My Name Is Lucy

Seems like my creativity has slipped into a seasonal mood, following my recent posting of the King of Spring!  This sweet, lovely Leonberger's AKC name is "Early Winters Autumn Leaves" - and her 'call' name is Lucy.  She's one of my grandpuppies, and certainly a photogenic, happy, and loving animal.  This cheery, happy "Leo" loves to play soccer and swim for hours.  Leonberger paws are webbed between their toes, making them an ideal search and rescue animal [particularly water-rescue].  They love their human families with a passion, and are so easy to love back.  They are a large breed German 'mountain dog', created in the 1800s by crossing the Great Pyrenees, Newfoundland, and St. Bernard breeds. 
 
The cotton background is a red and gold sun print of blowing autumn leaves.  I topped that with a smaller ink-jet photo print on organza of Lucy, attached with Misty Fuse.  The background quilting is straight parallel lines, a pattern introduced by Laura and Linda Kemshall of Gr. Britain.  After all the quilting was completed, I overlaid the organza print with a second photo print on cotton that I cut out around Lucy's image.  After 'gluing' it down on top of the identical organza image, I discovered I have a 3-D image that has her practically leaping off the background!  [My daughter takes wonderful photos of both of their Leos; I'll have to create something of their young male, Ellis, in the near future.] 

I outline-quilted around the edges of the leaves - which made them pop up after the close background quilting, rather like trapunto.  The narrow border is a fall-colors plaid-like cotton print that reflected all of the colors in the 'picture.'  Lucy's coat is red and gold and brown, a perfect autumn leaf in her own right.

I'm looking forward to seeing which of the two remaining seasons might pique my next creative mood!    

The Season of the King Of Spring

     It's Spring in the Pacific Northwest - and it is displayed today with sunshine and temperatures forecast in the 70's.  Ever since early March brought the first frog/toad choruses of the season, I have been thinking about the early signs of spring.  My favorite is the croaking at night of what sound like hundreds/thousands of froggie voices, letting one another know they're alive and interesting in dating!
     My art 'small group' had a challenge to make a 9" piece based on the theme of "Spring" that would become the basis for a "round robin" activity.  I managed to keep my piece under 10" [just barely], and immediately thought of my frog friends that have serenaded me over the decades.  And, whom to portray?  Why, the King of Spring, himself! 
     The quilting is based on the type that Linda and Laura Kemshall do - and I painted over the free-motion stitching on gold-yellow cotton, painted with white acrylic paint to give it even more depth.  The frog king is a copyright-free image from the internet painted with acrylic paint and glued to the quilted piece with acrylic matte medium prior to applying the paint. 

The back of the piece looks interesting, too, I think.  Not that anyone will ever see it, but it's fun to know the pattern is alive on the back as well.
     Merrily we Spring along - waiting for Summer to arrive with its multitude of announcements in the kingdoms of flora and fauna!

A Heart-Felt New Year

Jan. 12, 2015 

     The Western WA area of the Pacific Northwest is lit by sunshine today - and warmed by much more sublime temperatures than winter usually brings to our area.  Pelting rains have subsided, flood waters are receding, and gardeners are dreaming of loamy soil and seeds that will erupt into green, growing things.  While I have down-sized from my long-time home and acreage to an apartment not far from where our house still stands [and hosts another family], I am slowly creating an art area within the few square feet that I now call home.

In a little over a month, it will be Valentine's Day.  We may have just put away the glittering lights and wrapping papers of Christmas, but the holiday of hearts and flowers erupts on the horizon in spite of our wanting to [sometimes] linger a bit longer in the firelight of winter.  I've decided to create some Valentines to honor the upcoming 'season' of chocolates and roses - and of gardens soon to awaken with the sweet scents of 'Rosa berberifolia.'