Fragments

Fragments hiding behind the Muses

The gallery in Auxerre really wanted to show the Muses, but I also wanted to make something new for the occasion. Related but slightly different.  This is the new series - Fragments. There are 7 of them which can be viewed together or separately.

The seven pieces pieced and painted

They started with similar techniques to the Muses - lots of piecing of small bits of fabric, which were then over painted to bring some unity to the background.

As I've been thinking lots about stones, rocks and ancient sculptures I decided to add some rock piles using Markal paint sticks.

Adding the Markal

Testing out colours of sari silk

The figures were added using sari strips which were over painted with Brusho. Originally they looked a bit like scene of the crime outlines as they were so stark!   The figures have changed shape slightly as I am continually redrawing them to see how far I can simplify them whilst still retaining the idea of the human form.

Before the final stitches were added

Finally I stitched the patterns on top. These are patterns which would have decorated some of the goddesses when they were made and gaudily painted. I drew a guide pattern to get a sense of the flow.  Following advice, I traced the pattern onto Golden something paper as it is meant to be really easy to remove. It may be the easiest paper to remove, but I'm glad I put it on the back as it is still hard to remove every last piece, especially from small shapes.

Adding the stitch

I don't have a clear photo of all 7 in a row but hopefully these give you an idea of what they look like. 

Side view of five of them