This idea started as a group challenge with my on-line quilt group, using only black, white, and one color fabric. I pulled a few fabrics from my black and white fabric stash,  and wondered what I'd do for the one color. I had purchased the orange hand-dyed fabric, and laid it with the black and white fabric.  The idea "evening sky" came to mind, then the black fabric as foreground.  The thought "white elephants" came to mind for the white fabric.  I made a little 12" square quilted piece, and liked the idea so well,  I kept it with the thought to do a "serious" piece one day, and the rest is history.

I wanted the white elephants as the focus on this piece, and coming from a jungle. The orange fabric was the evening sky, and I had black fabric as the foreground.  I assembled the elephants on my teflon sheet, then laid them on the background as if coming from the jungle. I added the fused raw edge tree, cut each piece of viney leaf from fused batik fabric, and assembled them as the jungle fauna.  Fused batik purples and mottled pieces helped for shading under the tree, and when I was pleased with the it,  I pressed the pieces and began thread painting the jungle fauna. I used variegated King Tut thread from Superior, and did some thread painting on the elephants. Then I layered the top with batting and backing, and free-motion quilted all over with various cotton and rayon threads.

I wasn't sure how I was going to quilt so much sky, and why were the elephants coming from the jungle?  The idea of "spirit elephants" came to mind along the horizon, and a "Master elephant'  became my quilting motifs.  I decided the story line would be that only the white elephants could hear and answer the spirit call of the master elephant, hence the title of this piece.

It measures 38" x 37" .  I do all my work on my Bernina 440.

Oh, and I did do another piece for the quilt group.