Wisteria

My original plan was to make something inspired by the photos I took through the stained glass windows in our house (see my previous post). I was thinking of layering various sheers and painted fabrics. So I did lots of painting with transfer paints - tortuous, abstract, twisted tree trunks, that sort of thing - then after a bit I just started playing with the leftover paint. I made this map-like design by trickling paint over the page and causing it to run into the other lines, a bit like a roadmap.

I thought I would use this design as a sort of abstract stained glass window to layer over the rest, so I ironed it on to lutradur and cut out the white bits. I layered this frame design over the various sheers and painted fabrics; that didn't look right but I felt more of a connection to this lutradur design than to any of the other fabrics I had prepared.

After lots of auditioning fabrics and layers, I found this Indian sari fabric which looked good. Then I started thinking that instead of stained glass windows it would represent the bare wisteria branches growing outside our bedroom window that I have been staring at for years. So it evolved into that. I quilted it along the horizontal wavy lines and some of the vertical branches, and decided to couch some decorative threads to add depth and dimension and bring some of the branches forward a bit.

Then I framed it with these sheer ribbons to look like the window frame.

Added accent beads and it was done! I am pleased with how it has turned out although it changed into a piece different from what I was planning in the beginning!