Saturday, January 27, 2018

Fabric Collage Past and Present

My most recent obsession is fabric collage using Susan Carlson's technique of laying on a multitude of fabric bits to create a piece. Think of a painter dipping a brush into paint and applying it to canvas, whereas in fabric collage I cut a bit of just the right piece of fabric and lay it on the background. Having a huge fabric inventory is essential, because there isn't the option of mixing paint to get the right color. You have to search through you fabrics--which is a fun activity in itself!

I have completed The Window Watchers; Green Carp is complete except for quilting and edge finishing, which will not alter the look much. In Green Carp, paper is laid on to show where the edges will be when finished.

The Window Watchers, 22" x 28"

Green Carp top before quilting, 24" x 18"
I have done fabric collage for many years in a more simplified way. Here are a few earlier pieces from 2006-2013. Red Hibiscus is a Lorraine Covington pattern (called Pink Hibiscus); all other designs are mine.
Campfire 2006
Pacific Coast 2009
Amaryllis 2012
The Atrium at Ochsner's 2012
Red Hibiscus, 2012
When Worlds Collide 2013
Campfire, 2006, 22" x 23"
I located an in-progress picture of Pacific Coast from 2006 and can recall that I constructed it on a background by cutting bits of fabric and building the scene. The sky was a white piece which I painted. Water began as white with paint, then cutting strips. Angelina fibers and painted, crinkled cellophane simulate frothy water.
Pacific Coast, under construction, 2009

Pacific Coast, 2009, 18" x 15"
In The Atrium at Ochsner's, large sections were used for the buildings, with leaves depicting the tall palm trees in the atrium. Smaller pieces were cut for the foliage on the floor, but still in larger, representational cuts for the objects.
The Atrium at Ochsner's, 2012, 19" x 29"
Red Hibiscus, 2012, 29" x 24"
In When Worlds Collide, the circles and donuts were applied over a pieced background, with addition of organza, feathery ribbon, and beads.
When Worlds Collide, 2013, 34" x 18"
Linking up to Off the Wall Friday


4 comments:

Jenny K. Lyon said...

Window Watcher is absolutely divine! And World's Collide too. What beautiful work. I see you were featured in Susan's latest post too. I am considering the online version of her class.

tierneycreates said...

You are now the collage queen! Enjoyed seeing your other collage works. You have inspired me to someday study collage quilting too! It is like painting with fabric!

Martha Ginn said...

Thanks, Jenny,
I highly recommend Susan's online class when she makes it available. I was in her online trial class. In addition to Susan's critique, we interacted with the other class members for extra learning experience.

Martha Ginn said...

Thanks, Tierney, I didn't realize how similar the technique was in Pacific Coast until I looked at this in-progress photo. Susan Carlson's technique uses much smaller pieces--such fun to find just the right ones!