Having recently come back from a shamanic creativity retreat, it’s appropriate that I would be drawn to some of the more simplistic materials that I like to use in my work. Egyptian glass beads date back to about 2,500 BC and the glass seed beads that I love so much are relatively recent in origin.
However, in this posting, I’ll speak to some uses of bone, shells, and wood embellishments that I’ve used in my art quilts. The photo above shows a detail shot of a white fan shape carved out of bone. It was used in a piece of mine “Elements – Earth“. Many of these simple carvings that are out on the market today are coming from Africa, and are being produced in response to the justifiable ban on ivory. You can still get much of the same look as the antique ivory carvings without having to kill a wild animal.
From the same art quilt, “Elements – Earth”, here is a close-up shot of some golden wooden beads. They’re about 1″ or 2.5 cm in diameter, and about 3/4″ or 2 cm tall, so they make a lovely rounded shape on the surface that suggested to me mushrooms on a forest floor. I attached them with a contrasting thread, so there would be another small design element that would only be seen upon close examination, much like the treasures that can be observed in the woods when you’re down on your knees.
Finally, from the same quilt as the above pictures, is a painted bone pendant in the center of the photo. Another carving from Africa, the dark painted background was stenciled onto the natural coloring of the bone. The piece only has one place for attachment at the metal bail (the piece at the top that allows for the pendant to be hung from a necklace). Since it’s almost 3″ or 7.5 cm, I used green embroidery floss to stitch the piece to the surface of the art quilt, suggesting vines or tree roots that capture other substances to the Earth. To the left, is another wooden bead, and peaking out behind that bead is a filigree carved bone piece. The fret work or spirals are much thinner and more delicate than the fan shaped piece above, and took more skill to carve.
From this art quilt, “Elements – Water” is a detail shot of a bottle carved from bone from North Africa. My understanding is that it was originally intended for liquid incense or perfume. When I bought 10 of these, (and another 10 in a dark color), I had no idea what I would use them for, but thought that they were pretty cool and NEEDED to have them. This version has a wooden top that screws into place and an embossed metal band down the middle to add visual interest. I attached it by stitching multiple strands of beads to simulate sew weed covering up treasures on the ocean floor.
The vertical slice through a small conch shell, 1 1/2″ or 4 cm, shown on the left, adds to the feel of an underwater scene. Again I used strands of green beads and plastic pearls to suggest how the ocean claims what lands on its floors as vegetation grows over them. In contrast to the stark whiteness of the shell is one of my favorite glass buttons from Czechoslovakia, to the left of the shell, whose shine mimics the gleam of sunlight playing in the depths of shallow water.
Finally, from the same water quilt, are three small slices of conch shells in the center of this photo (3/4″ or 2 cm). While all of the slices had a hole drilled at the top for securing onto a necklace, I needed to make sure that the bottoms didn’t stick out as they would catch the beading and quilting threads as I worked in that area. Again, to make that fastening happen, I sewed vertical strands of green beads to simulate sea weed.
While I have often raided hardware stores for metal toothed washers and plastic stars/flowers to support the edges of mirrors, I am drawn to the primitive quality of natural materials. Mankind made do for thousands of years with what was available for personal adornment, and materials for rituals. While I am drawn to the shine of glass buttons and beads, perhaps I’ll be using more natural materials, especially if I end up on a desert island like I posted about last week.
Have you used any unusual materials in your own projects?
Were they purchased or did you make them yourself?
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You can see more of my art work on my web site at www.fiberfantasies.com