Creating A Pattern From A Photo

Our CFAC group (CT. Fiber Arts Collective) is planning a show with a "Harvest" theme in the fall! In trying to come up with a design my son mentioned a photo he'd seen in a National Geographic magazine. The photo showed Southeastern Turkish women harvesting wheat using very rudimentary methods. We were both struck by the photo and I knew it would be the inspiration for a harvest design! I loved the idea that the women were doing this incredibly taxing physical work yet they had embroidery and ribbon on their clothing... a little femininity mixed into the labor!

First I created a draft of the photo; next I took the sketch to Staples and had them enlarge the drawing. When I returned to the studio I created patterns for each figure and painted a background fabric that would give the impression of growing wheat in a very barren and dry countryside. I dyed the blue to emulate the bright blue sky without a single cloud.

I used a fusible webbing for the smaller pieces such as the hands and tools. For the larger pieces I used a glue stick to tack the pieces to the background so they wouldn't flop around while I quilted.

I added some tulle in certain areas of the center panel to create a sense of shadow. The borders were designed to off-set the heaviness of the bundle of wheat. The end results are below!

 

It was a fun project and my fellow artists in the group will create other interesting and unique pieces... stay tuned for more show details.