The last detail...

The final detail to my latest piece has now been added. I wanted a bird, one that was taking flight, escaping its fate and flying off (hopefully) to a better future. I googled caged birds and came up with a parrot which appeared to be preparing for flight.

This is one of my first drawings.

I wanted to pare it down to just a few lines and, after several attempts, reduced it to this.

However, I decided I had gone too far. I wanted it to be a stylized interpretation but with more volume. Many drawings later I had what I wanted and here it is as a freezer paper stencil ironed on to the fabric.

White textile paint painted over the stencil.

The stencil has been removed to reveal the bird. In this photo I have also worked further on the background.

I am now into the really scary bit, where I need to pull it all together. This is very risky as I could easily stuff it all up, and the whole piece heads for the reject bin! This does happen occasionally sooooo..... fingers crossed!

Some text....

My next application was to add some text which further endorses the content of this piece. It is easy enough these days to select a font and size on the computer and trace these on to freezer paper. I have kept the letter cut-outs as I may use these in the future, if I actually remember that I have them!

Prepared freezer paper ironed in place...

Black pigment/paint rolled over the freezer paper.

Lettering is now done. Still more to happen....