4th Quarter Challenge – Monochrome
No one will be surprised at my choice of subjects, a panda.
I had some maori batts in a gray color so it seemed an easy choice as a base.
I’ve been trying to add more dimension into my work as I mentioned in last week’s blog post. So, this was one of my goals with this project.
I layed out the batt then made the head of the panda in prefelt, then added the shapes for the ears, and eyes. Since the nose would be the center of the picture, I used a needle felted nose shape in a heavier fiber then covered it with another nose shaped prefelt and needle felted it onto the batt. I don’t know why it looks pink.
I continued to build up the shape, added gems for eyes and covered them with another layer of prefelt and more fiber. I wanted to give the fur a fuzzy effect so I carefully cut and put fibers along the edges and a little shading around the eye. For the body, I blended some gray into the black for contrast. Since the arm blended in with the body I just used a shaded area to give it a little dimension. And of course, the panda is eating her bamboo. Her nose is actually bamboo fiber. Here is a side view.
After securing everything with more needle felting, I wet felted it. The maori didn’t shrink much which was fine because I intended to wrap it around a canvas frame.
Well I changed my mind and hung it without wrapping it on a frame.
I may put it on a darker background to make it stand out from the gray wall. What do you think?
Have you done the challenge yet?
I want to let you all know I will be taking a leave of absence. I’m having surgery November 3 and don’t know how long it will be before I can resume felting. In the mean time, several forum friends have offered to help fill in my blog spots. If you have something you’d like to blog about to help out, please contact Ruth, Zed or Ann. I hope to see you all back here soon! Thanks for your support!
32 thoughts on “4th Quarter Challenge – Monochrome”
She’s lovely, Marilyn. Good luck for your surgery & hope you’re very quickly back to full felting fitness
Thanks Jill!
What a lovely panda! Sorry ot hear you need to go to hospital. Hope you are quickly back and recover soon.
Thanks Nada!
Best wishes for a full recovery Marilyn.
Brilliant monochrome challenge piece. Panda is so sweet with that smile in a perfectly shaped face. I like the gems for eyes and the grey felted background is just right as it doesn’t steal the focus from panda.
Thanks Lyn! Every Pandagirl needs her own panda. :-). It was a joy to make and the bonus was doing the challenge at the same time.
The panda is adorable, and even more adorable in person. A joyful creation! You did a great job in creating the furry/fuzzy panda look. You could try different fabric or matt board colors for the panda. I am thinking red could be stunning as a background or framing. Let us know what you decide to do!
Best wishes for a speedy recovery!
Thanks Cathy! The red might clash with the purple in the room, but it’s a good idea. 🙂 Perhaps a purple background? I know you hadn’t seen the room. 🙂
Hoping all goes well with your procedure! The Panda is amazing.
Thanks Peggy!
The panda does have real dimension and he is adorable. Hope your surgery is successful and the healing process swift and not too painful.
Thanks Ruth!
Great Panda, Marilyn 🙂
I don’t know about a background colour, I know it makes a massive difference, though. Maybe have a play in Photoshop or try it on some different coloured t-shirts.
Good luck with the surgery and recovery.
Thanks Zed! I’ll have to try a few things.
A lovely panda Marilyn. I hope he leaves some mulberry leaves for the moths. 🙂
All good wishes for your forthcoming surgery and look forward to having you back here, hale and hearty very soon. 🙂
Thanks Judith! I’m sure she’s not greedy! 🙂
Awesome panda, Marilyn! Good Luck with your surgery!
Thanks Searcher56!
Mrs panda is beautiful, you must be so proud of her expression, always the hardest part of painting animals 🙂 good luck for the surgery, hope you are back sharing your lovely work very soon
Thanks Teri! I have enough stuffed animals and pictures of pandas it wasn’t too hard to find a role model. 🙂
What a gorgeous piece of work, and such a cute face! I hope you can spend your recovery time dreaming up new felting projects to tackle when you feel better. Will be thinking of you!
Thanks Zara! I will have time to dream!
Great panda. My best wishes for a speedy recovery following your surgery.
Thanks Liz!
Your panda is lovely Marilyn. All the best for your surgery and a fast tack back to felting.
Thanks Ann!
The expression of the panda is so sweet and tender. 🙂 I like the dimension that you created with it as well.
Best of luck with your upcoming surgery. Wishing you a speedy recovery. 🙂
Thanks Angie!
All the best for your surgery and best wishes for a quick and easy full recovery.Your panda looks so sweet that makes me want to give him lots of hugs.
Thanks Irene! Yes, she looks very huggable. 🙂
Marilyn, I missed this post last month and only just read it. Your panda is so lovable and yes I agree that a darker border would make it stand out better against the colour of the wall. Hope your surgery goes well and very best wishes for a happy Christmas and a healthy new year x
Thanks Karen! The panda is happily hanging in my bedroom. Merry Christmas and Happy New year to you as well!