Scrappy Collage

I made these collages using Perfect Paper Adehesive and scraps from my studio.  The technique was shown in an article in Cloth Paper Scissors Magazine and it looked like such fun that I had to try it.  I adore the results!  This was actually one large collage but it only fit on my scanner in two separate sections.  This project caused me quite a quandry.  It looked so beautiful to me just as it is and yet at the same time I felt that I needed to do something with it, add something to it.  How do you know if a piece is enough or if it needs more?  This question plagues me constantly!  In the end I decided to use the collage in an art quilt that I'm currently working on.

Autumn Flowers art quilt

I recently completed this art quilt that I made to go in my new office.  Our offices relocated recently and the new building is painted in all these autumn colors.  My office has a gold accent wall and since autumn colors are not my favorite color choice I had to come up with something new to go on the walls.  While helping a friend move I was gifted with a piece of rayon fabric that was printed in a patchwork design in colors I knew would be just perfect to go on that gold wall!  I began by quilting the fabric with gold thread.  That really made the patterns pop!  I had placed red velvet behind some of the squares and after the quilting was done I cut out part of the rayon to show the red velvet in a reverse applique technique.  Then I decided to paint matte medium along the cut edges and coat them with gold glitter.  What a messy process!  I made some fabric paper in coordinating colors and cut out the rosette pieces which are glued down and then I placed tulle netting over them and stitched it down to ensure that the little pieces didn't lift up.  The little metal squares are made of foil candy wrappers fused to felt.  The large flowers were cut out of a wool blanket and stitched on with gold thread in a blanket stitch.  The centers of the flowers are made of candy wrappers and gold buttons.  I edged the quilt in gold cording and a copper eyelash yarn and mounted the whole thing on brown velvet stapled to a framed canvas.  It looks just great in my office!  Here is detail image:

Beryl Taylor workshop

In April I took a workshop presented by Beryl Taylor who happens to be one of my favorite artists.  Her book Mixed Media Explorations is what really got me started working on my own art.  She invented fabric-paper and I just couldn't wait to try it.  The workshop was a lot of fun and Beryl was so generous with her knowledge and art supplies.  We created three pieces during the workshop although I didn't actually get them finished until I got home.  The piece shown here is a small wall hanging that took me quite a while to finish.  It is created from fabric-paper, watercolor paper, stamps, embroidery, buttons, sequins and beads.

These are the covers for a min-book we made.  It is about 3 inches square.  Here you see some copper and aluminum tape that have been embossed and colored with alcohol inks.  Working with metal is the only thing I had not done before taking this workshop.  The rest of the pages of the book follow.  They are made with fabric-paper, felt, book pages, fabric, stamps, embossing powder, copper, etc. 

The last project we worked on was a steampunk quilt.  This is my least favorite of the three pieces.