Tag Archive for art quilt embellishments

Leaves All Around – Art Quilt Embellishments

Enameled metal teal and white leaf

Enameled metal teal and white leaf

Nancy Smeltzer, MFA

Here on the East Coast of the States, the leaves are starting to turn and fall. I thought I would show you how I’ve used some costume jewelry leaves as art quilt embellishments.

For some reason, leaves seem to be a popular shape for use in jewelry. In this detail shot, you can see a teal and white enameled metal leaf. I love the way that the teal color fades out to white, just as real leaves lose their color in the Fall. On a live leaf, the color usually remains next to the midrib, just as in this metal pin. The gold midrib and edges of the leaf pick up gold motifs scattered nearby, tying the composition together.

Gold metal leaf pin

Gold metal leaf pin

In this second pin, all in gold, the leaves have beautifully curled edges. There are  faint outlines of tiny veins in the larger sections of the leaf, while the larger veins are hidden in the folds. Perhaps this was meant to be a maple leaf, but it’s hard to tell as the shape is rather distorted. This is true, however, in nature, as few leaves, even on the same tree are exactly alike. This pin was one of my mother’s that I got after she died, and I don’t know when or on what she wore it. The glass “cathedral window” button in the lower rights seems to light up the leaf, and I like the way they look next to each other.

Stylized gold metal pin

Stylized gold metal pin

This last leaf pin is another that was my mother’s. It’s rather stylized, and seems to focus more on the veins of a leaf than on a whole leaf. It could be a conifer, or a branch from a tree that has needles, but the ribs seem too big to be from that kind of tree. I do like the spaces in it, because it allows you to see some of the fabric below (which was also from a blouse of my mother’s). A gold wreath off to the far right I use a lot, as they’re the circles from my signature “bead”, a hummingbird. The wreaths are the circles that the birds go through to attach the two ends of a necklace, but since the bird toggle has a shank, I use it as a button. (Wait for the link to load if it’s slow).

These costume jewelry pins usually have a pin that fits into a circle at the other end. When you rotate the circle, the pin stays locked in place on an outfit. However, because these art quilts get folded and unfolded a lot, the pins come undone if I don’t do the following. I thread the connecting pin up through the three layers of the quilt and put it in the circle and spin it. I then take small pliers and crimp the circle so that it can never be opened again. Then I stitch up and around each end of pin several times, securing it on to the surface of the quilt.

Leaves have been a popular adornment, from the laurel leaf wreaths given to winners of athletic events in ancient Greece to the present day as part of wedding tiaras and tattoos. Even though modern man is often pretty detached from daily contact with nature, leaf designs can help connect us with our ancient roots.

Do you have a favorite natural objects and how have you used them in your work?

Why not leave a comment as to your thoughts on this posting. Please take a minute, fill out the form below or by clicking on the “comments/no comments link” at the top of the posting, and then share your ideas with the rest of us. We all grow when we share our thoughts and impressions, so why not join our growing community of those who appreciate art quilts and textile arts. We’d love to hear from you!… and PLEASE tell like minded souls about this blog! The more readers and contributors, the more I write because encouragement helps the words flow!

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Getting in Line with Bugle Beads

Detail of pale blue bugle beads used in the art quit, Japanese IrisesFor me, the term bugle beads seems to be a misnomer for these long bead tubes, but that seems to be how they are known. They go a long way towards creating lines in bead work, as seen in this detail shot on the left of the art quilt, “Japanese Irises” .I find them to be kind of like unidirectional crosshatching in etchings, in that they give another quality of lines to a piece. In this particular section of the flower petal, I also used elongated white pearls to achieve a similar effect. If you look at the yellow area in the upper right of this photo, while the yellow and medium blue round seed beads have also been sewn in lines, the effect is very different from the lines created by the bugle beads.

Green bugle beads used in the art quilt, "Elements - Earth"In this detail photo from the art quilt, “Elements – Earth”, green bugle beads are again laid down as lines as if on a lush forest floor. They offer a contrast to the round lines of green seed beads and draw the eye off to the right where there is a larger concentration of buttons to suggest mushrooms and other structures on a log or mossy stone. These long beads could also be interpreted as long blades of grass that have been flattened by a passerby’s footsteps making his way through the woods.

Gold bugle beads in the art quilt, "Fabric of the Universe"Gold bugle beads in the art quilt, "Fabric of the Universe"These two thumbnails are from the same art quilt, “Fabric of the Universe” . Both show different representations of small galaxies that swirl out there in the Universe. By using gold bugle beads, sewn at angles,the eye is directed outwards into the cloud of the spiral. Here again, lines of black and gold seed beads repeat the pattern of the lines made by the bugle beads and make for a much richer texture than using only one kind of bead would have done.

Vertical rows of gold bugle beads in the art quilt, "Feathers and Stars, Stars and Feathers"In the photo on the left from the art quilt, “Feathers and Stars, Stars and Feathers” , shorter bugle beads are used to make vertical lines that mimic the lines of larger round beads and trim used in the same area. These glass beads are emphasized with the short gold safety pins with 4 large beads on the shaft of the pin that are fastened across the vertical lines. One of the problems with using elements to make lines of any length is seen on the left hand column of gold bugle beads that wobble a bit in this detail shot. In the actual full art quilt, that inconsistency doesn’t show up as much as it does in this detail shot. However, lines that stray too far from a true 180 degrees are quickly picked up by a viewer’s eyes.

Bugle beads used on the edge treatment and the tassel of the art quilt, "The Moon Rises Over Thundercloud"Along the upper edge, on the right of this detail shot, you can see bugle beads sewn on vertically to line the edge of the art quilt, “The Moon Rises Over Thundercloud” . By doing so, the edge was made much thicker than is usually found in a quilt sandwich with its decorated top, middle batting, and backing fabric. In contrast, there are also a number of much longer bugle beads that are used to make the corner tassel and suggest the ethnic look I was striving for in this piece.

Lines are not usually an important design element in my work. Bugle beads are a terrific way to incorporate them into your art quilts. You do need to be careful about choosing ones that have smooth endings as some have broken edges that will cut the threads used to fasten them. Depending on where the beads will end up in the design, clear plastic sewing thread may be needed to sewn down the bugle beads to avoid this tearing. Some new kinds of bugles even have a delightful twist in them that gives another layer of subtle texture. Do make sure that the needle that you’re using will fit all the way through a majority of the beads before threading it, as bugles especially seem to be inconsistent with regard to the size of their central holes.

Do you use lines as an important design element? How have you achieved the use of them in your work?

Why not leave a comment as to your thoughts on this posting. Please take a minute, fill out the form by clicking on the “comments/no comments link” at the top of the posting, and then share your ideas with the rest of us. We all grow when we share our thoughts and impressions, so why not join our growing community of those who appreciate art quilts and textile arts. We’d love to hear from you!

You can see more of my art work on my web site at www.fiberfantasies.com