Art for the new year: Postcards
Friday, January 1st, 2010Happy New Year Everyone! May the good stuff from last year continue, may the icky stuff go away…as simple as that!
Someone on the QuiltArt list asked what our “word for the year 2010” would be. I’ve not really done that before—I tend to be NOT introspective and don’t make specific long-term goals, and quit making resolutions years ago. [I resolved that I would no longer make New Year’s Resolutions, but instead would make them when they needed making! I’ve done that, and it is the first New Year’s resolution I’ve managed to keep for years!]
Anyway, after thinking, de-clutter, de-stress, and a few other similar concepts, I came up with
Simplify.
I need to simplify what I do, how I do it, and reserve more time to make art and allow myself to re-charge. Since I got back from Houston in late October, I’ve been playing a catch up game, feeling that I’m in a fallow period for art. I need time to restore myself, so I’ve been reading novels, spending time with family, and generally trying to not kill myself with work!
Along with the theme of simplify, I thought I’d share these fabric postcards, many of which I make for an online swap. The theme was Art Nouveau/Art Deco, and I think the design is nice, straightforward, and fairly simplified!
Here’s how I made them. First I carved my own stamp, based on a design from a Dover book (copyright-use OK). I simplified the design which was too intricate for carving in a stamp that is just under 3×3 inches, then added a frame of vine-branches. You can see some test-prints on paper, and some test-swatches of the paints…mostly Jacquard Lumiere and Setacolor Pearlescents.
I printed onto my own hand-dyed cloth with Ancient Page archival ink:
The cards were then quilted and painted:
Next, I painted some of those leaves. It actually took longer to paint the leaves than to quilt the cards!
Finally, I added a couched yarn edge-finish:
Here’s a close-up of two of the silvery-white roses, one with just the pale green-gold leaves, the other with two-tone leaves:
I have mounted three of these cards and will be offering them for sale, but need to take pictures. Hopefully I’ll get those posted soon…in the meantime, welcome to 2010, to the snow that is falling turning the view out the window into a white and grayscape wonderland, and to making art!