Calendar Contest Entry

Last month I created a piece for the Quilting Arts Magazine Calendar contest.   It wasn't chosen as one of the finalists but was an interesting exercise to do.   The theme was 'feeling pet-ty' and I chose to do a scene from the forest near my home.  It is a protected area and the animals know it!   Chickadees eat seeds out of our hands.  Porcupines sit in the trees.  Quite regularly we are scrutinized by deer as we walk the trails.   Some are bolder and will walk right up to us.  Others peer at us from behind trees and bushes.   If we stand around long enough they will go about their business, eating, socializing and scratching their ears with their sharp hooves.  This scene is from late afternoon in late winter/early spring.

I painted the backgrounds with caran d'ache crayons and water, painted the tree trunks and deer with acrylics then appliqued them onto the background.  I used couched yarns for the bushes in front.   The whole piece is hand stitched and hand quilted.    It is 12" x 12".     It was a fun piece to do because I got to play with paints.    Combining paint with fabric is an area I continue to explore and experiment with.  I still have a lot to learn.