September 21, 2010

teeny tiny collages

so my studio is sparkly clean... so pretty to look at, that I had a bit of a hard time making a mess there again. And if you are like me, you cannot make art without making a mess. I have a few largish projects waiting in the wings, but I just could not get going on them. Luckily I remembered an old trick - start on something small to ease your way back in. I have something coming up (which I will share more on later) that I need small work for, so I decided to make a couple of small collages by recycling scraps from my larger work. I have three baskets of teeny tiny scraps of embroidered, embellished, painted and hand stitched scraps. So before I knew it the couple of collages turned into seven collages. I had a good excuse - seven pretty little frames. I always check the sale bins in various stores and pick up frames that may some day come in handy, as these did this weekend.
So here's how I did the
m. I worked on all of them together and I started by rooting through my baskets and pulling out the scraps that tickled my fancy. Brightly colored and fanciest scraps where needed for this, since the size is so small I wanted the color to make the first impact. I chose the base scraps and trimmed to approximate size if it was needed. Then I started layering the littlest bits and pieces and forming one of my favorite images - the traditional Russian window. Here are a few in these first stages, the brown cardboard and paper squares you see are from the frames, I kept them close to give myself a visual size reference. Here's one of the windows from start to almost finish. I laid out the basic shape with a few of the bigger scraps. Then I added details with smaller scraps and a bit of yarn. Here's whole little quilt sandwich ready for stitching. There is a muslin back, fused to a timtex batting, which is fused to the background fabric and the scraps are held in place with a little bit of glue. This a look at all the collages with their background fabrics fused and ready for the windows themselves. Here are six of the the seven (the seventh is at the top of the post) all done and ready for their frames. Here they are in their frames, what do you think? I think they are cute!

12 comments:

Valerie Kamikubo said...

What a great idea! They look wonderful!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful little jewels young lady!

Paula Kovarik said...

I love the way these look Natalya, using up bits is one of my favorite things. It would be cool to have these hanging in little surprise places that would make you focus on the detail. End of a hallway? Inside a pantry? Next to the bathroom mirror? In a grouping on a hall table?

Karen L R said...

sometimes these quick and spontaneous projects are the most fun. these are wonderful!

Gerrie said...

I love them. I have enjoyed doing my little fiber sketches, which are not stitched,for the sketchbook project.

Jeannie said...

These little quiltlets are wonderful! Thank you so much for sharing your process. Next time I am stuck, I will remember this! Have a great week.

sukipoet said...

delightful and thanks for the tutorial

Leslie Tucker Jenison said...

They are lovely, Natalya! I love the size!

Heidi said...

Wow, really wonderful! I love them. They are so rich.

Kristin L said...

I think they are cute too!

Raphaela said...

The little treasures you made are beautiful. I was immediately attracted by your pieces. Probably because I love playing with scraps. When it comes to cloth I feel more inspired by tiny scraps (lots of them) than by a large piece of beautiful cloth.
By the way, I enjoyed your photos of Russia and Russian art very much. Thanks for sharing.

Melanie said...

wonderful -- like pages from an illuminateed manuscript.