Pine Cone Series

Heather Thomas gave another series class this past year.  I chose the incredible pine cone to use as my subject.   Each viewing angle of a pinecone offers different shapes and  shadows.  Only using the cone of the Ponderosa Pine I made a series of three small pieces mounted on upholstery covered wooden frames.

The backgrounds are from an unbleached canvas, painted with Golden flow and acrylic paints, spreading and bleeding into the fabric.  Pieces of the canvas were selected for the three backgrounds so they would all have the same feel for the series.  A small area of each background was free motion quilted with metallic thread to suggest tree bark.

The pinecones were machine appliqued with batik cotton petals onto upholstery fabric for form and stability, thread painted for shadowing and finished in some cases with thick acrylic paint to create hard edges or points.  In two of the pieces, pine needles made from jute and thread were added to the composition.

There has been lengthy discussion concerning hanging textiles softly or mounting them on frames, covered stiffener, etc.  Many Galleries will not accept textiles hung from a sleeve and rod system.  They prefer a piece to be framed like painted art.  Traditionalists, including many art quilt artists feel this detracts from the draping of the textile and heritage of the quilt.  Others feel it may be necessary in order to compete in the art gallery scene.

Because these three pieces are heavily textured and dimensional, and because they are small, I choose to use a covered fame to "mat" them and use the color of the "mat" to enhance the color choices of the piece.  In general, I think the piece should dictate the method of presentation. I hope textile art will be considered by more galleries and other venues as an accepted medium for artistic conversation.

Here are pictures of the pinecone series which was shown in the ExPort Art Group show at the Castle Rock Library.