“Resurrection” finished

“Resurrection” (41x72")
Copyright 2016 by Susan Brubaker Knapp

“Resurrection” is done! 

You can read about how I made this piece, and the inspiration behind it, here: http://wwwbluemoonriver.blogspot.com/2016/04/resurrection.html

My cat, Wicked, was very interested in this piece. She was all over it, almost all the time.

After tacking down thousands of little pieces of fabric (mostly triangles) with glue to the fabric foundation, I stitched them down to a layer of fabric and cotton batting. And then I added another layer of batting (wool/polyester this time) and the backing fabric, and free-motion quilted around the flowers and leaves, and around the triangles in the blue background, to make the flowers and leaves more dimensional.

It’s a big piece, so it was a bear to quilt on my domestic machine, a Bernina 153QE. This photo gives you an idea of the scale. It was as big (lengthwise) as our king-size bed. (And again, Wicked is helping.)

Here’s how I photographed this piece. I laid out a big piece of vinyl tablecloth in a nearby parking lot, and smoothed the quilt out on top of it. Then I got up on the ladder, and shot down. I always try to shoot in the early morning or late afternoon to get the best lighting conditions. The shadows cast by the low rays of the sun create wonderful texture on the quilting. I eliminate the background in Photoshop. 

Making this piece was partly art therapy, partly an offering and a prayer for my husband’s recovery, and partly a way of keeping my eyes and my mind on the goodness and beauty that is all around, even when things get dark and scary.

Many thanks to all of you who have sent your good thoughts and prayers to my husband. He is doing well, but doctors are still not sure what’s causing the inflammation that brought on the seizure. The adventure continues…