Having just returned from visiting my New Zealand family, INTO this frenetic pre-christmas week... my thoughts could be described as somewhat predictable!! WHAT GIFTS DO I STILL HAVE TO GET??????? ARGHHHHHHH!
Therefore, today's 'weekly challenge' is inspired by a grouping of garden ornaments I have hanging from a tree in our courtyard. They were given to me over a number of Christmases by my sister. They come from my favourite shop in Mt Maunganui & if my present-guessing skills are as good as I think they are... I'll be welcoming another one into the branches in a few days time!!
I enjoy artistic additions to our garden. The accessories in our courtyard have a colour theme of blue & green, which go so well with the abundance of green foliage we have there. These dangley glass ornaments catch the light & look fantastic & fun.
After a series of quick design sketches, I pulled out my blue & green scrap bins......and found supplies & my colour palette!
Working on the background first, I sewed in the lines & then cut back to reveal just little slivers of the fabric below. In this case, I wanted the top fabric to still be dominant. The grey represents the tree bark & the green represents the tree foliage.
Using 2 or 3 layers for each 'glass' fragment, I slowly produced a foreground.
I could have left it there, with the grey section remaining free of ornament, but...
...I didn't! I wanted to reference both the green glass danglies & also emphasize that the grey was a background. However, the blue was still supposed to be the star attraction!
Therefore, in finishing off, I added hand stitch & glass beads to the blue . These additions give that little bit more oomph!! I am quite pleased with the results, especially given the short space of time & many distractions I was also juggling, along with fabric & thread!!
To me Christmas is about being thankful, so I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Brenda Gael Smith for suggesting this weekly art challenge in the first place. In trying to explain to my parents what it was about, I described it as akin to piano practice! Whatever art form we create, we need to keep the practice up. Not everyone develops with the same practice methods & sometimes it takes a while to find the right style! For the past few months, this challenge has worked for me & at this stage, I plan to continue it into the new year.
Have a very merry Christmas everybody & thank you for your support & encouragement! Cheers!
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