The start of art ~ an art quilt in progress. Part One.

work in progress ~  by Jane LaFazio

I thought it might be interesting to follow along in the creation of a series art quilts I'm making. 

I've been invited by Visions Art Museum, in San Diego, to create two 24x24 inch quilts to be exhibited July 18- October 4th, 2015. The theme is "Balboa Park Arches" to coincide with the park's 100th anniversary.

The photo above is just the beginning. I've collaged and fused the cotton fabrics, organza, paper and tea bags onto a piece of felt a bit larger than 24x24 inches.

I've done just a bit of machine stitching, mostly to hold the pieces in place.

Next, I'm going to cut it into small pieces... and hand stitch them. And then reassemble them.

from my sketchbook   by Jane LaFazio

I'll be using my drawing, above, to do some machine stitching on the quilt.

And below, in my front yard,  is the preparation of rusting some cotton fabric and silk organza.

preparing the fabric ~ by Jane LaFazio

from my sketchbook ~ by Jane LaFazio

Above is my drawing of an architectural detail in the park and below, I've machine stitched it onto water soluble and some cheese cloth. It will also be an element in the quilt.

machine stitched ~ in progress ~ by Jane LaFazio

And, I'm going to use this palm tree drawing as a shape for some additional fused elements.

from my sketchbook ~ drawn in Balboa Park ~ by Jane LaFazio

At least that's the plan! Stay tuned for the continuation of my process.

(This process is an example of the type of inspiration my upcoming online class "Watercolor Sketchbook: Designs from Life" offers. Read about the online class starting May 15 here.)