Christmas Cards

My Christmas cards this year reflect the materials and techniques I've been experimenting with the past while: abstract paper collage, postage stamps, rubber stamping (this is new).

 

Stitched Filter Paper Cards

When I'm not making art out of fabric and paper, I work in a biology lab at the local university.  I took home a bunch of expired, old filter papers this summer, and found that they absorbed watercolour paint really well.  I love the perfect circles and the textured, organic colours that I ended up with after painting them.  From there, I experimented with paper collage and stitching on cards of various shapes and sizes.

Thread-Sketched Cards

Something new and old at the same time:  I've printed photos of finished quilts on card stock, glued them to blank note-cards, and stitched them through (thread-sketched the tree trunks and branches).  The stitching gives the cards a three-dimensional look, and you get the added bonus of seeing the stitched tree silhouette on the inside of the card.

 

 And something else along the same lines:  I printed the same photos of finished quilts on ink-jet fabric (cotton), pressed them to fusible fleece, and stitched them as above.  After trimming, I free-motion stitched them to card stock, and now they are ready to be matted and framed (as smaller versions of the larger fabric pieces stretched around canvas).

Insect Stamps

... or Entomological Philately, as I like to call them.  Yet another variation on the abstract mixed-media theme, this one incorporating buggy stamps as well as leaf imprints and stencils, and even the dried pressed leaves themselves.

I'm becoming interested in collecting postage stamps, vintage and otherwise, and using them in my work.  I've had a series of insect Canadian stamps for a while now, and a friend recently brought me some from Russia.  I've now discovered vintage stamps on Etsy, and have already bought a couple of sets of insects, mushrooms, and world folk costumes.  I have my eye on another set of classics works of art as well, and can't wait to experiment with them.

 

 

Ginkgo Leaf Imprints

A variation on the paper collage mixed-media abstract pieces I've been making lately: leaf imprints.  It's autumn, and leaves are everywhere.  I've always loved the shape and texture and colour of ginkgo leaves (both when they're bright green, and when they turn yellow in the fall).

 

 

More e-Reader/Tablet Covers

 I managed to get a cousin hooked on reading on a Kindle, and this gave me an excuse to make eReader/tablet covers again.

 Adriana likes bags and purses and prefers pinks and pastel blues and greens, so this particular applique design was chosen specifically for her.

 

And I made 2 other tablet covers to sell on my Etsy site.  These were a bit more elaborate in design - thread painted dragonfly and mushrooms done in free-motion stitching.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/157501182/ereader-or-tablet-cover-quilted-and?ref=related-0
https://www.etsy.com/listing/157501522/ereader-or-tablet-cover-quilted-and?ref=related-0

Olde Riverside Tree Offshoots

I'm trying to combine a new technique with an old look - photos of tree silhouettes (from my old neighbourhood, Olde Riverside), stitched through, but on a paper collage background.  The old way involved 'framing' each piece with a border of black fabric binding, wrapped around canvas.  With this new technique, there's no border, and I even debated whether to delineate the tree photos, as of old (and, decided I needed to).

Rooted Abstraction

I'm still having fun working with paper collage, and my latest experiments have been to incorporate photos into the abstract collages.  I took photos of these gnarled tree roots on a recent trip to Michigan's Mackinac Island.