I've been making (and actually finishing) a number of small pieces to add to my display at
Creative Minds Gallery in Eastsound, Washington.
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| beaded and thread embroidery |
I often make (and usually don't finish) lots of little quilts so that I can experiment with new materials, processes and compositions before committing to a larger quilt. I generally tack these samplers on the walls of my studio for reference, just in case I decide to make a larger version. Many (most?) eventually end up in the trash and the larger quilt never gets made. Last September, pretty much on a whim, I included several of these small pieces--what I jokingly call my potholder collection--in my one-woman show at the
Orcas Performing Arts Center. I thought they would help viewers understand how my work evolves. To my surprise, all of the little pieces sold.
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| From my evening bag series, around 2008 or so. |
As I considered making some small pieces specifically for the gallery, rather than as experiments, I thought about the evening bags and pillows I used to make. They all featured marine invertebrates, which I have always thought look very feminine in their pinks, purples, and lacy frills. When I made the evening bags and pillows I embellished them with beads, decorative threads, ribbon, paint, and thread-embroidery--like the purse shown here.
With that in mind, I started gluing and stitching--to make small wall hangings with my favorite marine invertebrates, strawberry anemones, plumrose anemomes, starfish and octopuses. And who doesn't love that amazing giant algae, bull kelp? Most of the pieces are around 12"x18" or less, and embellished with all the shiny bobbles and threads I love. They've been selling pretty well, which means I get to make more!
I really am enjoying finishing a piece in days rather than months, and I have lots of ideas for more, but at some point, I do need to get back to the two large pieces that having been hanging on my design walls so long that I fear I may need to start dusting them!
