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Amaryllis in Living Colour

At long last I can share!   I still can’t believe that I am amongst those juried in to the Living Colour Textiles exhibit curated by Australian Brenda Gael Smith.

Amaryllis by Sarah Ann Smith (C) 2014.  See the Living Colour Exhibit at http://livingcolourtextiles.com/

Amaryllis by Sarah Ann Smith (C) 2014. See the Living Colour Exhibit at http://livingcolourtextiles.com/

To see the full exhibit, click on the link in the caption.

I knew I wanted to do something big and bold.  At first I wanted to do a lily, but when I began working on this piece it was mid-winter—not the ideal time of year to go out in Maine and snap pictures of lilies.  Then I realized I had the perfect image right in our own dining room:  an amaryllis.  So I waited patiently for the blossoms to open, took a ga-zillion phiotos, then selected the right ones.

I dyed the red fabric as well as the green/yellow in the centers (and used commercial batiks and my hand-dyes in the background).  I thread-sketched the amaryllis onto batting and backing, then cut away the batting/backing underneath the background, added a second layer of batting (Matilda’s Own Wool-Poly, and thrilled that this wonderful Aussie batting gets to visit “home”), quilted the background densely and around the petals and stamens.   Finished size pieces in the exhibit is 40 x 100 cm, or about 16 x 39 1/2 inches.

Here is a detail:

Amaryllis, detail, by Sarah Ann Smith (C) 2014.  See the Living Colour Exhibit at http://livingcolourtextiles.com/

Amaryllis, detail, by Sarah Ann Smith (C) 2014. See the Living Colour Exhibit at http://livingcolourtextiles.com/

Brenda has a full listing of where the quilts will be on display on the website.  You can also buy an exhibit catalog (published by Blurb) directly from Brenda or, more conveniently for those of us in the US, directly from Blurb.  I’ll add that link here, but at the moment I gotta run!  Spring break has arrived and we are heading out the door to take Eli on his first college visits!  Back soon!

15 Responses to “Amaryllis in Living Colour”

  1. Jacquie Scuitto Says:

    Lovely! — (of course)
    Which colleges is Eli interested in?

  2. Claudia Says:

    THAT is gorgeous!

  3. Maggie Magee Says:

    Awesome, Sarah!

  4. Kristin Freeman Says:

    Sarah, this is a truly beautiful piece of your work. Congrats on your inclusion in the exhibit. Also appreciated your noes about your construction of the piece.
    Kristin

  5. Ann Craig Says:

    Wonderful piece! Looks fantastic! Your in with a great bunch of artists! Wow!

  6. Jenny K. Lyon Says:

    Drop. Dead. Gorgeous Sarah!

  7. Maggi Says:

    Congratulations, it is a stunning piece

  8. Karin Mcelvein Says:

    It is Gorgeous. Such detail.

    Karin

  9. Vicki W Says:

    It’s beautiful!

  10. Robin Parton Says:

    Sarah Ann,
    I love this piece, hope to get to see it in person some day. I think this is one of hour best pieces.

  11. Heather Says:

    What a fabulous job you have made of this. The detail in the stitching is inspiring.

  12. Susan Dunne-Lederhaas Says:

    Absolutely gorgeous! You should wear a huge smile with this honor! Susan

  13. Claudia Says:

    I was looking at the catalog for the Living Colours Textiles exhibit last night. Oh, my! You are in an exclusive group. That catalog is on my wish list (and we can buy it in US dollars).

  14. Dorothy Karman Says:

    I love your amaryllis. The colours are glorious. I had a look at the other quilts and have decided there are some very clever sewers. I love them all. I like the new scooter. When are you getting yours?

  15. Sally Says:

    Congratulations. Awesome work as usual!