The Gown's Story

(Above:  The Gown's Story.  Custom framed:  61 1/2" x 45 1/2".  An 1860 handmade Swiss wedding gown, crocheted glove, and AI generated story on a damask tablecloth. Hand and free-motion machine stitched.  Click on any image to enlarge.)

I first saw this wedding gown when my friend Ellen Kochansky hung it in her solo show at 701 CCA back in 2009.  It was fragile then but also simply gorgeous.  Ellen used it once again in a later place.  The condition only worsened. 

 

(Above:  Embedded Energy by Ellen Kochansky.)

Recently, Ellen gave the gown to me.  It was no longer in a condition that would allow it to hang.  The pleated bodice, puffy sleeves, and the ruffles that were to peek through hemline slits are all but disintegrating.  The lacy middle panel needed to be totally reconstructed ... but I still adored this gown.  It spoke of history and preciousness and wedding vows.  Still ... I wasn't sure if I could actually use it for anything at all despite my desire to "give it a second life" (or in this case a third or fourth or fifth ... depending on just how many generations loved and wore it!)

 

(Above:  The Gown's Story in progress.)

 

Meanwhile, I saw the SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates) call-for-entry for  AI: Artistic Interpretations, a juried global exhibition.  Okay ... I rolled my eyes. I was under the impression that anything AI related was "bad for artists".  I thought that using Chat GPT would eliminate an artist's unique voice.  I believed that any trace of individualism would be replaced by boring, academic-sounding art-ease, the sort of style that puts most people to sleep.  I worried that all art statements, if composed through an AI program, would sound pretty much alike.  I expressed these feelings with Nicole Jurain, a talented ceramist who I met a couple years ago while we were doing the Smithsonian Craft Show.  Nicole is wise; her advice has proved to be very, very good.  She encouraged me to give Chat GPT a try. I resisted.  Nicole went ahead and put my general statement through Chat GPT.  OMG!  It was WONDERFUL!  (It immediately replaced the words I wrote for my website.)  This got me wondering what else could Chat GPT do?  Could it come up with a story for this threadbare wedding dress?

 

(Above:  The Gown's Story in progress.)

I googled for Chat GPT.  I asked it to write a short story in the voice of an 1860s, handmade Swiss wedding dress that was sent to NYC and worn through generations until Susan Lenz transformed it into an art quilt.  I had no hope for anything worth reading.  It took a matter of two or three seconds before these charming words appeared on my computer screen:

I was born in Switzerland in 1860, stitched from smooth ivory satin and sent across the ocean to New York. Anna first wore me on a crisp autumn morning, my fabric rustling as she whispered, Yes, I will. I felt her joy, the warmth of her groom’s hand, the sway of their first dance.

Folded away, I emerged for Anna’s daughter, then her granddaughter. Each bride altered me slightly, but I remained, wrapping new hearts in love. Time wore me thin—a stain from a toast, a tear from an embrace. By 1942, young Margaret wore me as war loomed, clinging to love amid uncertainty.

Now, I am no longer whole, but I am not forgotten. In Susan Lenz’s hands, I will live again—not as a gown, but as an art quilt, stitched with the memories of generations, a testament to love that never fades.

Again, I was stunned.  How utterly lovely.  I started free-motion stitching this bit of fiction (based on the few facts I knew!) onto a piece of vintage damask sandwiched with some cotton batting.   Then, I taped a larger piece of batting to my floor.  Over it, I lay the rest of the damask tablecloth.  The trailing back of the gown was trimmed off.  Most of the back was cut away.  An arrangement started to materialize. 

(Above:  The Gown's Story in progress.)

My original plan was to baste the dress and the words to the damask and then stitch a layer of ivory bridal tulle/netting over the top.  The netting was supposed to protect the fragile fabric, prevent any flaking satin from falling away.  My plan just didn't work.  First, basting gave way to lots and lots of tiny hand-stitching to keep the garment as flat as possible and to adequately attach it to the damask.  Second, the netting just couldn't stretch enough over the dress and still remain flat over the rest of the piece.  There was nothing to do but to move on to Plan B.

