Garden Flags

I frequently contemplate the meaning of home in my work.  Often, it manifests itself in the form of nests.  Nests, though a practical element in the life cycle of birds, has a deeper meaning for me.
I decided to make a set of flags about the ideas of safety, nurturing, and security.  Although they were intended for my garden I'm not certain I can bear putting them outside!

In the case of each piece I screened the same bird/nest image on the red silk 

and directly under it onto the canvas.

I screen printed some sale tags and tied them onto the bottom of each piece.

Each flag was sewn onto a length of cotton trim.

Flags are a great way to "work small".  They can be playful, fun, or contain a deeper meaning.  The choice is up to you.  I am making some additional pieces to hang in the garden.  I hope the birds approve!

Here's a sneak peek at a few more....

Flyin' the Flag for CREATE!

"Women Fly@CREATE"

This flag is headed to Cloth, Paper, Scissors as part of their flag challenge in honor of the CREATE artist retreat in Chicago (see previous post for details).  The only thing missing are the needed grommets.  Since I feel strongly that they should be purple I must wait until Stamp Antonio opens in the morning.

This flag was strip pieced from 4 different unique pieces of cloth:  (from left to right) Spoonflower fabric,

dye-printed facial washcloths (see my article in the April/May 2010 issue of Quilting Arts magazine for details), hand-painted gessoed canvas, and deconstructed screen-printed silk in the center.  The Women Fly patch is from one of my frequent trips to the Oshkosh EAA fly-in, and the letters are grungeboard painted with Tsukineko All-purpose ink and stitched into place.

The flag back is an old car rental map, fused to the front with MistyFuse fusible, then zigzag stitched at the edges.

flag back

Jamie Fingal and I will be teaching a flag-making workshop in Long Beach at the Quilt Festival next month in Quilting Art's  "Make-It-University".  Who knows?  We might do it again in Houston @ IQF in November.  It will be loads of fun, so come join us!