April 23, 2012

what's been going on...

...a lot.. is the short answer. Details? Russian Orthodox Easter was celebrated a week ofter everyone else Easter, and that pretty much took over my life. There was much cooking and cleaning to do, church going, celebrating and visiting. But I have blogged about all that before (here, here and here), so I'll spare you the pictures and will instead share the tiny bit of artwork that I managed to pull off amid all the hoopla. 
I had shared some work in progress last month in this post, and now I got chance to finish it. That meant whole lot of painting! And I enjoyed it so. The "whole" cloth long and skinny quilt (not even sure if I can call it a quilt officially) that I constructed out of various recyclables got painted on both sides. Acrylic paint was chosen mainly for ease of painting straight from the tube, excellent "blendiness" and because I was counting on it to give some strength to the paper parts while retaining the elasticity. 
I think that in these photos, you'll be able to tell that I went back to my roots in choosing the theme for my totem. Russian village windows were a recurring theme in my early art-quilting days. This one is a favorite, as well as this one and this one. It just felt right to construct a totem out of windows. Perhaps the Easter season influenced my color choices, both sides turned out bright and happy.
Unfortunately I do not yet have a full shot of the finished work. My studio ceilings are not tall enough, I'll have to take some non-professional pictures outside and I will definitely take installation shots of the whole room of totems in May. Stay tuned!




7 comments:

Cate Rose said...

It looks wonderful, Natalya! Did you stitch then paint or paint then stitch, or both? Well done!

Jeannie said...

Beautiful Natalya! I look forward to seeing more of your totems. You are such an inspiration - thank you.

Gerrie said...

What a rich color palette. Just gorgeous.

Cindy Green said...

Wow, looks amazing, can't wait to see it!

Lynn Cohen said...

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. I sigh when I see what you do with needle, thread and paint.

Kristin L said...

Gorgeous details! I look forward to seeing the piece as a whole. I love how seamlessly you've been combining hand and machine stitch, paint, fabric, and ephemera.

Vivien Zepf said...

It's absolutely gorgeous, in pictures and in real life!