Back in 2016, the Gentle Pursuits of Richmond EGA chapter president, I think it was Catherine Jordan, gave us a 5x7 challenge for the year, 5 stitch and 7 threads in a 5" x 7" size. I had a lot going on that year, so I never finished the design, but I really liked it, so I've kept it around since then.
This was as far as I got in 2016. It is hard to take a photo showing the actual colour of the silk, especially because it is shot silk. I had done a few things on silk at the time, but I'd mostly worked on linen, so working on silk like this was a new experience.
This year, my current chapter, Muchas Manos de San Diego, is having a WIP challenge, so I pulled this piece out as one of my 5 to work on. Each month, a number is pulled and members work on that piece for the month. So for February-March, I'm working on this piece.
I started by adding a muslin backing - I've learned so much since then and have found a backing to be very helpful. This piece really needs depth so after finishing the final background tree, I padded the bridge to bring it forward.
I added more plants to the water's edge behind the bridge before finally starting the bridge, covering the felt in two colours of ribbon.
The bridge is a bright colour because that's how it looks in the photos. Most of the paintings don't show the trellis for wisteria that you see in photos of this bridge, and since I wasn't trying to recreate a specific painting, and I love wisteria, I used purl purl for a trellis, and then I used silk serpentine gimp for the vine. I didn't even tack it down, just wound it around the trellis frame.
I used messy bullions for the leaves and flowers, Soie Perlee for the leaves, and various stranded silk and cotton for the flowers.
Back to some ribbon work for the water lily pads. darker, thinner ribbon in the back, brighter, wider ribbon in front.
3 comments:
This is coming together nicely. I seem to remember that the bridge really is painted quite a bright green, maybe a little more jade green than you have it, but I think with the colours you are using, the bridge colour you've used is going to work well. Remember that the water reflects the sky, so you don't want to cover the water completely, and you might want to hint at the colours of the wisteria and the vine in there as well..
Thanks Rachel, Every time I look at one of the paintings or any of the photos, I really notice the green reflections. I'm going back and forth with how to create that in the water. One option is a single thread of light green darning stitch in rows to mimic waves. Another is watercolour paint. I can't seem to find the rest of the blue silk, so I'll have to test at the corners. I must have had some idea back then, but I never wrote it down. Oh well, experimenting is half the fun.
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