New Work - Magnolia

Magnolia, by Sue Reno

 I'm happy to share with you my recently completed work "Magnolia".  Regular readers will recall that this piece was begun plein air in the garden of the Governor's Residence in Harrisburg, PA, last fall.  I was on the grounds with other artists of the PA Arts Experience for an open house in the Residence showcasing member art, including my Watt & Shand #3.

Magnolia, detail 1, by Sue Reno

I roamed the gardens for a bit before settling near a gorgeous magnolia tree, complete with seed pods, sited in front of a mellow brick wall and flanked by the last of the season's roses.  I laid out the basics of the center panel by cutting strips of wool, and began needlefelting them by hand, all the while talking with visitors and explaining my process.  It was a good afternoon.

Magnolia, detail 2, by Sue Reno

Back in the studio I did a lot more work on it, securing the needlefelting by machine and adding to it.  I constructed a background quilt to support and enhance the center panel. And at the end I spent some time brightening the panel with lots of hand beadwork.  I'm delighted with the overall aesthetic of the piece and think it captures the scene with joy and exuberance.

You can track Magnolia back as a work in progress by clicking on it under Labels in the right sidebar.

As always, thanks for reading and commenting.

Work in Progress - Magnolia, Update 3

I know that many of you are interested in process, so here's some photos of how my Magnolia artquilt is progressing 

 I finished the needlefelting on the panel, then added batting and a white cotton backing to prepare it for quilting. This back will be covered by a facing, then layered onto a supporting quilt, so the knots and loose ends will all be covered. Even so, you can see that I am a intrinsically neat and methodical quilter.

The strips that I showed in the last update were cut and reassembled to into what will be a supporting quilt for the needlefelted panel. That luscious burgundy and pink panel is a piece of cotton sateen I hand painted.

 I also hand painted another piece of sateen for the backing of the supporting quilt. The weather was extraordinarily mild for early winter, so I was able to drape it outside to dry. The metal mesh of the garden furniture adds extra patterning as the fabric dries. This will be an artquilt/wall piece, so in theory no one sees the back when it is hanging, but I see it quite a bit as I'm working on it, and it makes me happy to make it look good.

At the last minute I decided that the needlefelted panel needed more definition, so I took the time to add some hand beadwork to it. There's really no rushing these things....

I'm working on the quilting of the supporting quilt now and hope to have the whole thing finished soon.  Stay tuned!

To track this work back, and see it's inception in the PA Governor's garden, click on "Magnolia" in the right sidebar, or go here.

Work in Progress - Magnolia, Update 2

I’ve progressed on the Magnolia piece that I started en plien air at the PA Governor’s Residence. I began the needlefelting in the garden with a hand punch, blocking out the colors and the skeletons of the tree and the bushes.  Back in the studio, I have a machine needlefelter that lets me add layers of wool and silk more quickly and securely.  I’ve built up the tree and the rose bushes, and filled in the sky.  Next I will layer this up with thin batting and a backing, and stitch it to add more texture and detail.
At this point the piece is about 2 foot square.  This is an awkward size by my standards, a bit too large to frame out, but not large enough to make a big impact on its own.  Plus, I like working large, and I feel like I have more to say about this image.  So I’ve begun on some strip patchwork I will use to expand the work.  It’s a variety of silks, in different weights and textures.  It will be cut up and reconfigured, but it’s pretty cool just like this, isn’t it?

Stay tuned! And as always, thanks for reading and commenting.

Creating in the Garden at the Governor's Residence

The opening reception at the PA Governor’s Residence for the Pennsylvania Arts Experience installation was excellent. Over 70 artworks were on display in the elegant public spaces of the residence, expertly placed by curator Rob Evans.  There I am above, with my Watt & Shand #3, in the State Dining Room, and below is a wider shot.  I enjoyed looking at all the art and saying hello to the other artists and friends attending.  There is a stunning amount of talent represented in this organization.
And after torrential downpours the day before, the weather cooperated with picture perfect conditions, low 70s and scattered clouds.  About a dozen artists set up to create en plein air in the gardens around the residence.  There were painters, a sculptor, a performance artist, and myself.  I’d never done work on site in public before, so I was excited to give it a try.

I found a good spot with a view of a spectacular magnolia tree, and broke out my needlefelting supplies.  My plan was to create an impressionistic scene with wool and wool roving.  The green and yellow tool is a hand needlefelting punch.  It has needles with tiny barbs that entangle the fibers and lock them together. It’s a very slow method, like a lot of my work, and I was happily interrupted frequently by visitors curious about the process.  I had a lot of fun explaining to adults and kids, and giving them bit of roving to handle.  I love that fiber is such a tactile medium, and the way it speaks to everyone. 
I usually work in quiet and solitude in the studio, so it was challenging to figure what to focus on creatively with all the outside stimulation.  I got the background blocked out and laid in, put in the skeletal framework of the magnolia tree, and started on some rosebushes while on site.  Below is how it looked at the end of the day: Back at the studio, I spent some time tightening everything up by working on it with the needlefelting machine.  This device looks like a sewing machine, but in place of a threaded needle it has a cluster of barbed needles just like the hand punch.  It does a great job of locking everything together, and saves my hands and wrists a lot of trauma.  The piece now looks like this:

That’s just the beginning.  I will build up texture and color on the background and add the leaves and flowers, and then detail it even more with stitching.  But I am very happy with this start, and even more pleased that I took a chance on trying something new and working outdoors.  I’m already filled with ideas on how to improve the presentation the next an opportunity presents itself.