 

(Above:  The Gown's Story in progress. This is the stage where the garment became like a giant "patch".)

Plan B required hundreds and hundreds of tiny stitching.  The dress, once firmly attached to the underlying damask tablecloth and batting, was covered with the ivory tulle.  The tulle was hand-stitched to the edges and along every row of lace in the center panel.  It was stitched around all the hemline slits, the entire bodice, the sleeves, the glove, etc.  Once finished, I free-motion machine stitched around the perimeter and cut the garment out ... effectively creating a giant "patch".  This was the only way I could think of to protect the fragile material and keep the thing relatively flat.  

 

(Above:  The Gown's Story in progress.)

I knew that if I attempted to attach this "patch" to another layered/quilted piece of fabric, it probably wouldn't hang straight.  It would end up hanging in some distorted manner.  So ... I had Steve build me a 60" x 44" stretcher bar.  I stapled an over-sized piece of acid-free foamcore to the stretcher bar.  Cotton batting and another damask tablecloth were stretched over the surface and stapled to the sides of the stretcher bar.  The dress "patch" and the words "patch" were pinned down. Then ... I rigged up a station for more stitching!

 

(Above:  The Gown's Story, detail.)

Assorted white and off-white buttons were then stitched around the perimeter of the "patched" ... through the edges of the "patches" and through the tablecloth, batting, and the foamcore.  Lots of additional stitches were plied to distribute the weight of the garment and firmly attach it to the substrata.  It is flat.  It hangs without distortion.  I love it as much as I did back in 2009.  

 

(Above:  Detail of The Gown's Story.)

Today, I entered it into the SAQA AI show.  Odds are long for an acceptance but that doesn't matter to me.  I am over the moon with the success of transforming this precious dress, giving it a second life. I learned plenty, especially the fact that Chat GPT is my friend.

 

(Above:  Detail of The Gown's Story from an angle.)

 

Chat GPT even helped write the 700 character statement for the piece:

Initially, I had no interest in using AI or entering this show. But when a friend ran my artist statement through ChatGPT, I was surprised by the results—fluid, insightful, and strangely moving. I wondered what story AI might invent for an 1860s wedding gown recently donated to my stash. One factual prompt produced a vivid fiction. Inspired, I reimagined the gown, stitching it into a new narrative shaped by both hand and machine. The Gown’s Story gives the dress a second life, exploring the intersection of memory, fabrication, and the evolving role of AI in storytelling and art.

 

Mandala CCXXX

(Above:  Mandala CCXXX. Custom framed:  26 3/4" x 26 3/4".  Found objects hand-stitched to a section of a vintage quilt. Objects include:  A souvenir ashtray from Portugal with an orange faucet handle; 1970 UAW buttons; dominoes; syringe tops; Chinese ceramic figurine beads; gold, plastic St. Patrick's Day lucky coins; green bottle caps with white and gold shank buttons; screw eyes; miniature clothespins; beer caps; clear, plastic birthday cake candle holders; crochet pieces; four toy frogs; assorted buttons and beads.  Click on any image to enlarge.)

Every night after dinner, I hand-stitch while watching television.  This piece was done sometime last week but didn't get framed until yesterday.  It was a lot of fun.

 

(Above:  Detail of Mandala CCXXX.)

It also required plenty of drilling.  In order to stitch an orange faucet in the center of the Portuguese ashtray, I had to drill lots of holes.  More holes were needed to stitch it to the quilt.  I was determined to stitch the gold-and-white shank buttons on top of the green, plastic beverage caps too.  Believe it or not, I had to use a 1/4" drill bit to accommodate the shank.  I tried to use the 1/4" drill bit first but it tore up the lid.  I had to start with a much smaller drill bit and work my way up to the larger one ... some twenty-two times with each size!  It was worth it though!

(Above:  Detail of Mandala CCXXX, at an angle.)

