Saturday, April 08, 2006

"I am a woman of wisdom, strength and grace.
And this is true."

So reads the first page of a fabric art journal that I made to celebrate my mother's life.

My mother, Doris, was the 4th of 10 children; born in 1923. Her mother's death in 1932, her father's lingering despair, the Great Depression and World War II were the defining events of her young life.

The first photo is a picture of my mother, some of her siblings, her father and stepmother. It was taken in late 1930. To create the page, I used layers of fabric, silk ribbon and beads; couching and embroidery; lace and found objects.

The second photo, also from the journal, is entitled, Sea Goddess, Sea Blue Goddess. My mother's name has origins in Greek mythology. Lots of reference to the sea. My mother was a strong and avid swimmer; I loved the connection to the mythic story. It was fun and challenging to depict the "underworld" with silk ribbon, beading, quilting, applique and stencil.

Creating the page with my mother in her wedding gown was done with layers of fabric ~~ white on white satiny polyblend appliqued with my mother 's photo and overlaid with sheer curtain fabric. On this page, I also beaded, quilted and embellished with ribbon and used faux pearls as well.

All the photos were transferred to fabric using freezer paper, my computer and printer.



No comments: