Paper and fabric and glue - oh my!

Hi everyone:

I was working on finishing up one of my quilt projects when a mixed media publication caught my eye. Who am I kidding? I was flipping through the copy of Sew Somerset I bought at the Ujamaa Grandma's sale, trying to avoid finishing one of my projects (binding - yuck!). I wouldn't usually have purchased this type of publication with its mixture of paper and fabric fibre arts, but since I attended International Quilt Market last fall I'm starting to look more at fibre arts and mixed media.

While I was in Houston I took a class with Lyric Kinard where we collaboratively created small mixed media pieces with the intention of creating "ugly art". In creating these pieces we were actually learning various principles of composition, such as having a focal point, repeating elements in a design and using complementary colours. 

Have a focal point

I was initially hesitant to try creating these small art pieces, but once I started gluing fabric and trim to the background, there was no stopping me! 

Use complementary colours - blue and orange
Try repetition in the embellishments

It was almost like elementary school - just pick and stick. With no expectations or goals, I was free to add anything I wanted to the piece and it was okay. 

Use odd number of elements

No one was judging what I added and guess what? The end results weren't ugly at all! They were actually quite fun and joyful. 

What we created in the class - these were the ones I got to bring home

Creating these small pieces is a great creative jumpstart. Not sure what to create for your next project? Try making a small fibre art piece with a combination of fabrics and embellishments. If you don't like the end result, you haven't used a lot of your time or materials. If you do like the end result, you've got a piece of fibre art to give as a gift or decorate your studio and you can now expand this into a larger project. And the best part? It's fun!

Do you like to create fibre art pieces? Sharewhat you've created in the Comments section below.