Generally, I don't use glue to attach any of my objects.  This time, however, there's a dab of hot glue under every one of the Chinese ceramic figurine beads.  It was the only way to keep them all sitting straight up.  There's no way to drill additional holes in them. The hole that existed simply didn't allow the figures to sit correctly ... but I was determined to use them!  They are all so cute!

 

(Above:  Detail of Mandala CCXXX.)

Speaking of cute ... how about the frogs!  Each one is sitting on a piece of crochet that sort of appears like a lily pad.  Drilling holes in plastic frogs is no problem!

Spaces Between

(Above:  Me with juror Akiko Kotani at Spaces Between at Florida CraftArt in St. Petersburg, Florida.)

This past weekend was wonderful!  Steve and I returned to Florida for the public reception for Spaces Between at Florida CraftArt in St. Petersburg.  My Cemetery Flags was awarded first place. 

Thankfully, the show was juried blind (meaning, artists' names were not provided with the images during the jurying process) because talented Akiko Kotani might have recognized my last name!  Why?  Well, she's a professor emeritus at Slippery Rock University ... as is my father.  Also, my youngest sister earned a BFA under Akiko!  I didn't know her.  She came to Slippery Rock in 1979, two years after I graduated from high school and went to The Ohio State University.  I never took art in high school or college.  I never moved back home either.  It is, however, a small world!
 

Large Stained Glass LXXXIX

(Above:  Large Stained Glass LXXXIX.  Custom framed:  63" x 23".  Layers of fused polyester stretch velvet on recycled, black industrial felt.  Free-motion machine stitched and exposed to unique melting techniques.  Click on any image to enlarge.)

This is the last piece made before Steve and I start packing for the Smithsonian Craft Show.  It's a big one!  I needed it.  Why?  Well ... loading the cargo van is always tricky. The ProPanel booth must go in first, on the bottom.  Artwork goes on top, layer by layer ... from the larger pieces to smaller ones.  It works best if I have two Large Stained Glass Windows, side-by-side.  This simply provides more space/room for the next layer.  Until last week, this was no problem at all.  I didn't have any Large Stained Glass pieces ... well ... at least ones that I still liked!

 

(Above:  Two Large Stained Glass pieces!)

Last week, a giant truck pulled up and delivered the three pieces that spent two years in Tallin, Estonia through the Art in Embassies program.  I knew one was a Large Stained Glass piece.  So, I started creating another one!  Hopefully, both will find permanent homes next week while at the Smithsonian Craft Show!  Details of the new piece below ... and also "what I did with the Large Stained Glass piece I didn't like"!

(Above and below:  Details of Large Stained Glass LXXXIX.)

I guess I could have taken Large Stained Glass L to Washington, DC but ... well ... my selection of polyester stretch velvets has increased.  I now have brighter colors.  This piece was made way back in 2013.  It never found a home.  There was only one thing to do!  Cut it up and create something new!

 

(Above:  Stained Glass LI.)

I cut and trimmed and started arranging the pieces.  I used the frames from two Lancet Windows that were also returned from Estonia.  The framing material was discontinued sometime last year.  Thus, they didn't match the other Lancet Window that are going to the Smithsonian Craft Show.  We reframed the two Lancet Windows.  I put my new arrangements into the older frames.

(Above:  Fragments II and III.  Framed:  11 1/4" x 31 1/4".)

I think they look great now!

Mandala CCXXIX

(Above:  Mandala CCXXIX. Custom framed:  15 3/4" x 15 3/4".  Found objects hand-stitched to a single block of an antique quilt.  Objects include:  An antique pocket watch on a pewter souvenir from Thailand attached to a small, porcelain dish; souvenir spoons; blue and pink "Barbie" telephones; vintage cardboard lids for glass bottles that advertise eggs, orange juice, and milk; four fabric yoyos; copper U-clamps; assorted buttons and beads. Click on any image to enlarge.)

Every day now seems to be one during which I'm deep into creating work for the upcoming Smithsonian Craft Show, but the work I'm making requires free-motion stitching or fusing material with my iron.  These things are not the sort of artwork that I can easily do in the evenings while watching television with Steve.  Handwork is needed.  Therefore, I'm still enjoying my Found Object Mandala series. 

