Emerge - A Photo Fabric Collage

 

Do you remember this adorable little guy? I wrote about our serendipitous meeting last August. You may read about it here.  He had just emerged from his shell, and for about forty minutes, with my trusty macro lens and 'real' camera in hand, flat on my stomach, I took these images. 

One of my goals this year is to explore ways to combine my photography and my art quilting. To that end, I have been working on this piece which I have named Emerge. I finished it this morning.

I started with four photos and fully intended to break the conventions calling for odd number items in a piece. Try as I might, it didn't work. Perhaps that is because we are so conditioned to seeing odd numbers in art pieces. 

One of the many things that I like about the Crosstown Quilters Guild is the "give away"  back table. Besides pieces of fabric and magazines, you might find lace, trims, patterns, half-started kits, beads, books, etc.. I often contribute things for the table, and I seldom fail to take something home, especially if it is a bit of lace or trim. This somewhat forlorn piece of trim was mixed into the pile, and someone handed to me saying, "Here. You take this. You'll find something to do with it." I was skeptical and thought I would put it back, but I'm glad I didn't. I carefully separated pieces of the backing and used it to mount each photo. Misty Fuse temporarily held things in place, but later  everything was stitched down. The neat part is that I could pull the delicate thread on the backing fabric to create a raveled edge.

I used some fabrics that I had painted, some commercial fabrics, and some upholstery remnants for added richness and texture.

 

Yes, I scattered a few leaves from the trim in the bottom section.

All in all, I'm happy with how it turned out and already know the subject of my next piece which will be smaller. For March, my inspiration will be a photo that I took of "Ladies View" on the Ring of Kerry. It is said that Queen Victoria and her Ladies stopped at that scenic spot for a picnic while touring the area. It truly is a beautiful spot, but then, nearly every vista in Ireland is beautiful.