A different angle to inspiration from nature...

The second project of our Transitions group was to make a background of strips and do something with it....!     

On one of our trips, Willem and I stayed at the Riebeek Valley Hotel in Riebeek West.   Walking around the beautiful gardens, I was taken with the bark of a huge pine tree and took photographs as inspiration for maybe one day.....     While putting my fabrics together for our next project, somehow this image of the bark kept coming back to me...    I decided that I was ready to use this photograph as inspiration for my second art quilt.

Bark of a pine tree - photo taken in Riebeek West

I prepared a piece using strips of cotton, taffeta, upholstery fabric and even peach skin in various widths.    Quite a variety of fabrics indeed!    I singed some of the edges with a candle to give it interesting edges and lines before stitching it together.  Somehow I worked in the same colour range as Tranformation - Glow Beyond the Scorched Earth.....    

I started work on this quilt while I was also working on Transformation - Glow Beyond the Scorched Earth.    It was so much easier to work on this piece - maybe I had made the transition to a different way of working....    I added more strips of singed chiffon, taffeta and even tulle to the foundation piece as part of the embellishment and stitched hand embroidery stitches in a very random way using variegated perle no 8 threads.   I also couched cords and recycled silk yarns to the piece.    I finished the embellishment with motifs which I made from copper wire and other metal pins used for making earrings as well as a variety of glass and metal beads.....

Centre panel of Transformation - An Ode  to Trees 2009

We were discussing discharging of fabric at one of our meetings and I started experimenting with odd pieces of black fabric and were absolutely thrilled with the result.   I promptly used two pieces for the side panels of the quilt and bought a lovely piece of screen printed fabric from Pam Stallabrass which was just perfect for the top section of the quilt (although I used the reverse side of the fabric)....    The pieces of fabric lent itself to a Kimono shape quilt.....    

I made fabric beads to use in a fringe for the bottom of the quilt mixed with wooden and metal beads.   On one of our trips, I collected quills of porcupines which were run over while trying to cross the road in a remote area...    I desperately wanted to use some of the quills in this quilt.....     As the beaded fringe at the bottom were quite bulky, I added beads hanging from T-section with porcupine ends secured with copper wire which seemed to balance the bottom fringe.     The quilt was machine quilted and the edges were secured without bindings which added more texture.

Side section using discharged black fabric and porcupine quill ends  finishing the beading.

Beaded fringe at bottom of quilt

I gave this quilt to my daughter Elizabeth.    While shopping for beads, I found small little copper coins with the image of Elizabeth I and had to buy it....!    I embellished some of the fabric beads with the little coin, truly a quilt for the namesake...!

The centre panel of this quilt is heavily stitched and embellished with beads etc...    I believe it is a fine art to know when to stop embellishing as too much can also spoil a wonderful piece of work.    My motto is when in doubt, don't or stop!    

I named the quilt Transformation - An Ode to Trees.    Transformation as I was still in the process of adapting to this new way of quilting and because I used so much of the same fabric as Glow Beyond the Scorched Earth.   I also worked on these two quilts at the same time, it almost felt like quilts in a series.     As my initial inspiration was the photograph of the tree bark which I took in Riebeek West, I had to pay tribute to trees .....

Transformation - An Ode to Trees 2009

My realistically themed quilts were all inspired by nature -  so it was an interesting challenge to use an element from nature to create this quilt....!     I felt very blessed to have created these two Transformation  quilts.......

Into the world of art quilts....

The journey on which my first art quilt Transformation - Glow Beyond the Scorched Earth took me, was intense, frustrating and utterly thrilling.    It taught me patience as I had to sit back and wait for inspiration for the next step until it was done.....    The quilt developed as I progressed and I had no idea how it would look  finally...     It finally set me free to create to my hearts content....


Forming the art quilt group Transitions had a profound effect on my quilting journey....   After working in a set format for such a long time, it was difficult to suddenly change gears...    All of a sudden I could not rely on first getting the "mental picture" of my realistic quilts as I needed to let go of the creative control I had of all phases of my work.   It was such an intense challenge which was very frustrating as it left me feeling out of sorts ...   The transition was very difficult...


