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).