Process Post

Our group has permission to "post away" about our entries, so I thought I would share a couple process photos. This is for my entry into Breaking Traditions 2008, the deadline for which is Saturday. I'm actually down to one last appliqued piece, these photos were taken a few days ago. I'm not usually pleased enough with process to post pix, but I'm a bit proud of this one.



First, I drew my hands on two separate pieces of onionskin paper --











then I transferred the drawings to fabric and sewed the hands to the background piece, stitching along the lines of the hands to emphasize the curvature of them a bit --





The dots on the hands are pins which I used instead of basting the layers because I planned to FME the hell out of the background.

The leaves there on the left will be appliqued around the wrists, which I left with unfastened raw edges because I was unsure what I was going to do with that spot. The background fabric cut in strips from an awesome piece of nighttime city skyline fabric that one of the Orts Group Artists (that's for another post!!) had Very Graciously shared with me a while ago. The first border is pieced one-inch squares in black-and-white rock images and small floral images. When I post the final picture on my other blog, I'll go into why I chose this. The final border will be self-wrapped from the back, plain black, folded to 3/8" and stitched down.

Be inquisitive! Be drawing, in your mind if not with your pencil! and I'll be back...

HAH!!

OK, short thought here...don't want to unveil it yet, but you know that inspiration, like weeds, comes up anywhere without warning or desire. Inspiration just is.

I will say this -- every day that I have is a gift. It is a free 12 hours(or so!) of awesomeness, fun, funniness, appreciating the people who (from "Four Feathers" w/Heath Ledger) "God put you in my way, so what else am I to do??!! (character grins and walks off across the African desert sanddune mountains!)." That's a quote from near the end by the character played by Djimoun Honsou, for whom I have the UTMOST respect as an awesome actor, along with Heath Ledger's character. It's not that I'm crazily religious or anything, do NOT go running screaming in the other direction, but I do firmly believe that things happen for a reason and just because they may be bad in our interpretation of the word does not necessarily mean that our interpretation is correct.

Be appreciative! Be grateful (for every moment that you have, that you can feel, that you can know)!! AND (promise, not a threat!!) I'll be back...