Well, Here I am. A year ago, I thought I was finished. With art. With people. With joy. My 25 year old son, Zachary, made…
A lot of free-motion stitching has been done using my mid-arm Handi-Quilter Sweet 16 machine. I’ve put in the details, like smoke rising from the…
Progress is being made on big Fear Quilt, despite interruptions mentioned previously. Anyone who has tried to keep a blog going consistently runs into the…
The sky has been composed above the “Not Yet Dead” attraction. Now to lay the groundwork. Again, I must keep in mind the width of…
Precious creations are dangerous. Becoming attached to what you’ve made, either because of the look of it or because of knowing what it took to…
Every budding artist should observe Tangent Awareness Day! The ability to spot this space killing compositional flaw will improve one’s art immensely and is something…
How about diving into a little bit about thread? Do I have loyalty to any brand of thread? No, but I do have favorites. My…
Thanks for your patience in awaiting an update on how the big Fear quilt is going. I switched gears from collaging fabric pieces together to…
I posted quite a mess of a picture a few days ago, and I wondered if anyone could guess what it was to become. Sometimes…
Have you guessed what the mess in the photo is? Doesn’t look that great now, but keep watching. I am teasing you a bit, but…
I’ve made graffiti artists in my fabric collage art quilt who were going to be spray painting on a mural, but now I’ve created a…
I’ve been hard at work, and near the give-it-up point. But I achieved what I wanted despite the struggle. I won’t needlessly put you through…
A dog came to life! It will be snapping at a child’s cotton candy, so it had to be menacing. I cut the dominant color…
A gesture, a head turned in a certain direction, or the suggestion of movement can “activate” a scene. When adding a person, think of things…
Two bad boys are about to come to life. This should be fun! First, a hunt through Google images to find two figures that seem…
I do love when my fabric characters come to life! This sassy lady is someone I could easily envision on the Seaside Heights boardwalk of…
Amusement parks have some fantastic signage, especially lit up at night! My scene is viewed during daylight, so no glowing neon here, but I still…
You’ve seen many posts with unconnected sections, so thought you might enjoy seeing what I’ve got so far for the amusement style “dark ride” in…
The amusement park dark ride that I’ve been working on has a large open front where people can get into the vehicles (wheelchairs) that carry…
A wheelchair is a complicated form. There won’t be an easy way to represent one in fabric. I’ll make my best go at it and…
The “dark ride” building is a large structure and I need to take care that the architecture doesn’t overwhelm the purpose of the building. I’m…
I’m liking this group of people! I know my fabric collage people are working well when I think of them as characters with personality. Little…
Bet you’ve been curious as to how the separate elements of my amusement park scene will look together. Pinning the pieces to my design wall,…
A smaller snake slide is a fine idea, but now to make it real. Usually, I don’t number my templates, but it was necessary with…
My imagery of a funhouse with a rolling barrel entrance perfectly represents the inviting rabbit hole of the internet, but this amusement park attraction needs…
Does the house top seem familiar? I modeled it after “American Gothic,” an iconic painting by Grant Wood that has often been parodied. I stumbled…
Above the swirling vortex/black hole/rolling barrel entrance to the funhouse of my quilt, I would like to have some eyes. This part of the quilt/drawing…
Excited to make my first people for this quilt. Upon starting this project, I challenged myself to improve both drawing skills and figurative representation. People…
My color memory is such that I can go to a fabric store and quite accurately remember the colors and patterns that are in my…
Now I put my collection of reference images to work. Using the magic of Photoshop Elements, I make a quick photo collage using just the…
This design wall is made of two 4’ x 8’ Styrofoam panels covered with flannel. I won’t be able to work on the whole quilt…
Making it up as I go, I’ve decided to layer the air-brushing and batting onto the right side of the backing fabric. My thought is…
It took longer to finish up this quilt than I expected, though it wasn't the quilt's fault. Life just got in the way, but I…
The assembled quilt has been loaded onto my A-1 longarm sewing machine. Not only will the stitching hold down the fabric collage elements, but it…
Before quilting, I need to play with the position of flowers (I’ve painted a smaller second one) and butterfly on the painted background. #flowersandbutterflies #fabricpainting…
Added some paint to soften the edges between black border and fused color spots. I’m liking it! #butterfly #wings #fabriccollage #saqawip #fabricpainting #realism #susanpolansky
Building a butterfly with fabric -the photo shows back and front. The black fabric has fusible on it, which made it easier to cut out…
Flower painting has been put aside – now for something completely different, creating the butterfly. Hard to go to straight black after working with bright…
Ah, I just showed my quilt getting loaded onto my long arm yesterday, and-TaDah! it’s done and photographed! Not a super fast quilter, just my…
Composition is off the design wall! Ironing with a press cloth to make sure everything is fused completely. Next step: quilting. #indiaquilt #neqmexplorations #saqawip #ironing…
Going going gone – biggest section of stitching and wash away stabilizer in the bathtub. I put an envelope of netting to provide support during…
When I remove a section of my quilt composition to do some stitch work, I carefully mark with pins the space it needs to go…
Sewing a section of #indiaquilt. This isn’t the quilting stage yet. Here I am securing bits of fabric(they have already been fused) and also adding…
I’m in the final stretch of making my complicated #indiaquilt for #neqmexplorations ,- it has to be finished and photographed by Aug. 1. This tiny…
After stitching a section and washing stabilizer away, I add it back to the rest of the quilt. #indiaquilt #fabriccollage #saqawip #neqmexplorations #artistsoninstagram #artquilt #susanpolansky…
A horizontal section of #indiaquilt removed to do some stitching. If you’ve been following from the beginning, you’ll remember that I didn’t trace my original…
Small fabric scraps can get out of hand quickly when doing a complicated #fabriccollage like my #indiaquilt. I use a hanging organizer (like for shoes…
I pin up bits of fabric that I cut with a freezer paper template or by freehand guesstimating the shape, but none of these pieces…
When work becomes “precious” because you like it, it’s difficult not to get caught up in playing it safe, but that sucks the fun right…
Fabric auditions. Worst part about this is putting away all the ones that don’t make it! #indiaquilt #saqawip #neqmexplorations #fabriccollage #susanpolansky
Time to work on one of the bigger people, but I’m still using tweezers. #indiaquilt #saqawip #neqmexplorations #jaipur #fabriccollage #susanpolansky
I showed the green sari woman getting created, but here she is in position with some company. #indiaquilt #saqawip #jaipur #neqmexplorations #susanpolansky
Working on the little people; saris are fun because you can sneak in an unexpected burst of color. #indiaquilt #saqawip #neqmexplorations #jaipur #fabriccollage #susanpolansky
Some fabrics might be replaced a few times, just as a painter would revise their colors, until the right balance is created. For now, I…
Beginning to put together a complicated quilt, when I am facing the actuality of the how many steps it will take for completion, I can…
I’ve begun my next quilt, and as a departure from my usual method, I am making it specifically for an exhibit at The New England…