photo realistic quilts – Christina Fairley Erickson

Waiting by Charo Lopez

My small art-quilt group, the Fiber Funsters, met yesterday with our every-other month challenge. We take turns choosing a theme. This time, Charo picked “Waiting” for us to interpret. Charo’s piece, left, features her cat gazing out the window at little birds and bugs made from beads, buttons, and embroidery. The pillow her kitty sits on is puffy and with little braid and tassels.

Allison Chang’s “Waiting” (work in progress)

Allison started with white fabric and she wrote “Waiting” in Chinese characters across it. She then fused shapes in a metallic gold, red, green, and black. The squares and plaids contrasted with the circles, spirals, and dramatic red diagonal slashes made for active composition. She also has put three half spheres of beaded wool felted roving.

Carolyn Hitter posed for several photos for her quilt

Carolyn started with having her husband, Jim, take some photos of her contemplating something from behind. Using a method she learned in Leni Levenson Wiener’s “Photo-Inspired Art Quilts: From Composition to Finished Piece“, Carolyn took the photos and applied a Cutout Filter in Adobe Photoshop Elements. She then chose the photo she liked the best (on the far left) and traced the shapes (below.) The background of Carolyn’s quilt is made from a fuzzy interfacing… just like on a design wall! Her title says it all: “Waiting for Inspiration”

“Waiting for Inspiration” by Carolyn Hitter

Any of us who are mothers can relate to the sense of waiting that goes along with pregnancy. Waiting to get pregnant, to find out whether you’ll have a son or a daughter, to make sure they’re healthy, and finally for the wonderous day when you meet your child. Lise’s humourous spin on these aspects of pregnancy is whimsical with the pink (for girls) and blue (for boys) background that the pollywog shaped sperm are swimming through.

“Waiting” by Lise Vandandaigue

Similarly, Debbie has a beautiful pair of thread-painted birds waiting over their nest filled with three eggs. The background has a very delicate soft changes of color with light blue and lavender squares pieced by fusing.

My piece is still a work-in-progress. After missing a flight out of Paris one year, I had to wait for 9 hours for the next flight. Pretty tough when you’re by yourself and already time-lagged. Of course, it’s nothing compared to those who have been stuck in an airport for days due to whether or other problems… my heart always goes out to them. I’m adding freemotion quilting for shading will continue for background