Today is reveal day for my Facebook group Art Quilts Around the World. The current theme is Science. I am not a big science person and had a hard time figuring out what to do with this challenge. When I was a beauty school student back in the late 1980s we had a textbook chapter on anatomy specifically the skeletal and muscular systems of the body. To cut hair one needs to know the bone structure of the face. As licensed cosmetologists we also are able to perform facials and therefore need to know what and where the facial muscles are located. So a shout out to beauty school is how I came up with my idea.
I split the face in half and did muscles on one side and a regular woman's face on the other side. I discovered on Pinterest many images portraying muscles had the muscles in different bright colors to visually see them. I was all on board for bright colors so that was easy! The "normal" side has a neutral color palette.
I quilted the muscles in the accurate direction in which they would flex!
The "normal" side got a bit of glitter, a rhinestone nose piercing and both sides got beads for earrings and I used fabric pencils to enhance the eyes, hair and mouth. As I was working on this challenge it became fun and I really enjoy the finished quilt.
This is a closeup photo of the muscle side of the face-lots of tiny muscles!
The next challenge due January 31, 2017 is "I believe..." which is very broad based. I feel strongly about many things-the beauty industry, fashion dos and don'ts, politics and racial discrimination so I'm not sure the direction I will take this challenge.
I have not posted in a while because I was busy before, during and after the IQF Houston quilt show. Such a great experience and I meet so many interesting quilters including five international students that were in my Bella Chroma full day class.
I have a new lecture about how adult coloring books have inspired me to create quilts, portrait quilts especially, in the style of coloring books with a wider black line surrounding the applique motifs. The original quilt I made in this style was given to the IQF Houston silent auction and I can't find the photo. Sorry. I had squared off the tips of the hair and decided that was too much unnecessary work so I redeisgned the pattern and went with the usual pointy hair streaks.
The photo on the top with the two versions is the revised design. Each quilt is 16" x 24" and has one fabric for the background. I decided to make two color ways-one with orange hair and one with red hair. Each has a fun colorful bold stripe for the garment. The facial features are the same. I wasn't sure if I liked the yellow color on the eyelids so when I was embellishing the quilts one got a gold row of rhinestone "eyeliner" and the other I totally covered up with turquoise nail art sparkly stuff glued on the eyelid.. The other embellishments were some pink glitter nail polish on the upper lip and a clear silver rhinestone for a nose piercing.
I will use this idea for a new pattern which I will write in early 2017. I am including it in my future quilt class proposals and see if the quilt teaching judges like it!!
The coloring book idea began with this quilt's drawing. I connected and added black lines and expanded the background because I really liked the image.
This is another version of this pattern which became my Quilt Alliance charity auction quilt.
Do you like this new idea of the coloring book theme?