As the first project for our new group, we decided to each choose a shape to make a small quilt.  I chose a square as shape and quickly cut and fused different sizes of squares onto half of a fat quarter as background...    I pinned it to my design wall and wondered where this would take me as I had no idea....    My biggest concern was that I could see no change to my previous work of similar design...    I became terribly frustrated and irritated as I sat staring at it every day.....    After about two weeks, I realized that the edges were too perfect and I needed  more uneven lines - I promptly removed the square patches from the background, lit a candle and started burning the raw edges!   Just perfect!   I burnt the edges of the background fabric to complement the uneven edges of the motifs...   At last I felt I made some progress....   


 My initial idea was to machine stitch the entire quilt and embellish it with beading...   I used the raw edge applique method to secure all the motifs to the background, but somehow it looked too plain and flat...    I played with some metal and glass beads and realized the texture difference between the beads and machine stitching was too severe, I needed something as filler in between....     I was stuck again!    I promptly placed the piece back on the design wall and waited for inspiration...     I tentatively experimented with some hand embroidery stitches which immediately added another dimension to the embellished squares.     

Centre panel of quilt  (on its side for better viewing)

I extended the quilt by adding off cuts around the centre panel in a very unconventional way - it would be the border of the quilt!   I found bits of leather in my stash with very interesting uneven edges to add in between the centre panel and the border sections.    Somehow, working on this quilt, became easier and very exciting....

At our first creative meeting, we made fabric beads which was great fun.    It lifted the spirits in the group as all of us felt a bit intimidated by the challenge of "jumping out of our rigid boxes"...    As I was taking tentative steps with my first art quilt effort, I decided to add a beaded fringe to the quilt and made beads using the same colour palette as the "not so square anymore" motifs.    I also burnt most of the edges of the fabric for the beads to keep the effect the same as the motifs.   Burning the edges, left a very dark edge which was perfect for the earthy colours in which I was working....   I felt the first stirrings of excitement....   But it was still a long way to go...   

Fabric beads mixed with wooden, clay and metal beads.

Brenda sent me some creative quotes to be used as inspiration in our group and I could especially relate to one by Carl Jung:
 The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect

But by the play instinct acting from inner necessity.

The creative mind plays with the objects it loves.

I decided to decorate one panel of this quilt by writing this quote repeatedly!    I also used this quote as heading on the homepage of this blog...!

Panel with Carl Jung Quote above the bottom  beaded fringe

I also wrote on the one side panel, but somehow it did not look right....   The piece of fabric was just perfect and I wanted to use it, so I had to cover my mistake...   I burnt the edges of chiffon, tulle and organza strips and covered the writing with these strips...   It created lovely texture and I immediately liked it, but realized I had to counter balance it on the other side using a darker shade...   I decided not to cut the threads on the edge as it created extra texture ....

Side panel with strips of organza, tulle and  chiffon covering unwanted writing....!

The construction was done in an unconventional way.   I quilted the different pieces down onto the backing by working from the outside to the centre of the quilt!    As I chose the square as the initial design motif, I used it in the free motion quilting as well.    After completing the quilting and adding the beads to the bottom fringe, I realized that the quilt looked too heavy at the bottom....    I wrapped a short dowel with fabric and added a short beaded fringe to it which was attached to the top of the quilt which provided a good balance with the bottom beaded fringe.

Transformation - Glow Beyond the Scorched Earth 2009
Explaining the title........
Transformation:  I had to change my previous  way of working;
Glow :  I used lots of copper beads, wire & foil;
Beyond:  I had to delve deep within myself to accomplish this quilt;
Scorched:  Burning the edges of the fabric made this quilt happen like new growth;
Earth:  Referring to the earthy colours of the quilt and also a reflection of my personality....

Transformation - Glow Beyond the Scorched Earth 2009, my very first art quilt took about 6 months to make.    I entered it in the 2011 National Quilt Festival which was held in Stellenbosch, South African and I was gobsmacked when it was awarded Best on Show, Art Quilts!