Designs for Bags

At the moment Ali and myself are working towards making bags using our Mesoamerican research as inspiration. These are a few ideas I have been playing around with and I am now making some fabric samples. Hopefully over the next couple of weeks I will be able to show you a finished bag.

Quetzalcoatl Neckpiece.

I find it such a shock, a nice one of course, when something you make turns out just as you saw it in your minds eye. That happened with this piece.
This is my scribble inspired by the neckpiece seen in the various images of Quetzalcoatl.

In my stash I found some wonderful pattered leather that set the colour scheme and size.
I placed it on batting before satin stitching it to the handmade silk paper.
I decided to go with the silk paper instead of a quilted background as I like the contrast in the materials.


Beading came next and it nearly stayed like that for a long while.
I knew I wanted to hang copper leaf shapes from the leather. I hadn't got any so it would have to wait until I could get over Christmas, like everyone else, and buy some.


While working on something in no way connected to this I found some soft copper strips. I have no idea how long I have had them or where they came from, but they were just perfect for my leaves. Yay!
The leather measures approx 6ins wide and the silk paper approx 10ins, very roughly, square.

Hugs, Alis.

Headband

This piece is inspired by Quetzalcoatl's headband. Above is a scribbling (I can't do it if I call it sketching - I know, I know!) from my scribble book and below the piece as it is at the moment.In retrospect I think it would have been better to have used a firm backing under the velvet, I don't think it would have distorted as much. However this piece is destined to be mounted in a frame so it should straighten out a little then.

Alis

Peek at Jan's Work Revealed

Here is the full view of the piece part made and then the finished piece. It is a painted tissue background with added dyed paper, gold foil, painted cork, handmade bead and square beads, machine and hand embroidered.

A Peek

As you will have seen from previous blog entries Ali and myself are not showing each other the pieces we are working on until we both have completed them. So here is a corner of the piece I am working on at the moment inspired by the picture in the previous post.

Jan

The first picture.

This is the first picture Jan and I have decided to get inspiration from. The character on the right is Quetzalcoatl and his Twin Xolotl is on the left.
Now, I know that Jan is inundated at work at the moment, but she is sketching away.
I don't want to show you too much of my work as I don't want to influence her but here is a little peek as the piece I have been working on.

For this I focused on the headband. I love the shapes in it.
I started with navy dress velvet and applied handpainted and embroidered fabrics. All was covered with a chiffon scarf and stitched in place. I cut the chiffon away from the velvet using a soldering iron. I added some beads along the orange shapes and satin stitched the edges.
I think I will frame this piece.
Alis