What I'm currently working on...

I've always loved mosaics and wanted to play around with a mosaic quilt concept, so I decided to do a scrap mosaic. I'm using double stick fusible web which I apply to the back of the fabrics before cutting them up into small pieces and pressing them on the base. My plan is to put a sheer fabric over the top before either hand or machine quilting.

The Shady Tree, playing with weaving

I truly love working with fabric. I love how versital it can be. It can be cut and stitched, of course, but it can also be drawn or painted on, glued, shredded, torn, woven, etc.

This piece sat half finished for years. I started it because I found a weaving loom in a local thrift store and, as I often do, I immediately became inspired to try a different medium. I took the loom home and started researching the craft. After falling down a rabbit hole of google searching, youtube video watching and library book reading, I started this small weaving with yarn. About midway however, I lost interest or got distracted (no doubt by another project, craft or artistic style), so I put my little tree weaving aside and forgot about it. 

Then, one day I was going through my scrap basket and decided to tear the larger peices into strips and join them together to add to my little weaving and I love how it turned out. The fabric gives the piece more texture and volume. Every time I look at it my mind goes in several different ways thinking about how I could push it further. Maybe dip dye the ends of the fringe or stitch it into a quilt or maybe make it the center back of an art coat. I know I will be playing more with weaving in the future.

Better Together: An Art Quilt Inspired by Japanese Boro

This piece was inspired by the Japanese art of boro. "Boro (Japanese: ぼろ) are a class of Japanese textiles that have been mended or patched together. The term is derived from Japanese boroboro, meaning something tattered or repaired" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boro_(textile)).

I started with a cotton sheet and layered fabric pieces to cover the entire surface having them overlap in different ways. I basted them first with safety pins and, after rearranging until I was happy, I then basted by hand with long running stitches. The boro stitches were the last step. As the quilt came together I decided to add the red stripes giving it the feel of an abstract flag of the USA. The fabrics are denims, cottons, linens, and silk blends, primarily from up-cycled clothing and other textiles. Stitching was done by hand with 100% cotton yarn.

I found the up and down hand stitching, while slow, to be very rewarding. As I worked on this piece I often thought of the origins of the technique. I imagined a woman sewing a fabric patch onto her husband's heavy fishing coat in order to repair a worn area. It may have been passed down through generations and so had many repairs done by many hands.

Works in Progress

These are a couple of items I'm currently working on. Both are fabric with beads/other elements and measure approximately 10 1/2 inches square.

Mixed Media Cross

I completed this piece for the 2016 J. Wallace James Elementary School Art Walk. Hand beading, quilting, and wood block.

Donated Quilt

This is my first "traditional" quilt. The asymmetrical blocks are composed of fabric scraps from making children's clothes. I donated the quilt to the 2016-2017 J. Wallace James Elementary School Silent Auction to raise money for the school.

Mixed Media Wreaths

Playing with natural elements, I created these wreaths with dried stems, faux and dried leaves, fabric, wire, and paint. The first was featured in an Etsy.com curated collection. 

 

Leaves on Water

This piece was my entry in the 2009 Art Exhibit “Show Offs!” held at Upstairs Frames & Photos Gallery in Breaux Bridge, LA where I received an honorable mention award.

 

Sewing Business Venture

This is a magazine article written about a sewing business started by a friend and I. We sold handmade and custom children’s clothing and accessories at local craft shows and through social media. My daughter is modeling one of the outfits I made with primarily re-purposed textiles.   

 

Fiber Art Class Project

In the Summer of 2008 I taught a fiber arts class for young people through the Terrebonne Waterlife Museum in Houma, Louisiana. The participants learned about sewing, using paper patterns, and hand embroidery. One of the projects in the class was the creation of custom dress forms using paper packaging tape and fabric. The students paired up and took turns wrapping each other in the tape. Once dry, the form was cut off and covered in fabric to transform the shape into a custom dress form. 

Postcard Quilts

These are some of the mini quilts I made after attending a workshop taught by fiber artist Claire Waguespack about postcard quilts. They are backed with heavy paper and can be sent through the United States postal service.