Works in progress

My last blog post talked about my project board... it's where I keep track of what I want to do or try in the near future, usually within the calendar year. Some of these I have tried before, but I want to continue improving my technique. Others are new to me, but I have been wanting to try them for some time.

So... one of the things I have been wanting to do more of is carving stamps to use on my fabrics. I had some already done, but decided to add to my collection. So off to the hardware store I went to get some more plumbers' gasket, which works well for carving. I also went to the 'culled' lumber cart and picked up a small piece of plywood to use for stamp bases, and I also picked up some small pieces of clear lucite, again to use as stamp bases. Yesterday, I decided to test the stamps on a piece of scrap fabric I found in my stash... probably a little busy if I planned to use it, but it's one of those 'ugly' pieces I decided would work fine for a test piece. Here it is:

Top left and bottom left are two new stamps I carved and mounted on chunks of wood I had in the garage. Middle is a set of stamps I carved out of a softer element. I used double sided carpet tape to adhere them to clear lucite, and added a strip of wood as a handle. Top right is a stamp I carved awhile back with plumbers' gasket again, mounted on a chunk of wood, and the leaf at bottom right is carved from plumbers' gasket, but mounted on lucite. I used black gesso applied with a foam brush for my test medium. However, I plan to use thickened dyes when I apply them to fabric for use, as I don't like the stiffness that paints leave.

On to the next project, which actually didn't make it to my project board... hmmmm!!!

Last fall, I went to New Mexico for 4 days with a friend, and one of our stops was Taos, which is a beautiful place. I had never been, but really wanted to see the countryside there and take photos. I believe I posted some when we got back, and one in particular was earmarked to be used as inspiration for a fiber art piece. Here is the picture:

I really love this scene, and started work on the fiber art piece last fall.

First I did a simple line drawing

Next, I transferred it to my muslin foundation

I had several fabrics already dyed that I could use, but decided to do gradation dyeing for the sky and mountains.

Then, once I got to this point, I laid the project aside over the last couple months of the year to work on other things. Today, I decided I was ready to continue:

I had actually fused the mountains and the foreground green piece in place before I stopped, but didn't take a photo. So when I resumed, I fused the middle ground, the horse, and the top of the first tree. Next I will be doing some free-motion stitching to create the tree trunk and branches, then I plan to layer some lightweight handkerchief fabric that has been dyed with the foliage colors. So stay tuned... this project has finally made it back to the front burner for now!