Fierce – Protector of the Forest

This small piece of textile art was created for the SAQA Spotlight Auction. It takes place April 12-20 and you can preview and bid from this page.

I started this piece on the day Alexei Navalny’s death was announced. I finished this on the day of his funeral. I dedicate this piece to his memory – his courage and sacrifice for the people of Russia who long for Truth and Freedom. I spent 2 weeks in Russia 10 years  ago and I have artist friends in Moscow, and artist friends who have fled the country, and then had to flee Ukraine. This war is deeply saddening. I can only hope my quilter and artist friends in Moscow are safe.

Here are some process photos that show the development of  the raw-edge applique textile collage:

I started by pinning a piece of white fabric over my drawing, and transferring the image to the fabric on top of a light box.

I established my light source, and began to pick out colors for the  light and shadow areas.

In order to get the serrated ‘fur’ edges, I used Steam-a-Seam Lite 2 to fuse the fabrics, and first drew the shape on the paper backing, then cutting out the fabrics with a Karen Kay Buckley pair of scissors.

Oops, better put in a background before finishing the jagged furry ears!  I kept the background simple because the bear portrait mixes so many batik patterns and colors.

I have a large lightbox which was an excellent investment. I end up using it  as a tabletop for all the little pieces, when working on a piece this small. You can see the special  KKB scissors in the lower right corner. (Available from eQuilter.com)

Now all the fringed fused pieces are in place. The textile collage is complete. Time for some stitching! I layer with a  thin batting, and a backing that resembles the bark  of a tree.

I use the gestural curves of  the freemotion machine stitching to capture the feeling of layers of fur. Also to give a feeling of motion and dimension, some of the threads are matching the fabric, and some are  contrasting.  I used many different colors of threads,  changing the colors and spools often.

On this piece I used my Bernina 790.  I am madly  in love with this machine. It is a workhorse, and plows through just about whatever I come up with.

(On larger  works of textile art, I use my Bernina Q20 which is a sitdown midarm machine.)

Here is the back of the piece.

And this is a detail of the face and the stitching.

Here is the final finished piece, 6″ wide x 8″ tall.

“Fierce – Protector of the Forest”

This was also inspired by a close encounter with a mother Brown Bear (Coastal Grizzly Bear) in Alaska at Lake Clark National Park, in August 2023. She stood up and we had eye contact as I walked on a trail through the forest. Then she laid back down to nurse her cubs. That was  an experience I will never forget. I carry her Mama Bear energy with  me, always.

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