 

(Above:  Detail of Mandala CCXXIX.)

This piece has a unique story or two.  First, the quilt really wasn't a "quilt".  It was just a gorgeous, hand-stitched block.  It was so pretty that I didn't mind quilting it to a piece of batting and an old, damask napkin.  I wondered if there were other blocks or whether this was all that ever got stitched.  It doesn't matter.  It got quilted ... by me!

 

(Above:  Detail of Mandala CCXXIX.)

The more sentimental story, however, is about the centerpiece.  The pocket watch was donated to my stash by a lovely lady I've known for more than two decades.  Our sons went to the same ballet school together.  Her son is now living in Australia.  Recently, she lost her husband of over fifty-years and decided to move to Australia to be near her son and his family. It is wonderful that she will have lots of time with her two grandchildren but also a bit sad that she can't just take everything she now has with her.  Many things, including the pocket watch, found homes in my stash.  I am honored to have such significant items for my mandalas. 

(Above:  Mandala CCXXIX as seen at an angle.) 

The watch didn't work ... so I didn't feel badly drilling four holes in the back of the case.  Otherwise, it is stitched in place ... through holes in the pewter souvenir ... and holes along the rim of the porcelain dish.  There really is a bit of engineering to these mandalas ... and there will be more things from my stash that just didn't get to travel of Australia.

Windows for the upcoming Smithsonian Craft Show

(Above:  Window CCXX.  Custom framed:  19 1/4" x 17 1/4".  Layers of fused polyester stretch velvet on recycled black industrial felt.  Free-motion machine stitched and subjected to various melting techniques.  Click on any image to enlarge.)

Reviewing the available work for the upcoming Smithsonian Craft Show revealed that I only had three Window Series pieces.  Both Steve and I thought this was inadequate.  Three more had to be made.  I spent hours creating them while Steve built frames.  We are really pleased how they turned out.

 

(Above:  Window CCXXI.  Custom framed:  19 1/4" x 17 1/4".  Layers of fused polyester stretch velvet on recycled black industrial felt.  Free-motion machine stitched and subjected to various melting techniques.)

 Steve and I have also been thinking about how we will load the cargo van.  It is an important factor, especially when considering the way large artwork has to be layered on top of the ProPanel booth walls.  We knew we had a problem.  What problem?  Well ... a Large Stained Glass Window is soon to be returning after being on display in Tallinn, Estonia through the Arts in Embassies program.  I have no other Large Stained Glass Window but need two to lay side-by-side during the trip to DC.  

 

(Above: Window CCXXII.  Custom framed:  19 1/4" x 17 1/4".  Layers of fused polyester stretch velvet on recycled black industrial felt.  Free-motion machine stitched and subjected to various melting techniques.)

 We had a decision to make: Don't take the one or make another!  It was an easy choice.  I'm deep into the construction of another Large Stained Glass Window.  Thank goodness these small Windows came together rather quickly.  Having the time makes retirement joyous!

Lost & Found XV

(Above:  Lost & Found XV. Custom framed: 11" x 18 1/4". Found objects hand-stitched to a scrap of an antique coverlet.  Objects include:  A wooden fan; two brass iced-tea spoons; washers; casino chips; touchless door openers; plastic lids; small, crown-shaped game pieces; screws from a dismantled piano; four filigree corner elements; assorted buttons and beads. Click on image to enlarge.)

When I cut the antique coverlet, I had a few scraps leftover.  One was just too large to throw away but it was also not a shape that lent itself to my Found Object Mandala Series.  Finally, I found the wooden fan at the Pickens County flea market and the work came together quickly!  I'm really pleased how it turned out.
 

Relics

(Above:  Not a great photo but ... one of the last four Relics stitched and beaded before the Smithsonian Craft Show.  Average size 10" x 7" ... matted to a standard 20" x 16".)

