Fabric Collage Finish Line: Online Submissions 22

Happy May Day! The last few days here in Maine have followed the saying, “April showers bring May flowers”—being a bit dreary and damp, but sun is forecast for today, May 1st, and will no doubt highlight the dandelions that are starting to burst open in our yard and garden. Now, I consider dandelions a wild “crop,” so I’ve got dandelion pesto and dandelion aperitif on my mind for the weekend! But as a memory of the recently cloudy days, Tom has put together a new kayaking video of his Wednesday paddle, and I asked him to include it at the end of this post. It’s soothing and beautiful in its grayness, and reminds us of the balance we need between the gray and the colorful.

We have a fabulous collection of fabric collage quilts for you this week—such as “Biscuit,” by Marilyn Davidson, featured above. Thank you so much to these ladies and all who have submitted quilts for the Finish Line posts—you guys just keep getting better and better! If you too have a finished collage quilt to submit for a future post, please click here!

Submit Quilt for "Finish Line"

The following quilts are created by students who all have considerable experience and have developed expertise over a number of years. For those of you just starting out in fabric collage I hope you’re inspired by these quilts. View them as representing what is possible with fabric collage. We are all at different points in our creative journey, maybe these quilts will help inspire you to begin yours or push it a little farther down the road.

I recently answered a question for my advice to those just beginning their work in art—I said simply that if someone finds something that inspires them, to keep at it, ’cause you just don’t know where it’ll take you. The works you see below illustrate that point beautifully.

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Marilyn Davidson

Marilyn Davidson, who splits her year between Connecticut and Florida is a prolific former student who long ago mastered fabric collage but still occasionally asks me for feedback on her quilts. I’ll get a chance to see her newest project on May 11 when she attends our monthly Patreon Show and Share Zoom meeting. Patreon contributors at the $10 and $20 level are encouraged to send in images of their in-progress quilts for me to give feedback. All Patreon members can attend and ask questions. Marilyn’s quilts have appeared in numerous prior Finish Line blog posts, including here and here and here.

From Marilyn:

My first fabric collage class was in Maine with Susan in 2013. I was hooked on her technique and never looked back. Susan’s guidance, encouragement and teaching methods have enabled me to do several collage quilts. I continue to learn from Susan and appreciate all the subtle hints that help me improve my projects.

Marilyn is an artist with an eye for the patterns found in her fabrics to portray the contours of her subjects. She sent along photos of her fabrics below, including the beautiful lace she found to recreate the fanciful quality of Biscuit’s tail.

I took a photo of our dog Biscuit as he was basking in the sun on our back patio. His tail was spread out like a fan and I was inspired to make this quilt. I visualized, in my mind, how fun his tail would be to recreate using fabric.

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Leilani Purvis

Leilani Purvis of Bend, Oregon, and Mesa, Arizona, says this is the first “water collage quilt” she’s done. What a beautiful job she’s done to recreate this powerful image of the “life” and strength of water. Reading that Leilani’s husband is also a surfer, this quilt could bring fabric collage into the “extreme sport” category! I love that she “let go” and free-hand drew the movement of the wave.

From Leilani:

This is my first water collage quilt. I’ve done one landscape and a few animals. I’ve taken classes, one retreat, but have learned so much from Susan Carlson Blog posts and “Serendipity Quilts” book. I’ve been admiring everyone’s work in “Finish Line”.

“Feel the Wave” was inspired by a photo taken by John Cocozza [used with permission], a San Diego photographer of surfing, family portraits, etc. My husband (a surfer) and I are from Southern California and love the ocean. When we saw this photo hanging in a restaurant, I knew I had to make it into a collage quilt. I knew I wanted it large enough so you could “Feel the Wave.” I collected the batiks and decided to begin the process by free hand drawing the wave on muslin with the horizon line. From there I just let the photograph lead me.

I decided to choose the colors/batiks that depicted the refections of the sunrise and all the different colors in the sky and water. There is still water in the distance, then the movement of the wave forming into a wonderful crest with frothy white lace as accents.

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Ria Mille

Ria Mille from Belgium is another prolific fabric collage creator. I first met her in a Harpswell, Maine, retreat which she attended with her friend Rit Verhoeven. I featured the two of them in a blog post entitled “The Belgian Connection” and Ria’s quilts alone in “The Belgian Connection 2.”  I’ve had the distinct pleasure to see her love and expertise of fabric collage grow and grow, along with her collection of quilts! Ria has a style that truly uses fabric as one would paint, and she does it beautifully. Her rhino above, is a great example of seeing color in an otherwise gray animal.

From Ria:

Nearly 8 years have passed since I attended Susan’s classes in Harpswell. Both the class and visiting the US were a dream come true. The classes though seem to have provided me with a lifetime pleasure. Sometimes I get low on inspiration, but then suddenly I seem to be off in a haste and run to the copy center to have my subjects enlarged and start experimenting, building the familiar pile of scraps on the floor.

