April was a month of long weekends, meaning that I only managed to get two of my weekly art projects completed. I'm hoping to have a less disrupted flow this month. Consequently it was rather exciting to get into my somewhat messy workroom yesterday & just focus on what I was going to create for this first project of May.
One small section of the Alhambra is where the exquisite Nasrid Palaces are & some of the finest Nasrid architecture & decoration in the World. Last time I focused on the lace-like plaster (stucco) work & how panels of differing patterns work so cohesively together.
The plaster work is also often seen alongside the gem-like azulejos tiles, so this week I am going to play with this effective combination.
It just so happens that I did some shopping at the annual stitch & craft fair last week & bought some stencils that look arabesque! As with any new toy, I wanted to try them out & this seemed like a good opportunity.
Out came other stencils & stamps from my collection & after a rummage through the paint pots I began a printing session.
To be honest, it soon became apparent that neither my blues nor my greens were quite right, or more accurately...they didn't work for me! So I changed my palette to a blue & gold combination.
The most effective prints were made using a gelli plate. I became so immersed that I completely forgot that I had an appointment (and I'd forgotten to set my phone alarm!) . Thankfully a phone call interrupted me & I was able to quickly scrub the paint off my hands before heading out.
It also meant that the pieces I'd printed could dry!
A couple of hours and a flu shot later, this was my selection of dry & ironed fabric options.
Now...what to do with them!
I had intentionally created options in various tonal values & was very pleased with all of my outcomes. Naturally I wanted to use all of them, but that was not going to be feasible within the 20cm square limitation! Quite a LOT of time was spent layering and rearranging!
Eventually I made a decision & got to work sewing them into place, before doing a little bit of cutting back. Here's how it went.
I'm very pleased with the finished outcome.
The cut back sections representing azulejoes are in satin & so have the same sort of shiny quality that the glazed tiles have.( Azulejoes are small glazed tiles used to create geometric patterns.) I'm very pleased with the colour palette & variation in pattern. I also really like the way the stitching looks in the unprinted lines of the lower panel.
My one frustration is that I couldn't find my A4 sized gelli plate, so none of my prints were 20cm long. If they had have been, I would have liked the cut back section to extend all the way across the width. This, however, is the best outcome from what was available to me & I'm happy with it.
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