Tag Archives: stitching

Beyond Snapshots

I remember telling my son I wanted to use his photographs in my art quilts but I didn’t mean printed on fabric; I meant the actually photograph. I know I’m not alone in wanting to use photographs in combination with fabric and fibers. In today’s post I share a few from other artists and I thank them for granting me permission to share their work here.

If there is a quilt maker in a family there’s a pretty good chance at least one memory quilt has been made that includes special photographs celebrating a person, a day, or an event.

Fellow quiltmaker Ruth O’Neil shared her bookshelf quilt top. It has a photograph printed on fabric of her brother along side her niece’s daughters and books with titles (all but one) from a her niece’s favorite author. The plant near the top has 3 dimensional leaves.

Ruth made the quilt below after a safari trip. I think the pattern and fabrics work really well with the photographs.

Ruth O’Neil artist

Ruth also shared this quilt. Her daughter gifted her fabric printed with these photographs and the blue batik. Ruth and her fur baby obviously are fans of this guy!

Ruth O’Neil artist

Susan Lenz is a prolific artist of unique work. Many of Susan’s pieces include vintage photographs or her own, some she digitally alters before they are printed on paper or fabric. To the printed photos she will add stitches and embellishments… sometimes framing them because Susan is also a professional framer. Susan always posts excellent stories and explanations about her artwork and her travels, if you haven’t already, I suggest checking out her website and blog, where the below images can be seen in greater detail.

Susan Lenz artist
Susan Lenz artist (detail of Palmer-Epard Log Cabin), see her blog for full image. Note all the hand stitches in the sky!

Joanna Mack aka The Snarky Quilter takes photographs that often capture textures, shadows, and light. She sometimes uses filters in photoshop software to alter her photos. Always learning as much as she can, Joanna explores and produces projects using a variety of techniques and methods.

I wish I could say that we collaborated but this piece is entirely hers. Joanna won a small, painted fabric landscape in one of my blog post giveaways. She started with a photograph she’d taken of a rusty textured (outdoor fireplace) barrel, altered it in Photoshop, had it printed on fabric, and later cut it into strips.

She cut the landscape fabric too and stitched it to her barrel pieces and then, as she writes on her blog; “I quilted it to resemble chain link fencing covered with the stems of weeds. The edges are finished with paint and yarn.”

“A Cell With A View.” by Joanna Mack

I appreciate that Joanna has had some of her photographs printed on different types of fabric and shares her thoughts about each one on her blog. To read more about “A Cell With A View” and see her other projects and be inspired, visit her blog.

Petra Heidrich is a textile and mixed media artist in Germany. She embellishes vintage photographs, postcards, and sometimes paper, using thread and floss. Petra’s embroidery layer draws me in, and then I look past it and notice the photograph. I think the embroidery stitches and photographs play and work very well together.

On her website, Petra writes – “I like to refer to embroidery as “painting with thread.”

Petra Heidrich artist
Petra Heidrich artist
Petra Heidrich artist

I recently rediscovered a box of postcards I’d gotten years ago from my parent’s estate. In the box I found a postcard that just called to be made into a photograph on fiber piece. I contacted the photographer, Bill Banaszewski, to ask for permission. So that he’d have some idea of what I had planned I attached two images from my Photograph on Fiber series. Not only did he give me permission to use his photograph but he also wrote that his wife is a quilter!

In my original Photograph on Fiber series pieces I mounted the photo under/onto plexiglass, I don’t use it anymore, otherwise the process is essentially the same. My landscape is mounted onto a acid-free board for hanging and for this piece I slightly edited a scanned and printed copy of the postcard’s back to use as the label.

Label on backboard.

Bill has been photographing New York’s Finger Lakes for years. To see his photographs and learn more go to Finger Lakes Images.

The photograph, in this piece a postcard, is mounted about 3/4″ (not quite 2 cm) above the art quilt.

“Finger Lakes” Photograph on Fiber, mixed media art quilt by Ann L Scott. Postcard photograph, by Bill Banaszewski.
“Finger Lakes” detail.

I hope the pieces in this post have inspired you as much as they have me.

Until next time, thanks for stopping by.

Stitching the Year Out

Fiber art, sewing, quilting, stitching, mark-making, what have you especially enjoyed working on this year?

Hand stitching has been something that has brought me great comfort during 2020. Here are a few of the pieces I’ve finished… Well, the thread work is finished, most have yet to be mounted or framed.

I used solid white, painted, stenciled, and gel plate printed, some commercial fabric for the backgrounds, one even has fused petals. I also discovered that the fabric I love to paint and use for applique, which in the fabric used for most often for batiks, is not as easy to embroider through as a nice regular quilter’s cotton because of the fine thread and tight weave. Click on image to enlarge.

I appreciate you stopping by and I hope your wishes for the New Year come true.

