8.07.2010

week 27--tree


So I'd thought of doing a family tree; I have been cleaning out my mom's house and finding boxes upon boxes of photographs. (Who are these people?!?) Then I considered doing the classic 'Tree of Life', a design I've always liked. But I'd found a piece of organdy (or is it organza? I could never remember the difference) and wanted to use its sheerness in some way. After attempting a few different ideas (felting, cutouts), I decided to simply draw a tree on it then layer it over another fabric to subtly show through. I had some Czech glass leaf-shaped beads so sewed them on. They're not quite to scale with the presumed size of the tree, but that's okay. The tree reminds me of the London Planes in the neighborhood, what we've called "bumpy trees" since Joe was a little guy. (They're a hybrid of Sycamore and something else, developed for London because the heavy pollutants in the air--London fog was actually London smog--wouldn't affect the trees as much with their contantly peeling bark. So they became popular as a city landscaping tree. There's your science/history lesson for the day.)

Pigma pen on organdy (I just looked it up--'dy is cotton or nylon, 'za is silk, poly, or rayon; what an education today!) over cotton batik. Decorative cording machine-stitched around edges, hand-beaded.

3 comments:

Jean Baardsen said...

Very nice! And I love the leaf beads. I have lots of them but haven't ever found a use for them.

Sheila said...

Pretty! And you gave us another lesson....ALWAYS label your photos with dates and who is pictured there!!

Unknown said...

Love your site! I was turned onto this by your brother Josh after mentioning I have been designing a quilt all day. Great stuff! Wondering if Magic Mirror is still for sale also and if just maybe, the title came from an old Leon Russell song that I now can't get out of my head! But I don't mind really,love me some Leon always.

Anna