Blooming Beautifully

"Gratitude is the fairest BLOSSOM which springs from the soul"

                                                                                                       Henry Ward Beecher

"Earth laughs in FLOWERS"

                                               Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Everyone has a FLOWER inside, and inside the flower is a word"

                                                                               Sevi Proverb (Mexican language group)

Whenever I start a big project I am often delighted by the quotes that pop into my life (via reading books, facebook or blog hopping), which are relevent to what I'm working on.  The above quotes came along during progress on the 'Plantaria' series.

I initially planned that there would be 5 blooms, each a different hair colour; black, auburn, brown, blonde and grey. Five appealed because it is a balanced & harmonious number.  Symbols and meanings fascinate me, so I was interested to learn that the number 5 symbolises a human being; 2 arms, 2 legs and 1 column made up of torso & head!  However, when the design process began, 4 designs 'flowed' quickly & the 5th was wrought with indecision. I left it to absorb myself with other work & when I came back to the 5th bloom, my concern was whether I'd have room in the exhibition space for another one! So....I decided to leave it at 4!!!!

I described in my last post, how I collected resources!

 

 The next step is drawing. Drawing is an essential element of my design work, whether my inspiration source comes from hair tangles, photographs or my imagination! Drawing allows the artist to FEEL the shape, to LEARN what makes the shape & to start to make it THEIR own! I draw & redraw until I am happy with it.

Because contemporary reverse applique is line oriented (the stitched line, the cut line & the embellished line) a lot of time is spent deciding which lines of a design are going to be achieved by which task!  Once in a 'happy' linear place...I play with colour options.  Sometimes I might work up a small example exploring a few options.

Design is about decision making, and designing the background is just as important as the motif in the foreground! In making my design decisions I wanted my backgrounds to be white & patched to reference white square tiles, and I wanted them to vary in placement & style to represent shadows on tiles & I wanted to use stitch & beads to represent the tracking of drips on those tiles. I felt these references would add depth to the pieces.

(Window drip patterns are very similar to those in the shower, but they are much easier to photograph!!!!!!!)

When all my essential decisions are made I transfer that information onto a working map.  I use the term 'map' instead of 'pattern', because my map shows me where I'm going!  Throughout the development of a piece of work I will add to the map, problem solve hiccups ON THE MAP & obviously...constantly refer to it!

The next phase includes constructing backgrounds, layering fabrics, machine stitching the design, cutting it back (I like that part!) & at last embellishing.

 

 

 The final part of the process is choosing an appropriate title.  At the time I was producing these pieces, I was also reading (& thoroughly enjoying) Elizabeth Gilbert's book 'The Signature Of All Things'.  This led me to think about the botanical latin names of plants, so I had a little explore on one of the language translator internet sites. I learnt that the latin word Plantaria  can mean hair cuttings! That was a good place to start!  Keeping the Sevi Proverb (shared at the start of this blog) in mind, I asked myself what word would define each of these blooms. The results were interesting for blonde, auburn, ebony, & brunette!

Therefore, let me introduce you to....Plantaria Hebenus, Plantaria Rutilus, Plantaria Brunneis and Plantaria Flava!!!!!!

*NOTE: Please respect that these photos are mine & of MY work & are not to be copied by YOU or anyone else without MY permission. Thank you! :-)