Flora and Fauna

Flora and Fauna was inspired from a photograph taken in my backyard. I always knew there were Baltimore Orioles in Austin but I had never actually seen any till one morning when I was outside having my coffee. I looked up and these gorgeous birds were ducking in and out of the trumpet vine. They were quite amusing and their color, so exquisite! I knew I had to create this piece. I had originally intended to paint this bird but when I got upstairs to the studio, my hands just reached for the orange fabric and out came the Misty Fuse. Once the bird was assembled, I began making the 3 dimensional leaves. I love to mix techniques and consequently, some leaves have been layered and fused with various fibers and Misty Fuse. Others have been thread painted with a heavy thread in the bobbin. Still, others have been fiber etched and fused. Once the vines were in place, I began experimenting with how to create the trumpet vine flowers. They were so much fun. 

Love the delicate blossoms. The background was upcycled from a project of which I had leftover machine quilted pieces.  Years ago, I had made a piece called Contemplation and just before sending it to a show, I decided to whack off the borders and binding and "fix it." I know, kind of crazy! I suppose it was a good thing because the quilt went on to win an Honorable Mention. But meanwhile, I had kept the already quilted and bound borders. I couldn't bring myself to throw them away. And yet, I found that they were perfect for this project. I took two edges and zigzagged them together such that the binding was on the  outside edges. Then, I added the top and bottom binding to complete the piece.  I love the thought of being able to upcycle things especially when it is incorporated into nature pieces.  I included the original photo from which my inspiration came. Quite different! Interesting how changing the background really changes the feel of the entire piece....