This April Fools Day was stunning ... not because of any prank or joke or even the current political season.  It was stunning because the month really crept up on me almost in an unexpected way.  Since the start of 2025, April seemed "off in the distance".  I knew that April was going to be a busy month but it didn't dawn on me that it was here until it actually happened!  In just a few short weeks, Steve and I will have gone to Florida and back (for the public reception of Spaces Between at Florida CraftArt where my Cemetery Flags won FIRST PLACE) and then headed to Washington, DC for the Smithsonian Craft Show.

All of a sudden, I had to prioritize my month!  What needs to be done before this big show?  How am I going to display my matted artwork in my booth (Booth 400)?  I have rolling print stands but they are bulky if not disassembled.  Yet they are difficult to take apart and put back together again.  The solution has been a print bin from ProPanel.  My booth is a ProPanel booth.  Wouldn't you know it! They make one that easily attaches to their portable walls.  

Then ... I had to look at the artwork I've already made, count the number of pieces, and carefully decide what else I might want to make before we set off for the show.  I determined that I need three more Window Series pieces and one Large Stained Glass piece.  That's enough work that I had to admit to myself:  NO MORE RELICS!

I adore making these pieces.  They have a little bit of everything I love best ... scraps of exotic fabric on which to fuse polyester stretch velvet, a little free-motion machine stitching, lots of hand stitching, and beading!  But now it is April ... time to get to work making the few more things that will go to the Smithsonian Craft Show!

Mandala CCXXVIII

(Above: Mandala CCXXVIII.  Custom framed: 29 1/4" x 29 1/4".  Found objects hand-stitched to a section of a vintage quilt.  Objects include a metal turtle on a scrap of antique, burgundy fabric; vintage belt buckles; children's scissors; red Mardi Gras doubloons; washers; vintage poker chips; wavy hair curlers; blue Monopoly hotels; purple toddler snack lids; gridded, metal protectors for antique car lights; toy car wheels; blue, plastic lids; four, red checkers; red, heart-shaped rabies pet tags; pale blue and pink sampler spoons; and assorted buttons and beads.  Click on either image to enlarge.)

I finished this Found Object Mandala before going to Florida but didn't get around to photographing it until today.  It was fun to stitch despite the fact that I remember the popularity of the quilt fabrics from my own youth.  It is truly shocking to realize that the 1970s and early 1980s is now considered "vintage" ... at least as far as fabric is concerned! LOL! 

 

(Above:  Detail of Mandala CCXXVIII.)

I still like these fabrics and I'm totally in debt to the nice woman who shipped me this quilt.  I plan on using more of it soon!  The funny thing is, however, that the center piece ... a metal turtle ... blended in with the material so well that I had to remove it, add a scrap of antique, burgundy fabric under it, and restitch the turtle in place.  I know that the burgundy fabric is an antique.  It came off a curtain meant to enclose a bed.  It was ancient when I bought it ... in Amsterdam ... during the summer I graduated from college ... 1980.  Great fabrics remain great fabrics!

A fiber art retreat, new work, and more!

(Above:  One of several Relic Series piece stitched and beaded in the last two weeks. Click on any image to enlarge.)

I've been to Florida and conducted a most wonderful workshop in the middle of a fiber art retreat.  Before going, I was told that those coming would have their own projects on which to work.  Supposedly, some people would only be interested in watching my demonstrations. Others would elect to do some to the things I would be showing the group. Still others wouldn't be interested at all.

That's not what happened!  I'm pretty sure that all twenty-seven people fully participated in all the activities of my HOT workshop!  It was a total blast!  We even had 24/7 access to a giant conference room.  Plenty of space. No electrical issues despite several irons being plugged in at the same time.  A table of snacks.  Meals together at 9:00 AM and again at 4:00 PM. Fabulous talent at every seat.  Lots of great conversations and laughter.

When I conduct my HOT workshop (that covers my work with polyester stretch velvet, assorted soldering irons, and an industrial heat gun), I finish all my demos. My complete at least two pieces during the experience.  The first work is created on a scrap of fabric, generally upholstery material.  It involves fusing pieces of polyester stretch velvet onto the fabric, soldering indentations and grooves in the thick material, free motion machine embroidery, and both hand stitching and beading.  I call these pieces "Relics".  