 

The rhino looks as if he is watching everyone. The biggest challenge were these folds in his skin, and of course the shades of light and soft lilacs, which are not the happiest colors. Anyhow, it proved to be a daring subject, but I am happy with the result. This time I covered the finished collage with fine golden tulle (thanks for sending it, Susan) to soften the black lines representing the wrinkles. The final touch, as in other quilts, was performed by my friend Anne Lillholm, professional quilter.

From Ria:

I saw the larger than life insect in the showroom of a furniture shop. The manager kindly provided me with the name of the company providing the picture. They made no objections to my using the image. So, no worries on that issue.

 

The image struck me, being very powerful both as subject and display. After some digging, it seems to be an American insect, so it might look familiar to some of you. I was very puzzled as it doesn’t look like a bee or wasp.

The problems related to finding the right fabric were not new to me. Most of my zoo-collages are in these brown and gray tones. But the stack is dwindling, and shops are not always open due to COVID 19. As usual, poverty makes one resourceful, and I managed to find the right tones in using the backside of fabric which originally was far too strong.

 

As far as the finishing touch, i.e. the quilting itself, I rely on my Netherlands based contact, a Danish lady. The waiting time is about half a year, and we are not allowed to cross the border, again due to COVID. So the insect was pinned to my old friend the black background. I tried different colors and colour blocks, but nothing seemed to work. And let’s be honest: these fantasy backgrounds are not my strongest point. I decided not to stitch through the black linen, as it might weaken the strong image. All my collages are stretched over a wooden frame, which holds them perfectly in shape.

 

Here in Belgium, machine quilting is rare. We still work the traditional way, hand quilting. Some shops or enterprising ladies adventure in machine quilting, which I understand is common business in the US.

From Ria:

Rosie, queen of Corona, refers to a song by Paul Simon, and seemed the right name for my cow. This type of cow roams the small patches of protected nature where we sometimes walk. Especially during the corona lockdown, walking seems to be the only pleasure in life. No visiting, no shopping, no restaurants. She looks a bit wild and untidy, wind blowing her hair all over her face. Just one eye showing. Free and happy. I seem to have wiped all the in-between snapshots showing the different in-progress stages.

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Barbara Fooks

Barbara Fooks is from Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, and a Patreon supporter. I may not have had Barbara in a extended class, but she shows up for our monthly Patreon Show and Shares and has (obviously as you’ll read below) learned from them, and owns the Fabric Collage Master Class as well. I enjoyed reading how Barbara has put the Master Class to use for her—working through it exactly as it’s meant to be (Barbara, you did a lovely job with your single-colored subject!). It was funny to Tom and I when she mentioned being inspired to use lace on her lamb by the use of lace in a dog’s tail from a Patreon Show and Share—that dog was Biscuit, whose portrait by Marilyn Davidson opened this blog post! Indeed, it’s a community of collage artists we’ve been able to create online, from country to country.

From Barbara:

I had realized patchwork was not really for me, but l fell in love with collage quilts. As I researched, I didn’t think fusing with templates was right either. When I came across a posting of Susan’s on Facebook, I knew I had found what I was looking for. I pondered for a while whether to purchase the Master Class, and I am very glad I finally did. I went through it quickly, then settled down to do a spiral exercise. It surprised me by going down a totally different road from what I thought I was going to do. I joined Patreon and pondered doing a realistic quilt with help from the blogs. I have enjoyed getting to know Susan, and feel like part of the community. The [Master Class] Facebook group helped to inspire me as well.

When my daughter told me they were moving, and would have to leave behind the mural I had painted in my granddaughter’s bedroom, I offered to make a collage quilt, so she wouldn’t have leave it behind next time she moves. Granddaughter asks for a lamb. I knew Susan doesn’t recommend white or black animals for first projects, but what can you do? I found a public-domain photo that had as much shading as you could hope for in a white animal. Before each step, I would go over the section in the master class manual. I thought it was best to start with the eyes, since if I got them right, the whole thing would be believable. Susan’s blog post on eyes came through. I learned to take my time and be patient.

I posted it on the Facebook group when phase one was complete. Someone suggested it needed more texture on the back. At the time Susan was coaching someone who used lace for a dog’s tail. It gave me an idea. I pulled some eyelet out my mother’s old stash, and voila—the additional texture. The lamb looked like she was floating on the background. A shadow of black tulle grounded her. Final gluing took forever, I would say, ok—done—ready to quilt, and I would find more loose edges. Then at last I took a deep breath and started free-motion quilting. I am only a beginner at this, but it blends in and looks ok. I am very pleased with the results, and looking forward to more projects to come. Thanks to Susan for helping me develop this God-given talent I didn’t know I had.

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And now for Tom’s promised video—a serene kayak paddle along Casco Bay… with a little surprise at the end. Enjoy.