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!