Quarantine Project #5 - Falls Park Beauty Paper Quilt

So our self-imposed quarantine continues and so do my paper quilts.  But honestly, I'm not sure how successful this particular quilt is.

I wanted to do a project incorporating the Liberty Bridge in Falls Park in Greenville, SC.  I thought about doing an acrylic painting, featuring this curving pedestrian bridge.  Then I came across a quilt pattern called, I believe, New York Beauty.

This pattern features spinning circles, that are usually cut into quarters.  Each quarter can have a different color combination, and the circles can sometimes flow in to one another and interlock.

I though this flowing pattern would be great to represent the water flowing over the falls in Falls Park.  But, although I had fun piecing and designing the twisting bottom part, I think it overtakes the overall image and the landscape and bridge get lost.  I still like the completed paper collage, I just wish it had come out a little more balanced.

Quaratine Project #3 - Large Paper Quilt

So here is my big accomplishment during my self quarantine.  I've had this idea on my project list for over a year.  It started with a Ohio Stars quilt that I saw on Pinterest that I really loved.  I don't sew, but wondered if I could piece together something similar using scrapbook paper.  I've used quilts as inspiration for paper collages before.

 I drew out the pattern on a 24 x 24 inch stretched canvas, using the quilt on Pinterest as my guide.

Then I came up with a plan:  I'd start my quilt with a map piece at the center.  Then I'd use light color pieces for the center star.  Once I got a combination of pieces together that I liked, I glued them down using acrylic medium.

Next, I started laying down pieces to create my brighter square (see finished photo above), using mainly reds, pinks, and greens.

Then I completed the outer large star with dark pieces of blue and purple paper.

I finished the corners using light paper again.  This went pretty quickly as I was able to cut multiple pieces of paper at the same time to complete these areas.

As I often do with these quilts, I added some stamping using household items like pen caps and pencil ends to add additional color.  I dipped these items in acrylic paint, then stamped them around my canvas where I wanted some more color or texture.

This has been the silver lining of our stay at home orders - I've had this project in the works for a long while and this quiet time has given me the opportunity to see it through.  I'm working on framing this large quilt collage, as I did with this collage.  I'm really happy with how this project turned out.