TULIP DESIGNS (WAP #12; Istanbul)

 Whilst working on my art project this week, I became quite engrossed in the audiobook I was listening to. (Entry Island by Peter May).  It is one of those cross-generational stories where a character of our present time is trying to solve a mystery that hails from several generations before.  In this case a beautifully crafted signet ring that had been handed down served as the catalyst in finding the answers.  This ring was the only keepsake from the ancestor's past.

Whilst, in itself, this story has absolutely nothing to do with the tulip tiles adorning Topkapi Palace in Istanbul... the source of inspiration for this weeks art project...  it does highlight the value of a single hand crafted object; initially made as an adornment, but is then transformed through time to become a receptacle of historic & personal meaning.

Much like another story I heard from a friend this week...which does actually include Istanbul!   My friend received a piece of tile in the post, sent from another friend's niece, who picked up this fragment of tile in the very street my friend's mother was born in...in Istanbul... many years ago!  To anyone else that small token would be considered broken rubbish, but to my friend, it is a treasure imbued with significance & meaning. 

And someone made it in the first place.

Who knows where our creative efforts will lead us, our clients & our descendants!  Will my weekly art projects mean something to someone other than me one day?  Who knows, but for now...we have today!

 All very interesting to contemplate as one is labouring away at visual notetaking, recording as many variations of tulips as possible, from the photos one has!

Of course, if I had also included my books & the internet as a tulip-hunting sources, I may well have been drawing for days!

 There were a few design options, but I chose to go with a similar style to the one I created last week with the carnations.  I chose my fabrics, ironed them, layered them up & then sewed in my design.  This time I used a variegated thread, eager to see what (if any) difference it made to how the finished piece would look.

Then it was time to let the cutting back begin!  Here is how it went...

 As you can see, I did encounter some annoying puckering along the way!  I think this was due to the smaller size of stitch I was using. 

At this point I was somewhat disappointed with how flat the design looked.  It definitely needed a pick-me-up!  I was also aware that the effectiveness of the variegated thread was lost in the blue outlines.  The third thing I was disappointed with was the lower tulip...it kind of looked...well, boring!

It was time to do some serious embellishment!

With a few beads & some embroidery, this looks much better.  I love my big red tulips with their white dots & although I might make a few changes were I to do this again, I'm quite pleased with the end result.

The Turkish tiles are such a rich source of inspiration, I think I'll keep looking at them some more next week as well.

Until then...happy creating!