Contemplation is part 2 of Nature Series Part II focussing on negative space. It is 37 X 29. My goal was to create a pleasing nature scene that involved depth and interesting negative spaces. I had hoped that the viewer might contemplate the beauty of these dark negative spaces in a dense forest and let the mind fill in the rest. This piece is inspired by a photo I took of the Big Thompson River that flows through the Drake and Loveland area in Colorado. The background was painted and inked. Trees were appliqued and leaves were fiber etched, layered with bits of thread and Angelina fibers, covered with dark misty fuse and quilted. Pine tree on the left and the bush in the foreground were threadpainted on watersoluble stabilizer and appliqued. The large set of trees to the left of the pine tree were pieced and the surrounding foliage was raw edge appliqued and machine embroidered. The river is composed of various cotton fabrics, sparkled organza and organdie, heat distressed painted cellophane, old dryer sheets, cheesecloth, Angelina fibers and tinzl, stitched with metallic and opalescent kaleidoscope thread. I tried to capture the muddy bank along the river by adding dark cotton fabric and black lacy tulle. A ridge of white fabric forms the bubbles that lie along the muddy bank. The illusion of depth in the forest was attempted by changing the coloring from one set of trees to the next. This year, I have been experimenting with recreating water using both conventional and unconventional natural and synthetic materials. While this piece comes close to what I had wanted to achieve, it still missed the mark. It is a step in the right direction, but I still have a long way to go in achieving what I set out to do. I guess it's back to the drawing board as they say. LOL
