Size 12" x 12"
I love it when, after being ‘stumped’
for months, suddenly an idea pops into being. While hiking in the
forest taking photos for future ‘tree’ art I came across fire
blackened Douglas Fir stumps. On closer inspection tiny lichens and
infantile mosses appeared. Rather than being pure black the stump
had a rainbow of colours, from the blue sheen of wet charcoal, the
vibrant greens, golds, and brown specks of lichens, to the rich reds
of undamaged bark. New life clung to cracks in the old.
My idea for this piece evolved 180 from
my original plan. My first thought was to burn the hand-dyed cottons
for the real effect. I did try holding a few pieces over a candle
and under the heat gun. I found the results amusing and messy! A
few burst into flame, others just got sooty and I ended up with black
fingers. I abandoned that attempt, and fortunately had enough pieces
left to proceed without the flames and soot.
I worked from a sketch, cutting out
each piece and fusing them to a solid black base. They are stitched
on using free-motion zigzag in black thread. The piece is rubbed
with different colours of oil stick and left to dry for 48 hours.
The first piece of batting is placed under and textured machine
stitching is added. Mosses and lichens are machine and hand
embroidered. A little huckleberry is fused and embroidered. The
large mosses were thread embroidered onto soluble stabilizer then
stitched on with extra stuffing behind. Lastly, a second batting and
backing were added before the final quilting to make the bark stand
out.
I’m pleased with the result, but I do
have a few changes to add. I’m finding that the negative space of
black is a bit too strong on the lower left and I’m going to soften
it some more with added oil sticks.
Here’s a close up:
