Another Little Crooked House

This month the theme for one of my groups was Contrast.  My mind goes first to the B/W I love but I wanted to stretch a bit more and not be too predictable. Lots of ideas and lots of thinking.  Finally decided on contrasting Color with the B/W. Figured I would design a cute house as the main bit. Remembered my favorite photo of a Crooked Little House and thought that would make a great inspiration for this theme.  I made the little house in B/W and then on with Colors (there is also a contrast in using the pastels for the backboards of the house and brights for the boards in front).  Here is one of the little crooked houses in contrast.  BONUS!! I also have another one!!! It is still on the design wall ready to be completed later today I  hope. This one still needs the binding as well.  Busy busy later today!!!

Crooked Little House in Contrast

Here are the two pieces before cutting them and stitching/quilting them mixed up.I just feel like there will be another one made and kept as the B/W...it is just too cute!

I'm linking this to Nina Marie's Off The Wall Friday! 

"Transitions" - Light and Dark

One of my online groups chose the theme challenge for the month of June - Light and Dark.  It had me for a while. Couldn't get inspired.

I had previously done a piece on white paper with black printing ink, white paint and Pigma pen called "Directions."  This piece was inspired by that artwork but in the opposite.  I used black fabric, white molding paste (which gave it some texture), Pigma pen and white paint (just for the white dots). The title of this piece is....

Transitions

Directions

(the piece that inspired the art above)

Two Roads Diverged

Well, it is finally done.
I did two sessions of painted shibori to make the woods. The cut out the two roads diverging. The "leaves" and "branches" were made with a brayer wrapped with a rubber band. I did some additional painting to creat the undergrowth by the road. The black marks on the aspen trees were done with a Pigma pen.

"The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost is my favorite poem and my life story all rolled into one. It is short so I want to share it after the photo.

Two Roads Diverged - Kelly Hendrickson

The Road Not Taken

Robert Frost

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

It's All In The Timing

Don't you just love it when Serendipity strikes and things just fall into place?

I just had an experience like that.  One of the challenge groups I participate with has a theme for March of POEM.  Well, my favorite poem (and life inspiration) is the poem "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost.  As I live in Minnesota...a yellow wood is naturally aspen or birch.  Now....how to make the trees in the woods....

SERENDIPITY!!  On one of the many artist blogs I follow, an artist did a demo on painting shibori. Now...I had done painted shibori before but for this application it just didn't come to me naturally. Now if only I could remember the artist who did the demo. I'm searching for her and when I find her, I'll edit this post to include her name (if any of you who follow this blog know whom I talking about...please post it in the comment section and I'll be sure to include it in this post)  (Credit where Credit is due....this demo was done by Vivica on Quilting Arts. Here is the link: http://www.quiltingdaily.com/blogs/quilting-daily/archive/2013/03/28/paint-a-shibori-forest.aspx   Thank you Beth!!)

I dyed a piece of fabric with an appropriate sunny yellow and then wrapped it around a large PVC pipe. The next step is to wrap the string around the fabric and scrunch it down the pipe.  For the first layer I painted the ridges with a dark gray.  Took the fabric off the pipe, laid it out straight and let it dry overnight.  The next day I repeated the process but used slightly wider wrapping of the string and painted the ridges with white. For the "leaves" I used a brayer wrapped with rubber bands with brown and orange acrylic paints.  Here is the result:

Painted Shibori Yellow Woods

Now on to finishing it.  Putting in the diverging roads has been a challenge but I think I have it now...all I need to do is complete it! 

I'm linking this post to Nina Marie's Off The Wall Fridays...