12½" x 13"
> 2005 ANG Seminar, Nashville. Award: - Honorable Mention.

The story of "Reflecting"

In the late afternoon as Lou and I were walking along the beach at Longboat Key Florida, we saw a bird doing the same thing. What a wonderful vision as the bird stood in its own watery golden shadows created by the setting sun. Serene and oblivious to our presence, the bird stayed motionless as we took its picture and we marveled about the beauty of the scene unfolding before our eyes. Nature was painting a picture that became more spectacular by the moment. Whenever I look at this Canvas Collage with the phototransfer of the bird, I reflect on the feeling that led to this picture and its title, Reflecting.

Reflecting was created with four particular design elements; the photo, the vines/border, the water, and the small outer border.

The most obvious vines, leaves and blossoms were carefully cut from the print of a batik quilting fabric. When I placed the vines on the needlepoint canvas surrounding the bird phototransfer, it was not "enough". Something more was needed but not more of the same. Usually I love to go shopping for new fabric but this time I was eager to get going on the piece so a final search through my fabrics gave me an interesting and successful solution.

I chose a William Morris fabric with yellow, taupe and black in the print. I cut the fabric into narrow uneven strips and placed the strips among the leaves and vines. Heavy textural knitting yarn that had been hand dyed in muddy mysterious tones was couched to imitate the tangled mass of shrubbery that borders this strip of beach. Knitting yarns can create unexpected wonderful texture on the usually flat needlepoint canvas.

The blossoms were created by using overdye silk ribbon. I cut a length of ribbon about 18" long. Using a very fine sharp needle and one strand of fine silk matching thread, I basted a running stitch through the length of the ribbon. When that was done, I pulled the basting thread and "gathered" the ribbon. That gathered strip was then couched onto the canvas by stitching along the same basted center of the gathered ribbon.

I outline couched the leaves with heavy silk thread that had been hand dyed by my daughter Wendy. I love including her fibers in my work (when I can get them!) It's as if we are creating together.

To extend the color and feeling of water, I stitched the remaining canvas in basketweave using a blend of threads that included overdye cotton and silk, Splendor silks, DMC floss, metallic filament in very dark tarnished tones. I find that a variety of fibers can be used together if the texture and colors are compatible. The same technique was used to complete the stitching for the shading of the sky.

I realized that this piece has a mood of its own which I could not manipulate. Although I used lots of vibrant texture and color, it was all absorbed by the canvas and the resulting mood was soft and serene.

The final border was couched with overdye knitting yarn and has resulted in a braided effect which I hadn't planned but I do enjoy the result. The random placement of the colors found their own positioning as they matched and enhanced the picture within. If you look at the left and right of the border, toward the bottom half, you can see what I mean.

I like to create a way for the eye to enter the piece. The double sets of borders allow the viewer to enter the world of the bird and at the same time stand back at a quiet, respectful distance, allowing the sanctuary for Reflecting.

>Click within the stitchings to see the detail images: