Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Faces 8, 9

A new direction. What if I start with a patched background?

I found fabrics with lots of white in them, hoping the face would show up better that way. This ended up reminding me of my Mom's old hankies:

First--What if I machine stitch directly on it?

I had to fight the print so much that it ended up being overworked. Sometimes, though, I think the ones that don't work are more useful than the ones that do. This led me to thinking of all sorts of other approaches to using a pieced background.

What if I do the face on sheers and attach? Since I had Face #7 on organza sitting here, I attached it on top and left it floating on the bottom. I had a bit of text "She likes to float" left over from my little boat piece a while back and it seemed to belong there.





8 comments:

Suzanne Reynolds said...

Very cool, Robin. So "Ruth Rae"! Love the way the face looks on the sheer fabric over a print.

stephanie brockway said...

Your being quite prolific this summer, must have ac! Love that your back to faces, feels much more you. very powerful, raw and playful, those crudley drawn stars,were calling my name.
Well done, friend
Steph

arlee said...

I like the floating approach and can see a series of "thoughts" done this way

Robin Olsen said...

Suzanne, thank for the Ruth Rae reminder. I always think of her for jewelry and forgot she does fabric pieces. I just took a look and she has wonderful things!

Steph, Yes I do have AC. :) And thank you! I do feel like I get off my path and have to wander around a while before I find my own voice again. Even now, some of these are definitely more me than others, but hopefully enough brainstorming will let the ones I need surface.

Arlee, a series of "thoughts" -- love that!

jude said...

nice to see the what-iffing providing a pathway....

lynne h said...

OMG! seriously, they just get better and better!! i love the top one - just love it. i know that when i'm drawing on a busy background i can hardly see what i'm drawing, and i always think about how this makes things that much more exciting. when the face finally emerges (after i've filled it in) it's a great surprise!

also i like the idea of stitching words below the face. very smile making... : )

Dreamcicle Journeys said...

Robin, love the layering of the sheer fabric with the stitched face on the printed background- the technique offers lots of possibilities.

Unknown said...

so very inspiring.

I am captivated with these portraits!

x..x
p.s.
the word verification is flogiest...

I don't have the flogiest idea