The Cicada House

I started out with a piece of white fabric and began randomly gluing some technical illustrations of cicadas down with Golden gel medium. I then covered the surface of the fabric with metallic textile paints and glazed the line drawings with Golden fluids. When there was no more white fabric showing through I began to paint tree branches and leaves by painting the gold background. For a long time I was very unhappy with the look of the piece it seemed like nothing I did would improve it. I did really like portions of the painting but not the whole. This is when the light bulb went off and I decided to cut it up and make it into a three dimensional structure. Something that has been on my mind for some time to do anyway.
I drew a house template on paper and cut out the pieces from the painting. I fused these onto peltex choosing a dark blue hand dyed fabric for the back. I decided to put the photos of the cicadas on the inside of the house with windows to peek through on the front. This would put the photos of the cicadas in a dark environment like they come out of. They crawl out of the ground, split out of their shells often at night and fly up into the trees.
Then I began stitching details. Not too much quilting, just enough to add interest and sparkle. I think there has been an emphasis on excessive quilting the last few years. I think there needs to be balance. Besides if there is too much quilting it covers up all the painting.

I still have some stitching to do on two of the panels and then I will have to decide how I am going to put the thing together. I have a couple ideas. When I was designing this I didn't think about the technical challenges a 20" tall house might create. It might be hard to stick my arm up inside to sew the roof on. Maybe I will hinge it.

My inspiration for the theme of this house came from an experience I had this summer.
The house is finished. It is 22 1/2" tall, 9" wide and 4" deep.
To construct it I made one inch wide strips with fusible web on the back. I used left over strips from my last painted project for the outside strips and I used the dark blue cotton matching the back side for inside. I fused a strip on the back first and then fused a strip on the outside while bending the edge to create a bent corner. Then I stitched along the edges. I added strips of metal to the roof, that had to be sewn on pretty early in the construction. Once the whole body of the house was put together, I bent the metal along the roof edges and used E600 to glue the top of the house to the metal edging.



The last thing I want to do is make a metal edge for the bottom of the house to finish it off.

The Bird House

This is the second house constructed with the painted fabric I made and used for the cicada house. This house is 6" by 8" tall. Much easier to construct at this size than the 22" tall first house.The inside is painted with pearl white textile paint on hand dyed fabric. The fabric is showing through on the colored leaves. I cut the leaf shapes out of freezer paper, after ironing them to the fabric I painted it white. The bird on the back is a bird diagram that was collaged to the fabric with gel medium as I was painting.
You can see the bird on the back wall when you look through the hole that I wrapped with cut embossed metal that is machine stitched in place.
Back
The strips of metal have been cut with decorative scissors and stitched to the top of the roof. The I draw on the metal with a ball stylus and fold the edges down to attach to the sides of the house.

More Houses

I just finished two more houses with a sea life theme.
I always like to put something inside for the person who looks in the door. This one has open doors like I made on a few of the fiesta ornaments.
This one has a flat decorative door.
With a goldfish inside.
Each one is different.
If you are interested in knowing how these are made, I am writing two articles for Cloth Paper Scissors about it. The project will be broken up into two separate articles in consecutive issues coming out this spring. If the whole project was in one issue, it would probably fill half the magazine. So this will be like when one of the quilting magazines has a how-to for a quilt and it runs in a few consecutive issues.

The first issue will have the step by step process that I used to collage and paint the fabric. The next issue will detail the house construction. I will keep you posted for when the articles come out.

Dream Houses- more how-to details

This is one of my favorite house views not seen in the magazine.

In this months Cloth Paper Scissors magazine you can find the directions for making my Dream Houses also referred to as the bird houses. There are a lot of steps to making these and in fairness to the other contributors of the magazine only so many pages could be devoted to my article and as a result the photos included in the article were fairly small. So I thought I would give you some nice big detailed photos to see the process.


In this first photo you can see I use a ball stylus to mark the metal. Light pressure will score a line through the paper, so it is easy to see for cutting.

I use firm pressure to score lines that I will be folding. The metal cuts easily with an x-acto knife. cut once with moderate pressure and wiggle the metal back and forth in your hands and the cut line will separate. After cutting the basic house shape the outside edge is trimmed with decorative craft scissors.
To fold a straight line fold the metal up against the edge of the ruler.
The ruler is about the same thickness as the Peltex used in making the house, so I fold the metal over the edge of the ruler on all four sides of the opening.
Then I gently straighten the edges up and fit it through the door hole cut in the house then fold the metal flaps flat against the inside wall of the house.
The metal sews easily, it is very soft. Lengthen your stitch length and sew slowly.
I use the ball stylus to draw on the metal, free form doodles. Scoring a line that echoes the decorative cut edge is always a good place to start. Then fill in with dots, lines and zigzags.
I sew all the house walls together working left to right, stitching over a fused strip of painted fabric to reinforce the hinge.
This is my high-tech way of using an iron for fusing a 3-dimensional piece. Find the right combination of paperbacks from the library to fill the space, so when you iron the top edge you don't squish the structure.
Always put a press cloth over the painted surface before ironing, this is a cold iron for the photo.
I tape the metal strips in place on the roof and sew adding each metal strip just before I get to it.

After sewing the metal on the roof, I emboss it and fold the edges down to fit over the house.
Finished houses ready for roofs.
I always like to make sure there is something to catch your eye when you look through the door.

Martha said...

Thank you Judy for the instructions, I can't wait to start my own house. You are so creative and talented. I just love your work. I'm always telling my husband that when I grow up I want to be like you!! :)
Thanks again for the post.

Besides JoAnn's, any other places to buy the "metal"? I only found pewter at JoAnn's. I love the silvery color but a friend wants one with brass color.

judy coates perez said...

Martha, I use the medium weight Pewter. The brass is going to be a harder metal and may not sew as easily. I used the copper on a project and I definitely noticed a difference. It was harder and the machine skipped stitches a few times. You should try a small sample before going too far with the brass.

Another option would be to punch holes in the metal with a thumbtack or needle and then hand sew the metal to the peltex.

Years ago I sewed coke cans that I cut up and heated over a candle flame to anodize the metal then embossed. I punched holes with a thumbtack along the edges (over a piece of corrugated cardboard) and sewed the pieces to quilted fabric blocks in a 9 patch with wire and beads.

Vicky aka stichr said...

Judy do you think the hole punches would work? The kind that you hold in your hand, that can punch different shape holes, or a small round one vs. the 'binder paper size hole' we all grew up with???

judy coates perez said...

I am so glad the extra photos help. It is so hard explaining how to do things in words so it makes sense. I like seeing lots of pictures with instructions myself.

Vicky, all I can say about the hole punch is try it and let us all know how it works ; )