Remember Creative Cues?

Well, I haven't done one of these in a long time, but this week's Creative Cue over at Three Creative Studios is the word TEXTURE, and that got me thinking. At first I thought I might just post pictures of the bunnies, but unless you are on the wrong side of the toenails, the only texture there is soft. So instead, I decided to post some photos of textures I saw on my walk this morning.

The stone wall in front of one house provided this texture.

And, the nearby tree had a very rough, flaky bark.

Of course there was the texture of the fallen leaves, which are getting dryer and crunchier everyday.

But mostly, I was looking at the textures of the trees that were still holding on to their leaves.

Isn't that a glorious color?

On My Morning Walk

Most mornings during the school year, I walk with my neighbor. Our walk takes us down a (very) busy street (love that carbon monoxide!). But this time of year, even this street is beautiful. Here is a little bit of what we saw this morning.

On this street there is a brown house that, although a beautiful Victorian, goes unnoticed most of the year. It seems to get lost in the shadows. But in the autumn, the house comes alive, and glows with light reflected off the nearby trees. This house is one of my favorite neighborhood sites this time of year.

 

Another house that I enjoy has a much redder tree outside. 

And, a lovely couple greets you by the front door.

Farther up the road, the entrance to another house always charms me. I think it's the texture of the stonewall and the tree, but that is another post.

It was definitely a chilly walk this morning, but well worth the effort to get going. What do you like to see in your neighborhood?

Building And Adding Trees

Still working on that fall in New England quilt. I have been building and adding trees, and other foliage. I started with some small trees, ironing the trunks to parchment paper.

Using pinking shears, I cut leaves, and added them to the trunks, using several shades of fabric.

These were then peeled off the parchment, and ironed on to the quilt. You can see that I have also added grasses and flowers using my stamps and various fabric paints.

More foliage was added on the other side of the road. The purple is supposed to represent asters, a flower I look forward to every fall.

More small trees were added across the river, using this same technique.

Then I began to add large trees in the foreground. I built these directly on the quilt, a choice I would soon regret.

These are the large trees finished. I am not happy with them at all. I wanted the feeling of being on the road with the trees looming up beside the driver, and this does not come across. I also wanted the foliage to be much more lacy, showing more of the hills behind them. No matter how many times I peeled up the fusible and recut, and rearranged, I could not make the trees do this. They wanted to be thick. Maybe if I had gone with more branches and fewer leaves, the lacy effect would have been achieved. Finally, I think the pinking shears give the leaves too much of a kitschy look.

At this point, having procrastinated before starting, I am pretty much out of time for any more adjustments, and I need to step back, and finish this as is. I'm sure that someone else, not having my expectations, will enjoy this piece. And I have learned a lot that I can incorporate into future landscapes.    

Right now I am waiting for a little touch-up paint to dry. Then I will start stitching the parts that need to be sewn before the quilt is layered. This part should be fun. I love playing with threads!

What I Have Been Working On

The Leominster Art Center, where I display some of my quilts, is having a special show in October, featuring works with Autumn Colors, sort of an Autumn in New England theme. I didn't have anything appropriate to display, so I started something new. This is what I was dyeing some of those fabrics for, and last week I started constructing the quilt. Here is my initial drawing.

And  this is a scaled-up version with some sketches of details.

Then, I drew a simplified version on parchment, and started auditioning fabric.

Using fusible (the same roll that gave me so much trouble on this quilt), I began building the scene. Oddly enough, the fusible gave me no trouble this time. 

I continued to add more, including the hairpin turn in North Adams.

Then I carved some stamps, to add texture to some of the areas. These included several buildings, a couple grasses, and some stylized asters. I also attempted the Lions from Williamstown, Ma. What I have heard is that these lions were designed by the same woman who designed the Vietnam Memorial, but I don't know if that is true. They are gorgeous, though, and provide a very majestic entrance to a trailer park! My stamp did not do them justice.

Then I got brave, and stamped the buildings onto the fabric. I have never put paint on a piece of fabric after it was already in a quilt before. I was very nervous. It's not perfect, but it is good enough. Next time will be better. 

After that, I built and added gravestones, to represent one of the many old graveyards to be found travelling west on Route 2.

There is more to come, so stay tuned.