Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds

Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds   11" x 14"   Diane Evans  2010

I realized recently, as I was stitching swirls and feathers into a small wall quilt, that my machine quilting reminds me a little of my own hair, the difference being that I have more control over the machine quilting.  So when I saw a sketch by artist Traci Bautista in the book, “Creative Time and Space,” by Ricë Freeman-Zachery, I was inspired to create (with Traci’s permission) a small portrait where machine quilting motifs became the subject’s tresses.

Parts of both Lucy’s eye and mouth were drawn with Tsukineko ink pens; the rest of the design was stitched with 40-weight rayon thread.  I felt she needed a little bling, so I added French knots, using silver metallic thread.  The title came easily, since the silver threads sparkled like diamonds in her hair.

The piece was mounted on fiber core inside a mat board; I couched blue Perle Cotton around the perimeter of the design so that it would show just inside the opening of the mat.

Lucy was a joy to create from start to finish.  If only my hair could look like hers . . .

Diane