This beautiful blue and gold piece utilizes layers of different media for an interesting abstract work.

It is such a great feeling when you haven’t been able to create for a long time, and then suddenly you feel inspiration hit out of nowhere that helps you get back into the swing of things. I’ve been focusing so much on encaustic for so long, and I still am, but it’s so fun to go back to my roots and do some work with abstract quilling.

This piece is very dimensional, lifting off the canvas by over an inch in some places. None of the canvas is visible, except on the sides. I created all the elements before I even began constructing the piece, trying to stay as close to my vision as I possibly could. It was so fun to build this piece element by element and watch everything come together.

The Fabric

The muslin I used over the canvas for this piece was the first thing I worked on.  I ripped the edges to the size I wanted, putted the piece in a plastic bag, and squirted some blue and black arcylic paint inside.  I squished it around, squirted some water in there, and the squished some more.  It’s always fun to do this- it feels like something a 4 year old would do, so it’s just fun to go a little wild!

Once the paint was dry, it was time to start sewing.  I used a mix of thread in various shades of blue, tan and gold along with a variety of stitchs all along the tear in the top of the fabric.  This probably took longer than anything else, besides quilling the paper pieces.  Also, sparkly gold thread is really expensive.  At least I used a coupon, but geez… still, I think it was worth it.

The Canvas

Before I could add the fabric, I wanted to add some dimension to the canvas to make this piece more 3D.  So, I mixed some sculpty mold paper clay and slapped it on the canvas, keeping most of it on the upper right side, where the tear is and where I knew I would be adding my paper pieces.  This part is always messy of course, as the paper clay is very wet.

I didn’t want to simply lay the fabric on top- I wanted to add some wrinkles, so I really pressed the fabric down into the clay and pinched it between my fingers.  Mission accomplished! This painting is definitely becoming a much more interesting abstract work.

Adding the Paper Pieces

Paper clay begins to cure rather quickly, so I knew I needed to add my paper pieces pretty fast.  I used tweezers to help me work quickly- many times I’ll drop pieces or my big fingers will keep me from placing them at the right angle, so using tweezers really helps.

Finishing Touches

Once the clay had cured around my paper pieces, I wanted to paint the background to really bring forward that lapis lazul look of blue and gold.  Painting it afterwards was just fine, by the way.  The messier the better!

I also used stencils to add some images on top of the fabric.

I love the colors and the composition.  This is such an interesting abstract piece, though I am thinking I need some paper pieces on the surface… what do you think?