Spring is springing up ( finally ) in Vancouver. We had a brilliant, you could almost call it warm weekend. Which I spent a good portion of inside the studio. I have been doing some research and as a result have come up with a name for the cherry blossom quilt I have been working ( slowly) on.
Hanami literally translated (or so I have been told) means "flower watching" and is the Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the beauty of flowers, "flower" in this case almost always means cherry blossoms. So it seemed a natural to call this Hanami.
Here's a little detail so you can see what I'm up to ... just a bit more drawing to go and then I can quilt.
Catherine
PS- just when I was feeling smug about spring.... sigh.
Probably oughtn't tell you that here in the UK we're enjoying temperatures around 20 degrees C with lots of sunshine then?
ReplyDeleteLaura
Love it Catherine- both the garden and the quilt. Do you mind me asking what you used to colour the petal fabric, it is so beautiful and delicate.
ReplyDeleteTake care, Nia
Thanks Nia, glad you like the quilt!
ReplyDeleteThe petals are painted with a very watery mix of acrylic paint and India ink on the first coat, then the deeper colours are done with Ink-tense and Graphitint pencils.
The final details are my favorite pen and ink techniques, a bit time consuming but I really like the effect.
Catherine
Hi Catherine,
ReplyDeleteWe spotted that the cherry blossom on the big trees at Linda's was just bursting today so it'll be a good show this weekend. We'll have to get the camera out to record the moment!
Your quilt's looking good, really dramatic. Do you think you'll lighten up the little twiggy bits between the blooms and the main stem a bit so they stand out from the background more? Perhaps you can paint them (or the background) a bit once they're quilted? I'm sure you'll have a plan of attack!
Bye for now,
Laura
Hi Laura,
DeleteWish I was there to see the tree opening up,enjoy the show! There are a few trees around town just starting, if it ever stops raining it will be gorgeous!I am reminding myself that rain is better than snow- no shoveling involved.
I do have a plan, in fact 2 plans just in case the first one doesn't work. The stems ( I think they are called "spurs" but not sure) of the flowers will get some highlighting once the quilting is done and if that's not enough the background will be darkened up a bit.
The image was taken at the very end of the day and the light was not the best. I know, bad time to take the image but I just forgot to stop drawing and take images ... thankfully they aren't quite as lost as they appear in the image.
talk soon, Catherine
Hi Catherine - it's looking beautiful! Are you planning to show this quilt and the other cherry blossom quilt at The Needle Museum? I think they'd look lovely together. Linda
ReplyDeleteI'm not quite sure Linda,
DeleteI have a couple of things at very early stages that I am planning for the Needle Museum so not quite sure how much to bring. Hanami is rather large, 37" wide by 45" long so not sure if it will suit the venue, though the colour would be good on those gorgeous brick walls.
Hmm m may have to think a bit further on that,
Catherine
Gosh, that's so beautiful Catherine - so delicate and lifelike, and you're so right about it looking good against a brick wall. Hope the snow has melted and spring is back on course (I've just got back off of holiday - spent a week in Cornwall, paddling and eating pasties, in gorgeous warm weather...just saying!
ReplyDeleteHi Catherine - the size of Hanami is no problem. We've hung much bigger work there in the past. It's entirely your choice of course but it does make me think we shall need to make some decisions about numbers soon. Maybe everyone could begin to take stock of what they have ready and/or planned so I can have an idea of how we are getting on? It was only a few months ago that Laura and I had our last exhibition there and we have a list of the quilt sizes so it shouldn't be too much of a headache to work out the space available for each group member. Of course it would also be helpful to hear of any specific requirements - for instance, Marie has 3D work that can't be wall mounted. No one must panic yet! I know we have ages but I like to be organised despite all evidence to the contrary.
ReplyDeleteI think you might be rubbing it in a bit Annabel, hope the holiday was good!honest. The snow is gone it was one of those hour long snowstorms that look spectacular for a bit then don't amount to much. It's actually almost sunny here right now -this very second- but it wont last long I can see more weather coming across the city from the kitchen window, not good!
DeleteGlad you like the piece.
Linda I'm glad Hanami will be OK size wise, the other quilts I'm working on are all smaller so hopefully I wont take up more than my share of space! I have a 3D piece in the works as well, I'm thinking that can find a home in one of the showcases?
have a great weekend everyone...
Catherine
Linda, I have some rough measurements of three quilts I aim to have ready for the first outing of Orientation, I'll send them direct to you.
DeleteBeautiful, looking forward to seeing it in real life.
ReplyDelete