some new fiber pieces based on my new designs!

Gallery

I was very surprised today when I received a copy of Somerset Studio's newest issue of Gallery, (Winter 2008) in my mailbox. I looked inside to find two of my art quilts! I had sent them in ages ago, one to Somerset's "Bohemian" theme issue, and one to their Tenth Anniversary issue. Alas, my art quilts didn't appear in either of those issues, and I had all but forgotten about them. Happy to say that good things come to those who wait, as it is always a special treat to see ones work published! So, next time you are at the bookstore, take a peek at this issue. It is packed full of some wonderful art, and I am thrilled to be a part of it!

The quilt on top is called "Happy Birthday". I was inspired by a vintage illustration in a children's text book, which I re-worked, changing the banner, and adding the birthday hat, along with other little changes. I painted the image with "fantastix all purpose ink" from TSUKINEKO. I finished by embroidering all around the image and beading the background.

The bottom quilt is called "Gypsy Girl" and features a vintage postcard and a bit of text torn from an old book which I have sewn on to various fabrics including silks and upholstery fabrics. I embellished the piece with various beads, buttons and trinkets.