Endeavourers Reveal Day 7 – A Walk in the Park

Today is the quarterly reveal day for members of the online art quilt group The Endeavourers.

This quarter our theme was “A Walk in the Park,” and I had a lot of ideas.  I ended up creating a miniature version of Dale Chihuly’s Fiori Boat, which I saw in Arkansas two years ago.

Dale Chihuly's Fiori Boat, a boat in the forest, filled with glass forms

Dale Chihuly’s Fiori Boat, at Crystal Bridges Museum in Bentonville, Arkansas

art quilt representation of Chihuly's Fiori Boat

Fiori Fun

When I make these pieces, I look at my reference photo, but I don’t continually compare my piece to the original photo, as is evident above — my boat is much shorter and squattier than the original!

My challenge was to interpret these flowing free-standing forms with fabric and embellishments.

Stitched, painted, and beaded forms.

I stitched the bottom layer shapes first and then painted them. I added others with raw-edge applique, beads, and ribbons.

My favorite part of this piece is that I remembered to try to unify the different elements.  To do this, I added big stitches in embroidery floss and ribbon, to bring more interest to the background trees and the grassy hill.   And to me, these stitches also express the emotion of celebration that I feel in Chihuly’s works.

big stitches as a layer of visual interest

Big stitches and paint daubs to capture the highlights of the leaves.

I had a lot of fun creating this piece, and I would love to do a series about all the other places I have seen Chihuly’s work.

I wrote a little more about it here, and I would encourage you to go look at the other variations on this theme too!

Category : Endeavourers, Happy Textiles, Quilting
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