Erika Close awarded 1st Place ribbon at Ore. State Fair 2013

1st place ribbon for "Industrial Nature"

Fiberexplorations member Erika Close took home a first place ribbon at this year's Oregon State Fair for her quilt, Industrial Nature (also shown in this post from the Sisters' Outdoor Quilt Show).  Erika's quilt was categorized in the Professional division.

"Industrial Nature" by Erika Close

Detail of leaves and quilting

Erika began this quilt in a workshop by Jean Wells.  Rather than using a traditional binding, she used the portrait finish technique that Jean teaches.  In this method, the quilt is finished, then mounted on a larger quilted piece that works as a frame. 

Quilt entries at this year's fair were up from 150 last year to 220 this year, according to Salem's Statesman Journal newspaper.  Volunteer committees have taken charge of this quilt competition, as well as other "creative living" contests.

Congratulations, Erika!

Rewinding Summer, Part 2

In this post, I'll revisit the July evening when I did my 2nd gilding experiment with the Gelli plate, packing tape, paint, mica powders, and gold leaf.  To see my first Gilding the Gelli experiment from July 4th, click here.

As before, I started by adding layers of acrylic paint on my Gelli plate, then using various tools to lift some of the paint and create marks. 

First layer on Gelli plate.

After the first layer dried completely, I added layer after layer, repeating the process until it felt like "enough."

After the final layer was added to the plate.

Once the final layer dried, I covered it with strips of packing tape, placed side-by-side.

Strips of tape laid over painted Gelli plate.

Once the strips of tape were removed, I rubbed some mica powders in different areas of the tape (sticky side.  Various colors of gold leaf flakes were adhered to any remaining blank areas.  The detail photos below show the shiny side of the tape (not the sticky side).

 

Stay tuned; I have at least 3 more summer projects to share before August ends!