Birds of Paradise

Birds of Paradise

Monday 19 October 2009

Fast Friday Challenge



This is my first attempt at the Fast Friday Challenge and it certainly was not as fast and spontaneous as it should have been. I used a photo from the Herschel telescope as my inspiration. The photo has an "open copyright". It can be seen at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8284650.stm. I was attracted by the layering and luminoscity and wanted to try using Lutrador which is new-to-me.

I used black Kona cotton, which was painted with a mix of Stewart Gill, Jacquard and Setacolor paints (I rapidly learnt that Setacolor transparent does not show up at all on black without being mixed with white.) I had black heavier weight and white very light weight Lutrador to work with. I painted the Lutrador with Mettallic Jacquard and Steward Gill paints, and then used both a textile tool and an embossing heat gun to melt the Lutrador to make it look "airier." I quilted the background with monofilament and metallics, and tried facing it (the first time I have done a facing) before stitching on the Lutrador. The Lutrador became fragile as I heated it. I wanted a slightly 3D look. .

A few Updates











Firstly I am uploading some samples from my city and guild course. The water picture was the inspiration for the crazy patch sample, and the bars were inspired by a window at the Great Synagogue in Budapest. The churn dash was a mandatory block.