Generally, I bring some from past workshops to each new group.  The second demonstration is very much the same except that instead of upholstery fabric as the base, synthetic felt is used.  Thus, the soldered holes go all the way through the project and the industrial heat gun creates work like my In Box and Fiber Stained Glass series.

A week before the workshop, I realized that I didn't have any Relics to bring as finished examples. So in anticipation of this need, I decided to make a few bigger examples.  My idea was to mat the larger Relics to a standard 20" x 16" presentation.  I figured I'd take them to the Smithsonian Craft Show ... just as matted work, not framed ... easy for people to take home!  

Several were made before the workshop and several more have been stitched since I returned home!  Unfortunately, I haven't been snapping photos of all of them.  The ones here are just a sampling!  I am having so much fun stitching them.  I plan on continuing ... at least through the coming week.

Meanwhile, the participants were using my materials and techniques to create exotic bugs.  Why?  Well, at least half of them belong to a group that have a challenge to create fiber bugs.  The resulting creatures were simply mind-blowing.

 

We were all having so much fun that I totally forgot to take any photos myself.  The bugs here were sent to me later.  I wish I had remembered because the projects created were so wonderfully varied.  The group oozed with talent.  There was even talk that I might be invited back next year to conduct my Found Object Mandala workshop!  I hope it works out!

Now ... my second, finished demonstration was given in a random drawing to one of the workshop participants.  It was great! 

One more thing!  I am ahead of schedule on my 2025 Goodreads goal!  One of the reasons for retirement was to return to reading REAL BOOKS, not just articles on my iPhone but physical pages enjoyed for a good story and the pleasure of reading!  I just finished Frances Barry's Back Road and Better Angels, a 540+ page book documenting a 2020 cross-country, Lincoln Highway RV trip while interviewing people along the way about their views on democracy ... and considering "What would Lincoln Do?"  Before retiring, I could never have managed this great book.  It was outstanding.  I highly recommend it!

Mandala CCXXVII

(Above:  Mandala CCXXVII.  Custom framed:  23 1/2" x 23 1/2".  Fur coat hooks-and-eyes, a black curtain ring, and assorted buttons hand stitched to a section of an antique quilt.  Click on any image to enlarge.)

About a month ago, I received a box of goodies from an independent fabric store.  One of the people working there follows me on social media and knew that I would absolutely adore some of the old fashioned things that the shop is about to throw away.  Included were thousands of these covered, fur coat hooks-and-eyes.  Upon seeing them, I knew I wanted to use them but it took a little time for me to decide exactly how!

 

(Above:  Detail of Mandala CCXXVII.)

These tiny gems remind me of the loden capes I wore as a child.  As an adult, I've seen them on fur muffs and stoles in addition to full length fur coats. (Living in South Carolina, I don't see them often and I certainly don't own a fur anything! LOL!) Yet, looking at the box of them, they seemed to ooze an aura of luxury.  I knew they could "stand on their own" if I could just figure out how to arrange them.

(Above:  Detail of Mandala CCXXVII.)

No matter how I auditioned them on top of a vintage quilt, I wasn't impressed.  Finally, I remembered the antique, rose colored curtains that another friend donated to my stash.  Like the hooks-and-eyes, this heavy damask spoke of a fancy parlor from yesteryear, an ideal place for posh parties and special guests ... who just might wear fur coats!  As soon as I placed a few hooks-and-eyes on this fabric, I was ready to stitch.  Beyond the mandala circle, I outlined the floral pattern.  Because I still have thousands more hooks-and-eyes, I might stitch something similar again ... especially if I find another fabric that sort of whispers to me, "I'm special! I'm fancy!  I'm elegant enough for visitors wearing fur!"  (Yes ... I sort of talk to my materials!  My artist statement even acknowledges a working partnership!)
 

Experiments

(Above:  Fugue 1.  Artwork is approximately 12" x 9" and matted to 20" x 16".  Click on image to enlarge.)

