Reflections

I was really excited yesterday when I looked at my art book! I knew immediately what I wanted to try for my creative challenge, but had to go to work, run errands and attend to some business matters. I haven't been so excited about getting to work on a project in ages. I even forced myself to do the work I had planned on some journals before I allowed myself that hour of play time, but I can tell you - that picture was open on my sewing table and the ideas were running through my head.

The part that I really liked about this painting you can't see on the large picture but check it out here: Schloss Kammer on the Attersee I. The reflection of the trees on the water really was my inspiration. This would be a really neat painting to re-create in fabric, but given my short time span what I really wanted to do was focus on that reflection and I though the best way to do this would be to piece in wiggly strips, using the front of my fabric for the trees and the back for the reflection in the water. It would have been nice if I had time to piece the house and bushes, but for the sake of time I chose this barn fabric as my background. Kind of funky, right? This was left over from a pair of boxer shorts I made for one of my girls about 15 years ago!

I loved the green I found for the trees/reflection - it really captured the look of the trees in the painting in color. Piecing in the wiggly strips was not too hard, and now is a technique I wouldn't hesitate to use for other projects. It's interesting how the look of the strips changes depending on the direction you press the seams, too.

I'm not sure if I will finish this up in any way, or just let it live for a while on my design board, then discard it. I did have a wonderful time playing, and it was really enjoyable to be so enthusiastic about a project - so for my, this challenge is a success already. I did decide though, that I need one rule. I have to put away my toys when I am done playing. Otherwise I am going to have a big mess to deal with!