Barb Forrister

Shadow Dancer is Part IV of Naturescape Gray Scale Series and measures 41" X 36." This is my first piece to be completed in the New 2011 Year. In 2010, some of my resolutions included working in larger format, increasing scale, delving into texture and bringing things off the surface in order to create a more 3 dimensional effect. I had hoped that this piece would address all of those resolutions. Additionally, I have always found it more difficult to work solely in black and white and so this piece represented quite a challenge for me. I like to construct alot of my own surfaces by building layer upon layer of fibers. Finding myself short of only black, white and gray, I opted to throw in some of nature's rich truffle like colors for the trees. The trees in the background are made from dyed batting and are machine appliqued. Their canopies are thread painted. The larger two trees in the foreground are composed of upholstery fabrics and have been machine needlefelted with bits of wool roving to add texture. The tree to the left in the foreground is created by adding layers of dyed fabrics and fibers including cotton and cheesecloth to assemble a new cloth reminiscent of tree bark. It is also built up with several layers of batting to provide further dimension. Machine wrapped cording was used to represent ridges in the tree bark. The machine quilting reflects the crevices. The wolf is derived from a sketch and is composed of several layers of various fibers including cotton, velvet, silk and upholstery fibers. His eyes are painted with shiny 3 dimensional acrylic paint. The bush on the right is created in the same manner as mentioned in an earlier post on 3 dimensional foliage. Only this time, they were created in black and white. Machine wrapped cording was constructed and set in place as the stems. Leaves were tacked down in a 3D manner as to allow for the canopy to come off the surface. Machine appliqued and quilted with Aurifil thread.This piece is very tactile and serene. It is dedicated to the wolves that are being threatened today. Please visit Defenders of National Wildlife http://www.defenders.org/programs_and_policy/wildlife_conservation/imperiled_species/wolves/conferences_and_seminars/wolf_awareness_week.php to read more on the subject. In the end, I am happy with my start to the New Year and have resolved myself to continuing more in this vein by delving into texture and creating more 3dimensional pieces in large scale.