Homestead Pears

Made by Teresa Carole Phillips
Quadra Island, BC

Size:  Approx 14" x 20"

An old pear tree overhanging the beach at an abandoned homestead on an island north of Quadra. 

 Hand dyed cotton fabric, manipulated and redyed several times creates complex layers. Pears hand painted with pigment pencils and textile medium. Free motion quilted with feathers and pebbles.

Crystal Ball - Salmon Circle

Size: 12” x 12”

Made by Teresa Carole Phillips

Quadra Island, BC

2014-07-11

For this journal theme ‘Crystal Ball’ I attempted a serious look at the state of wild salmon on the Canadian coast. Some of the problems I see: the federal government laying off fisheries officers and oceanographers; unmitigated habitat loss, overfishing, sport fishing, ocean pollution, river pollution, atlantic salmon farming practices….

Regretfully,  my ghost of salmon future was born, served on a plate of ‘broken dishes’ quilt block pattern.

I sketched a salmon within a circle; a tribute to the ‘salmon circle’ of life. See the song lyrics at the bottom. This used to be a favourite song of mine back in the 80’s and I found myself humming it while working on this piece.

I stitched through my sketch onto the quilt below to create the ghost image, and then picked out the bits of paper.  Apologies for any lack of anatomical correctness.

Here is a close-up:

Song lyrics by Fraser Lang. Great song if you want to listen to a clip you can find it on the internet.

The salmon circle from the sea to the sea

Up the rivers of life endlessly

And they always return to the place they began

For a million years they swam and swam and swam

They swam and swam and swam

Round the rocks in the pool in the river below

They are turning and turning oh so slow

Salmon been here forever in this sacred dance

Round and round they go, its a water romance

From the long slow rhythm of a four year cycle

to the pounding beat of the oceans that are like

a drum that sounds clear across the globe and

it's calling the children, calling them home

Redbacks swimming in the stream

Humpbacks dancing in a dream

Nose to tail they circle round and round

Go back to the spawning grounds

By the taste of the waters they return to the source

Lay down their eggs and feel the life force

Resting safe in the gravel, pass the winter thru

The big fish are dying, but in the spring life renews

Housewarming Bouquet

Size:  24 ½” x 24 ½”


To warm the walls with ever fresh flowers!

This is an original design.  Fused raw edge applique with free motion machine embroidery using Hemmingworth polyester embroidery threads throughout.  Double batting; bottom layer cotton/polyester; top layer Hobbs polyester.  Free motion feather designs with motifs in the background.  Motifs were inspired by wrought iron fence designs.

Here are some close-ups of the background quilting and the embroidery.

Whirlwind

Size: Approx 12” x 12 ¾”

This piece has sold.

Materials: Hand dyed cottons, upholstery fabrics for tree trunk, 2 layers cotton batting, cotton threads, polyester embroidery threads for branches. Cheesecloth and fabric trimmings for lichens.

All the fabrics were hand dyed. Very soon after I spent time in Whistler and did the zipline tour between Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains. It was called the Bear Tour and made up 4 separate ziplines back and forth across the creek that runs between the two mountains. I did the trip with my highschool girlfriends and we had a blast, especially since this was a spur of the moment activity. Some of us needed a lot of encouragement! Part of the tour was a walk through the canopy among the old growth trees. The view and the feeling was incredible. It was a long way down, and yet you could reach out and touch the bark of these 700 year old trees. I was trying to capture the ruggedness, the closeness, and the airiness of the place.

And then, looking out over open space, you had to JUMP! That’s where the whirlwind comes in.

You would whoosh through the air, shouting, whirling, kicking your legs, until finally you came to other side and were saved and congratulated by everyone.

This little piece is about 5” x 9” and I made it to commemorate the occasion for one of the friends who overcame absolute terror to achieve this. The little woman dangles from a waxed black cord and can zip back and forth on her jewelry clasp. She is grasping a piece of twisted embroidery floss.

It was an exhilarating and emotional experience – a Whirlwind.

Twilight

Size: 14 ½” x 23 ½”

This piece has sold.

This piece fits in my 2013 series of forest scenes. I like the way the light in a forest at twilight is subdued, reflecting the colours of the mosses and canopy, until the air is saturated with browns and greens. The trunks become the dark contrast. I worked from photos taken at Cathedral Grove on Vancouver Island.

Materials and techniques: cotton fabric: dyed, silkscreen printed, and string bleached. Thread sketched in black cotton. Hand painted with fabric inks, oils and foil. Cotton batting. Quilted with invisible thread. Commercial batik binding.

Tuscany Turquoise

Approx size:  24" x 36"

Hand dyed, hand painted fabrics throughout. A wheat paste resist was etched, dried, crumpled, then painted to achieve the effects on the main panel. Free motion thread embroidery is used on the leaves of the tree.

Dragonfly's Monet

Size:  approx 12” x 18”

This piece has sold.

 Wool roving, bits of thread and yarn, fabric scraps, and cheesecloth are encrusted together building up an image that resembles Monet's waterlilies.  The Dragonfly's Domain.

Here is a close up: