I have finished, sent and had accepted my two A4 art journal quilt entries for the Spring Quilts Festival UK 2011. I am entering the Art Journal Quilt section. The theme was 'Fantasy' and two had to be entered no bigger than A4. It is a competition but will be exhibited at the various venues aswell. I will get it back sometime in June.
Going with the theme of 'Fantasy' I chose to do a Firebird and a Firebird Feather. I felt this would give me freedom to be creative with fabric and texture. I printed my own text onto sections to add deeper meaning and fantasy. I used mainly silk but included cotton that I had dyed used procion dye and then embellished with acrylic paint. Sections were appliqued and then free motion machine stitched. I used sequins and glitter thread to embellish the feathers. I quilted the silk background to the felt wadding using machine stitch too. The backing is a black linen cotton mix that has a 3" sleeve and label. A satin bias binding was used to finish it off.
I wanted to convey a deep yearning of love through texture and layers, the layers representing our lives and dreams which are never fully revealed. The Firebird in many cultures represents deep longing and the wish for something better. The Firebird Feather is often sought as it is believed an owner of such a feather could have three wishes.
