Like many people these days, we’re staying home. We’re staying home, mesmerized and saddened by the heartbreaking news on the internet and trying to cope. We’re staying home and by doing so, we’re doing our bit by not getting ill. Which I think is pretty easy in comparison to all of those who are out on the front lines doing much more than that. We’re very grateful for everyone from healthcare staff to all of those working grocery stores and all the other essential services.
So we’re staying home and becoming quite creative with cooking and baking, making our groceries last to avoid going out. We’re staying home and doing a bit of gardening. Ok, maybe a bit too much of that all at once, got a back spasm and had to rest that for a while.
And we’re staying home, and escaping the news and seeking some meditative time by working in our studios. Will is working on lino cuts in his studio. I’m working on the latest free motion sewing and fabric collages. Hopefully, a lot of people are finding creative ways to cope with staying home in these very scary and difficult times.
So, I’m sharing my latest fabric collages, in bright and cheerful colours, paying forward the inspiration I’ve gotten from others and offering a bit of inspiration of my own on what to do with all that stash of material and perhaps a little antidote to the state of things.
These were all done with basically the same materials. This time, a bright red material caught my eye and with it I found other bits and pieces to create three different collages. Instead of a white background, I went for a very colourful backing. The first was also my first attempt at “couching” or applying a cord with stitching to the surface design. Couldn’t get quite the loops I wanted with just zig zag stitch but still I’m happy with the result.
The next has my latest attempt at “couching” included. I don’t have the proper foot on my machine for this, so I’m faking it with an open toe free motion foot. I will admit to a bit of swearing.
This one is the last in the series on the red background. The turquoise arcs in these are left over from a pattern cut out for neckline interfacing on a tunic I made. I never throw out anything and that’s handy when you’re into fabric collage. For my next pieces, I’m eyeing a rather lovely piece of orange satin as the base.
Let’s all hope that there will soon be a happier end to this stressful time. I’ll be checking all the artists that I follow for inspiration on coping while staying home. In the meantime, take care.
