Mixed Media Pie Party
Karelian pies – tears come to my eyes when I remember a childhood memory of my past mother making them. And her story of my grandmother who made a pile of those for her six daughters every Saturday. Just some water, flour, rice and butter was needed. Or well, that’s what I thought before I made some by myself after moving away from home. Patience too, I recognized!
I wanted to experiment with creating something not so serious. So I recreated Karelian pies. These mixed media pies are made of fabric, wool, lace, beads, buttons etc. And they look like baked after I added some fabric dye in the edges.
When making these I remembered the emotional connection I have for the Karelian pies. They represent caring and love for me. In the area where I grew there where no celebration nor funeral where Karelian pies would not be served. The finer the occasion, the smaller the pies – and there were a hundred of them!
I thought I would create a fantasy world with my pies, linens and fancy tea but my thoughts became more real than I had ever suspected. I became to think how important people from the past quietly fade away when the time goes by. And how we can bring them back to our minds. Like inviting them for a cup of tea, even only in our thoughts.
While taking the photos I remembered a small table linen that I had embroidered as a teenager. Back then I dreamt about the future and wanted to make something very traditional Karelian for myself to treasure. I was inspired by the stories of how young women made their linen before they stepped into the marriage. That embroidered piece combined with the Karelian pies really speaks to me.
Art is freedom. Give yourself the freedom to create! You will get something precious in return.
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Things Learned From Quilting
My latest collage here is influenced by fabrics and quilting. After being linked from Amy’s Free Motion Quilting Adventures blog I got the idea to blog about my roots in quilting. And even more: what I have learned from quilting.
I used to be a quilter you know. Within years my quilting became more and more complex. I fell in love with hand embroidery and it felt like the needle was my pen. Quite soon after I made this, “The Time of Miracles”, I knew I could not just go on. It took too much time to complete one, even small quilt.
I discovered paper crafting hoping it would be faster. And it was! That time I also combined paper with fabric.
But after taking the first steps in paper crafts I realized that I had learned a lot from quilting.
1. Using ugly colors
Choosing only pretty colors makes them all ugly. Every quilter buys neutrals, blacks, whites, solids and other duller fabrics to make pretty even prettier.
2. Selecting colors that differ in intensity
Hues that have the same intensity look flat and unappealing together. Like in nature and in photos, the hues vary and I think it looks beautiful.
3. Mixing patterns
By bringing new and new fabrics to the quilt it gets more and more appealing once the colour choices work. I love mixing a variety of patterns together!
4. Layering
Applique is the technique where the fabric motifs are sewn on the background. Layering creates depth and makes the end result interesting. I try to maintain clear color contrasts between layers.
5. Attachment
In quilting all the pieces are first attached by sewing. They form a connection within each other even before the final step: the actual quilting. In collages I always try to group elements and give them some kind of border. Pieces that float look like they do not belong anywhere.
I still make quilts now and then. I do not make traditional blocks or plan my quilts. I like sewing intuitively like I would be drawing something unexpected.
Skills can be mixed and styles can evolve from the experience of making a wide range of things. Whatever you create, hopefully this encourages you to combine your skills for the next project!
More design advice applied to crafting: Folk Bag Workbook
Drawing on Fabric
I missed the feel of cotton fabric so I decided to use it as a base instead of paper. It was so much fun! I used both the fabric paints and fabric markers here.
There’s not much difference between drawing on fabric and drawing on paper. I use thick cardboard under the fabric so that I do not have to worry about colors ruining the table top. Another tip is to wash the fabric first so that the colors get into it. And iron well before and after painting.
This is quite large piece (19,5 in x 13.5 in) but you can start with smaller ones. I am so tempted to start a new project by painting small squares and use them in the next quilt.
Folk Bag with Imagination
I finished this bag in the summer but have been saving this for blogging. Now when the autumn has come to Finland, showing this feels appropriate.
When making this my goal was to create something based on my own style so I created everything myself. All the patterns and ornaments are my own designs.
This bag is inspired by nature in the way many folk style objects were. It also represents the design process where wild plants change to stiff ornaments.
I named the bag after another of my work. This is called Dancing With Imagination because it is so much alike than the art journal page that I made a while ago.