The artwork for the Smithsonian Craft Show is coming along beautifully.  I'm way ahead of schedule and I'm also quite nervous.  Why?  Well ... the unemployment rate in the DC area is climbing.  Even those who aren't in the midst of cutbacks are living in an environment of uncertainty. It is a scary time, especially considering the high costs involved in doing this sort of show. There are artists in my state who think the application fee is the only expense.  They have no idea that our booth rent is $2300.  Okay, I'm in one of the largest booths:  20' x 10' but the 10' x 10' booths are all over $1300 ... and that's before gas, hotel, meals, etc.  This is risky business.  To calm my nerves, I spent a couple days just playing around with a few ideas.

 

(Above:  Fugue 2.  Artwork is approximately 12" x 9" and matted to 20" x 16".)

 

Using the same polyester stretch velvet that I use for my In Box Series and my Fiber Stained Glass Series, I started fusing them to a canvas that was loosely painted years ago.  For the most part, the canvas was just splashed with runny acrylic paint and marked with oil pastels.  The arrangement of rectangles and squares are the same as my In Box Series.  Yet, the canvas substrata is entirely different and totally un-meltable.  My idea was to see how these shapes would work on a colorfully marked background and stitched with a variegated thread.  I liked the first one well enough that I made a couple more!

(Above:  Fugue 3.  Artwork is approximately 12" x 9" and matted to 20" x 16".)

 

I figured that I might as well use all of the loosely painted canvas I had.  It was fun.  It was relaxing.  It kept my mind off the Smithsonian Craft Show!  The photos here aren't particularly great but I'm guessing they really don't have to be. (I prefer a little better alignment!  Trust me, the mats are cut correctly; they aren't wonky!)  These were the results of experimentation.  I knew that I would only put them in standard sized mats.  The photos show only a little bit of the mat.  Trust me!  The proportions are quite nice! LOL!

 

(Above:  Fugue 4. Artwork is approximately 12" x 9" and matted to 20" x 16".)

After finishing several of these pieces, I asked Steve for a title.  He was stumped but asked me what my intentions were.  I told him that I was experimenting with my own materials and using my basic design approach.  He said, "So, they are like variations? Right?"  I said yes and then together we googled for synonyms for the word "variation".

 

(Above:  Fugue 5. Artwork is approximately 9" x 6" and matted to 14" x 11".)

We considered several words until reading "fugue".  We both liked the suggestion of music.  We liked the suggestion of counterpoint, which when not applied to music means "an idea or theme used to create a contrast with the main element".  Yet, I think the word "interweaving" sealed it!  It suggests a relation to fiber art!

noun

noun: fugue; plural noun: fugues

1.

Music

a contrapuntal composition in which a short melody or phrase (the subject) is introduced by one part and successively taken up by others and developed by interweaving the parts.

 

 

(Above:  Fugue 6. Artwork is approximate 11" x 10" and matted to 20" x 16".  Hand and machine stitched with beads.)

While I was working, I noticed this scrap of paper and wondered if I could incorporate it on top of two layers of polyester stretch velvet.  It worked.  It didn't look quite right on the loosely painted canvas but there was a piece of upholstery material nearby.  Voila!  Another successful experiment!

(Above: Fugue 7. Artwork is approximately 12" x 9" and matted to 20" x 16".)

After that, I just continued playing with things sitting around my studio table, including a couple peacock feathers.  I'm glad I took the time to simply experiment.  It was fun!  If anyone reading this wants to purchase one of these, just write to me or leave a comment with your email.  Nothing is over $125!  You can reach me at mouse_house@prodigy.net.

 

(Above:  Fugue 8.  Artwork is approximately 12" x 9" matted to 20" x 16".)

 

 

(Above:  Fugue 9.  Artwork is approximately 12" x 9" matted to 20" x 16".)

(Above:  Fugue 10.  Artwork is approximately 12" x 9" and despite the fact that I didn't show even a sliver of the mat, it is a standard 20" x 16".)