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From Tiny Acorns

From Tiny Acorns

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I completed the second nuno landscape that I was working on. I showed you the first one here.

Here is the piece of silk that I used. I can’t even remember how this was created but it looks kind of like deconstructed screen printing, perhaps. But it looked like a tree trunk to me, as usual everything looks like a tree to me.

Once it was felted, I used the silk screen shown to print some leaves at the top of the trunk. I combined silk screen medium and acrylic paint to print directly on to the nuno felt.

Here’s the piece after I printed the leaves. I added a few light ones on the ground as well by just using a small portion of the screen at a time.

The edges of the silk were loose and I decided that I would go ahead and clean them up a little before I started any machine stitching. So I pulled the edges of the silk around to the back and hand stitched them down. The photo on the right shows what it looked like from the front after stitching the silk to the back.

Then I started machine stitching some of the leaves. I used several browns, several reds, orange and yellow thread. I didn’t stitch all the leaves because I wanted some of the leaves to look like they were more in the background. So they have less detail and less bright color to allow them to “fade back” and give more depth.

I then added dark olive and light olive green to give a little definition to the trunk and create a few roots.

And here’s the final piece entitled “From Tiny Acorns’. You click on the photo to enlarge it. I am happy with the result and I had better get started on finishing and framing some of these pieces so I don’t have to do that at the last moment. I am planning on these pieces being in an exhibition in August.

 

1st Quarter Challenge – Nuno Felted and Machine Stitched Landscape

1st Quarter Challenge – Nuno Felted and Machine Stitched Landscape

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I decided for the 1st Quarter Challenge that I wanted to do another nuno felted landscape. I still have a bunch of hand dyed silk that works great for these. In the spirit of using stuff up, I used a couple of silk pieces over white pre felt to create the backgrounds. I have only finished one of the landscapes but you will see both in the first few photos.

The top left photo shows the silk before felting. I didn’t really have a preconceived notion of what the landscape would be when I started. I thought I would figure it out as it went along. I laid out both pieces of silk over the white pre felt and then wet down and felted them by mainly rubbing. I did a little bit of fulling but left them fairly soft. While I was working, I saw distant mountains and evergreen trees in the pink/orange piece. The bottom right shows that piece after felting. I did decide to pull the edges of the silk around to the back and hand stitch them down to give a cleaner edge.

Next, I decided I wanted to give the feeling of more depth so I decided to add some sheer fabric into the mountain area. I used Bo Nash 007 Fusing Agent. It is powdered fusible. You sprinkle it on and then put whatever you are fusing on top and then iron it. The picture on the left is trying out different layers of sheer fabric and the one on the right is after fusing. Click on the photos to see more detail.

Then I began machine stitching. I didn’t want to put too much detail in the distance so it was pretty simple stitching. The middle photo shows the first thread I used in the middle distance and I thought it was too dark. It’s hard to tell the difference but I picked out the darker thread and took it down a shade or two on the right. It definitely made a difference to me but it’s hard to tell in the photos.

Next up was the trees. I followed where the blue dye was in the fabric and created the further set of trees with a dark blue green thread. It is much bluer thread than the foreground trees. Then I add in the foreground trees with a couple of different shades of green thread. They have a bit more detail than the further distance trees. Hopefully, that gives a sense of depth in the landscape.

I haven’t decided on a title for this piece. Any suggestions? Have you tried creating a landscape for our 1st Quarter Challenge? If so, you can share with us over on the forum here. 

Framed Pieces for Exhibition

Framed Pieces for Exhibition

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I hope everyone is not tired of seeing these pieces. But everyone wanted to see them framed and I got them back from the framer and I’m really happy with them. They will be in an exhibition in September at The Purple Pomegranate in Whitefish, Montana, USA. The name of the exhibition is Directions and features four other artists. If you’re in the area, the opening will be September 6th from 6-9 pm in conjunction with Whitefish Gallery Nights.

Flathead Sunset – 11″ x 14″

Up the Northfork – 11.5″ x 14″

Autumn Mountain – 13″ x 18″

Morning Aspen – 13″ x 21″

Stormy Beargrass – 13″ x 22″ (I have shown you two photos because the first one on the left has a bee photo bomb)

Fireweed – 15.5″ x 33″

Also, I wanted to remind everyone that Teri Berry’s Felted Concertina Hat online class is open for registration. You can register here. 

You can learn to make great hats like this one!

Preparing Nuno Landscapes for Framing

Preparing Nuno Landscapes for Framing

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I have been working on getting my nuno landscapes prepared for framing. I have to say this is not my favorite part of the process. But I want these to look professional for the upcoming exhibition so I am trying not to procrastinate too much in completing these.

I hand dyed all the backing fabric. I had to add a bit of fabric paint to four of them to make them darker. I always have a hard time getting the exact color I want with dye. I never take the time to figure out a “recipe” for certain colors. Then I hand stitched all the nuno landscapes to the backing fabric. I used a hand applique type stitch and it is barely visible.

I got all of the foam core backing cut to size by the framer.  Each foam core backing is 2″ bigger on all four sides of the landscape. Thin cotton quilting batting was cut to the size of the foam core and then all three layers are put in place and pinned.

Once the landscape is pinned in place, lacing can begin.

Lacing is not hard but does take a lot of time and the thread does have a tendency to get all tangled up while working. Plus the tension needs to be correct so that the fabric is stretched evenly over the foam core board.

Here are four of the pieces on their backings. I have two more to complete and then they are off to the framers. Once they are framed, I will show them to you again.

 

Fireweed

Fireweed

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Here is the last of my nuno felted landscapes that I have been working on for an exhibition in September. This is the largest piece and measures 11″ x 30″. I thought I had taken more photos of the piece in process but I can’t find them. So I must have just dreamed that I took photos 🙂

The background is nuno felted and I did add a bit of hand stitch to a portion of the mountains as one section felt too yellow. I added grey seed stitch to make it match the rest of the mountains. Then I added the fireweed flower in the foreground with hand dyed cotton fabric that is fused down to the felt. If you haven’t seen a fireweed before, here is a bit more information.

Here’s the piece before I stitched the leaves. I added some stem stitch and straight stitch to the flowers to hold them in place and to add a bit of detail.

Here you can see the stitching a bit better. I used wool thread for the hand stitching.

And here is the finished piece. I added machine stitching to the cotton applique pieces as I felt that the fusible wouldn’t hold them completely in place and I didn’t want them to start peeling off. Plus it added more definition to the leaves to bring them forward from the background.

Now I am working on background fabrics for each piece and then framing. Once they are framed, I will post again to show you the finished pieces.