Sunrise on the Beach I’ve just finished “Sunrise on the Beach” in time for the “Beaches” show at the Great Falls Foundation for the Arts gallery in Great Falls. The show will run from July 2-August 31 and it features interpretations of the “Beaches” theme from a variety of Great Falls Studios artists, including painters, photographers and jewelers, in addition to my fiber piece.

The opening reception will be Friday, July 3 from 7-9 pm. If you’re in the area and have a chance to stop by, it looks like an interesting show!

The evolution of this piece is interesting, since I wasn’t planning to enter the show because I don’t normally do landscape work. The beauty of the group I belong to, Great Falls Studios, is the creative push that being in a diverse group of artists gives me. I was talking to a couple of friends of mine–a painter and a photographer–about the show, and when they heard I wasn’t planning to enter, they challenged me to step outside my comfort zone and give it a try.

I have to say I’m very pleased with the result. I went through my fabric to find the perfect batiks for the scene. I used curved strip piecing to create the background of sand, ocean and sky, then quilted pebbles, breakers, waves and clouds into the sections. I hand appliqued a seagull in flight after it was quilted and added beaded starfish, shells and whitecaps to give it a little sparkle. Then I added a background of green mottled hand-dyed fabric I made several years ago and stretched it over a 24″x12″ canvas. The whole process was great fun and the overall effect is a peaceful, serene day at the beach–one of my favorite places.

I’m going to have this one professionally photographed next week and I’ll post a detail of the quilting and the beading then, but I couldn’t wait to share it!