Hand dye painted fabric with free motion stitching: Canadianana Series
Canadianna Series? Here is a start with some images of our wonderful Canadian wildlife.
Bears, there are three different types in Canada. The black bear, grizzly bear and polar bear. This guy is a black bear which can be brown too. Kermode bears also known as 'spirit' or 'ghost' bears are also a type of black bear and they are white. The Kermode bears live in the rainforest along the coast of BC.
As with the above bear, when I have already painted the image, it is easy to go ahead adding the details. I try and tell a story with each one and with this textile card the imagined the bear is walking through spring grass with the lovely Rocky Mtns in the background.
It is a little harder to know what to do when I have free form painted the cloth piece and then I have to decide what it reminds me of before I can begin the stitching. Here I am auditioning some of my sketches and photos. What would you have added to this background? My idea is shown further on.
Distractions in the Studio: My dog is looking at me as I sew, waiting to play a game or get a treat for being a patient 'art dog'.
Distractions in the Studio: My dog is looking at me as I sew, waiting to play a game or get a treat for being a patient 'art dog'.
"I found him but can you help me get him out!"
Okay back to work in the studio. In keeping with the 'Canadianana' Series, I decided to try a 'Western Red Turtle' swimming in water. We have lots of them in our Creston wetlands but I had to 'google' them up to find out where to add a touch of red.
Two more black bears, both slightly different.
A red fox. If only I could combine the two textile card pieces to produce what I would consider the perfect piece. On this first one, I like the composition of the stitching with the fence continuing on the other side of the fox and an opening heading to the barn. There is good variation in the grass from dark green to a spring chartreuse green. His body shows form with the red of his body going from dark to light.
If you were making a Canadianna series what images would you choose?
5 comments:
A great read and visual treat. I thought I might choose the ducks on that background but I definitely like the turtle better.
We have foxes and black bears here as well as coyotes plenty of raccoons but they're pesky. We had a family of swallow that the raccoon got.
There are lots of wild rabbits around.
Your process fascinates me because I really enjoy looking for something in the dyed fabric. I just don't have much patience for the dye process. Your pieces are beautiful!
Loving that painted turtle on your piece - it looks wonderfully in place there. And it's so fun to see Casey and Pooh playing together -I can just imagine the places that Pooh turns up in!
Holly after reading your comment I tried sewing a wild rabbit and a raccoon image onto a loosely dyed background. I will post them later.
Win, thanks for the feedback about he the painted turtle. I will need to drive to the wetlands for some more photos.
What a delightful read Eileen! The Canadiana Series is a wonderful idea and I enjoyed the game with Casey and Pooh.
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