Be safe, healthy, and happy.

Beaded Leaves

I hope everyone is healthy and safe.

I have painted the fabric and taught the class and I still love making my painted fabric leaves. I have stitched and beaded several and I’m offering a few for sale. I will be posting them to my Instagram page but decide to post them here first.

Each leaf has the painted fabric top that is raw edge, a Timtex center layer (which may be showing through the beads), and a felt back.

Unfortunately, I still don’t have the store open on my website but if you’re interested in purchasing here are the details…

Please leave a comment with the leaf/leaves # you would like to purchase and I will contact you via email to let you know if it is still available. After payment is received I’ll ask if you would like a pin or magnet on the back. Price $18 each, free shipping, payment accepted via PayPal only, and no international sales.

Coordinating felt back waiting for pin or magnet.

I’ve been going through cupboards and drawers finding all kinds of treasures (one person’s treasure…) and have come to the reality that I don’t need to keep a lot of what I have rediscovered. So I plan to have some giveaways in the future.

Thanks for stopping by and warm wishes to you where ever you are!

November Quickie

Previous post I shared the palm tree from the #Needlevember challenges; here is the free-motion video . I’ve had fun stitching everyday this month so far. It’s been a challenge first drawing something and then looking at it for reference while stitching on my machine. But I must admit the hand embroidery pieces have been a good speed (slow) for me at this time.

I’ve also produced a new video challenge project for Visions Art Museum member challenge titled: Fall Flag panel.

I hope you are staying safe and healthy.

As always, thanks for stopping by.

Made it to November

This is a full post, feel free to share it with anyone you think would enjoy the project videos and artwork.

October was crazy around here. My husband went in for his second procedure only to find out all was corrected during the first, so happy about that…cycling can commence!

Our daughter is finally back from Russia and we made it through quarantine.

Our old cat was diagnosed with kidney disease so I have learned how to give injections. I could stick a needle in things all day long but could never watch needles going into skin. It still makes me queasy but we do what we have to do, right?

And still we are more fortunate that so many.

During the past two months I have made a few videos and have been thankful to be able to work on more projects for Visions Art Museum member challenges. There is another new project coming later this month. I’m posting the video projects below.

And now I have started a November challenge – #Needlevember, everyday this month I’ll be posting a stitched piece (think Inktober-ish). Here are the first five days; I’ll be adding day 6 to my Instagram page later today. Would love for others to take part in this November challenge just use #Needlevember and post on Instagram and Facebook.

As always I appreciate you stopping by.

I remember…

I remember when I got rid of all of my embroidery paraphernalia; when I became a quilter! Before then, for years, I embroidered everything. Then a few years ago I discovered mark making with thread, more specifically, floss. So, off I went to buy all of  those embroidery tools and materials, again. But now I approach embroidery differently, not so much flowery, cutesy stuff but more as another layer and bit of interest to add to mixed media works of art. Having said that, this is what I did this week while resting with the flu. It is on a piece of my hand painted pole wrapped cotton (faux Shibori).

Even if the subject is no longer my cup of tea, it was fun to draw and stitching it was really good for my motor skills which have been feeling clumsy lately.

Stitching Flowers

Homemade cards have been something my family has made for years. We buy cards too but handmade cards have a special place in our hearts. I celebrated another birthday at the end of October (hopefully that explains the subject matter of the first card here) which was designed & made by my digital artist daughter. It is one in a series of cat cards she has been making for many, many years now. Later I’ll share her Thanksgiving card (it’s much cuter!). I should have scanned the card instead of using my phone…

cat-card-creature-black-lagoon-2016

When birthdays happen it usually means I get to make “thank you” notes, so here are a couple I quickly stitched up.

meanndering-dragons-tail
I call this MeAnndering (get it?)
silk-flower-card
I love stitching on silk but card stock, not so much!

When Photo meets Fiber

I love to see how some artists combine photography and fiber. Today I’m posting the fabulous work of two artists who approach and combine those two mediums very differently.

Gunnel Svensson takes wonderful photographs and has them printed on fabric. She then stitches them and adds fabric and fiber embellishments. I’m fascinated by her tiny mark making hand stitches.

gunnel svensson photo
Gunnel Svensson’s image used with permission.

Photographer and artist Melissa Zexter actually stitches directly on her photographs. This method not only adds a textural element to her works, but causes the viewer to stop and examine the layers more closely.

melissa zexter image used with permission
Melissa Zexter’s image used with permission.

I’ll end with a couple of my own pieces from my Photograph on Fiber series. I thank both Gunnel Svensson and Melissa Zexter for so graciously allowing me to share just a bit of their wonderful artwork. I hope you will visit each of their websites; there is much more inspiration to be found there!

Fescue Traveler
Fescue Traveler by Ann
Bodywork
Bodywork by Ann