How Life and Art Mesh

Lupines grow in the road ditches in the Kootenays at this time of year. A trip to the west arm of Kootenay lake last week, where they are prolific, had me thinking about the purplish-blue colour throughout the week. Today I got to create something based on that interest. Sometimes it takes a little while for the creative ideas to percolate. 

Completed lined textile bag. A piece of my hand painted fabric was selected for the front.

A sketch done on location really helps me to focus on the shapes within the plant.

An early morning photo when the light was just right.

A box of scraps of hand-dyed and hand dye-painted fabrics get saved in this box. Can I find a piece of lupine painted fabric?

Yes, here it is. Painting on textiles is something I do often and I had this scrap of lupines and other flowers painted on canvas. Fibre reactive dyes paint very well on the natural fibre of the canvas.

This painted fabric could be made into a multitude of things but how does an artist decide in which direction to go? Well for me, it is often influenced by what is going on in my life at the moment and recently I was sewing fabric gift bags. After sewing over 10 of them, using different sizes and techniques, I felt ready to try this special one. 

 

The four pieces cut for the outside of the bag and for the lining. An hour or so of sewing has it completed.  A couple more samples follow.

A hand-painted hummingbird on cotton, paired with a lining made a great little drawstring bag. 

I had the pieced quilt square from a colour theory course I taught and with the addition of fabric on the top and bottom, it gave an added interest to the back of the bag. 

You may not have hand-painted fabric in your 'stash' but perhaps you have some hand-dyed fabrics. This indigo dyed shibori piece was done years ago but isn't it great paired with a little bit of commercial fabric. 

Let me know if you have some other ideas for your dye painted fabric scraps.