The devil is in the detail

Week 38

I have to start by saying that this year is going to have 53 weeks.  It may even have more, it just depends on how far I get behind with this challenge.

This weeks dragon had 38 pieces in that 6" square, to match week 38, (I'm joking) and so much machining.  I lost count after 4 hours at the machine.  I have started to experiment with using the programed fancy stitches on my machine as part of the applique.  I'm not so sure if I like it or not just yet but will persevere for a while yet.

This dragon is taken from the ceiling of the main part of the pagoda.  Once again, the design is limited by that 6" square but that's alright.  I was looking at some pottery from China on my visit to the Ekka a couple of weeks ago and they had used a green mane. 

 

Also the feet of the dragon was in colour and this gave me a better understanding of the carving.  Eastern dragons are not supposed to fly, or maybe it is just that they don't have wings?  This fellow on the ceiling looks like he is flying to me.

Week 37

I just can't get the look I want with this dragon.  So far three attempts have ended up in the bin.  I've tried it with various backgrounds and ended up with the one I tried first off.  The problem is I'm trying to show that I can only get a glimpse of this dragon's personality.  It seems to be all in it's tail.  I have used shear fabrics to try and show that the image keeps fading on me. ( I took the photo image and printed it onto this fabric.)  The only clear thing about it is the curves of it's body, that I have tried to show with the quilting and that reptilian tail.

I have dyed the tail fabric and then highlighted the details with coloured pencils.  I don't know why it is green somehow or other I just couldn't see any other colour.  If I had more time I think I would have used sequins on that tail as the scales.  But at this point I'm over it.  I feel it is only the tail that escaped out of the stone where that dragon is trapped.

Week 36

These visits to the Doctor are really taking me away from my sewing.  Add to this the complexity of the designs and I am slipping behind.  (Only a few days.)  So here is this weeks dragon.

He sits up above the doorways in the Pagoda.  I would have liked to have been able to have a complete picture of him but it just didn't suit the 6" square.

Again, I am surprised at how fierce he becomes when put into fabric.  To fit him in the 6" square I drew a grid and then drew him in the space.  I did this on drawing paper because once the drawing is finished I can turn it over and outline the applique pieces in reverse.

Once I outline the pieces I number them so that I have a guide to what piece goes where.

Drawing it this way means I never get an exact copy of the photo but then these dragons are taking on a personality all their own.  A bit creepy really.

Week 35

From the first photo I took I wanted to make a block with the dragon as the theme.  So thus begins the dragons.  There are lots of carvings of dragons on the pagoda and all are a little different from the others, in fact there are five different dragons and this is the first.

This one was living up on the ceiling and there were in fact two of them fighting.

Too much detail for a 6" block so I cropped the photo down to just the head.

Then I drew a 6" copy of the drawing and turned this into an applique.  There were over 26 pieces in this small area and I had to resort to a pair of tweezers to get them all into place.  I thought that I would try a raw edge applique, as I haven't tried this before and although some pieces were applied this way I prefer a satin stitch as it is neater.  I didn't quilt the background as there was so much stitching on the applique I thought it would detract from the piece.I was really surprised at how fierce he (I'm sure it's a he) became when he changed from a wood carving to an applique.  Quite frightening really.  Far more frightening than I thought he would be.

I am glad I held off starting these dragons because I just didn't have to skill or the confidence to do them before this and they are so prominent on the Pagoda I wanted to do them justice.

Week 34

This is the last of the designs from the repeat patterns from the wood carvings.  It is interesting that when I started on each series of designs I thought I might get one or two from them.  Now I find the different designs are endless.  I may revisit this again before the end but this is it for this theme.

 

I look this design and then started playing around in my drawing program. 

I finished up with this.  It was very thread intensive, I had to fill the bobbin 5 times.

 

Since beginning this series I find that wood carving is to be found in countries around the world and the designs all have a lot it common. I feel a lot happier with my free motion work, although there is still a lot of room for improvement.

Week 33

Looking at those carvings there is a flower that is repeated in several different styles.  It is a simple 6 petal design that is repeated many times over the whole of the pagoda.

 

I took this simple flower shape and drew it in various sizes and scattered them across the page.  I then defined this in a 6" square.

To keep some sort of continuity I selected batik fabrics in a range of colours.  Outlining the shapes in a satin stitch and quilting the background with close circles of various sizes.  I used the same background fabric as week 31.

I think that this same concept could be used for a small quilt top .

Week 32

One day late but finished.  This is another of the wood carving designs and I have used the bobbin technique again.  I seem to be getting better control of my machine using this technique but I think it will be sometime yet before I am really comfortable with it.

The design I started with has changed quite a bit with the re-drawing of it.

I had to come up with a design which I could stitch without stopping stitching too many times.  I will have to do something about my drawing.  I manage to squash the drawing every time.  Actually I'm surprised that my stitching is so like my drawing, I suppose that is a plus? 
The other thing I have tried to do is use a totally different colour scheme that is completely alien to the wood.  I have a thing for that blue at the moment, so using that is a bit of an indulgence.

Time to think about the next design.

Week 31

This is the second in the designs taken from the wood carvings that decorate the pagoda and it has taken the strangest direction.  I was going to bobbin stitch all these designs but this one had different ideas.

 

I was going to stitch a repeat pattern but when I looked at the detail this flower reminded me of an Art Deco design.  Looking closely at the background I saw dots, then when I looked again it took on a life of it's own.  I have appliqued the design onto a spotty background and ended up outline quilting it.  This flower just said "do what I tell you".

Week 30

I am behind with this challenge because I just didn't have the skill to execute the design.  Now maybe I should have changed the design, but I really wanted to do this series so I have been practicing.  Then at the Textile Exhibition that was held in Brisbane I found the thread for the job.  It is from WonderFil and the thread is called Razzle.  Every surface on the Pagoda is carved with all kinds of designs.  My next five designs are inspired by some of the repeat patterns on the walls.  I personally think that some of them could be made into quilting or embroidery patterns.

I have selected a leaf pattern that is featured on the edges of some of the door ways.  I have changed it a bit by making it a bit rounder.  In fact I drew it so many times that I was seeing it in my sleep.  I wound the thread onto the bobbin and sewed it in reverse.  I was going to have three bands but decided it would look better as a central feature.  All this practice is improving my skills and hopefully I will be able to catch up over the next week.

Week 29

At the top of the faces of the Goddess is this horrible monster.  It is only very small in size and hidden behind the crowns on her heads I think it represents death, although I can't be sure.  But next to all the serenity of those faces it is rather disturbing.

I painted a side view of this devil and just one of the skulls onto some fabrics and then drew in the details with a pen.  I then put it onto some visofix and cut out the shape.  I ironed this onto a background that I quilted in pretty colours to contrast with the ugliness of the face.  I found doing this weeks piece distasteful but it is part of the statue.

The coils of the ear ring I think is supposed to be a snake.  There are lots of other details on this statue but I have limited the pieces to 5, the same as the other pieces.  Time to move on to some of the other details of the Pagoda