Sunday, June 8, 2008

I did it! 3 years, 360 class hours, and immeasurable amounts of determination, courage, and a touch of insanity have brought me to this day -- my graduation day. This morning I graduated from Core Star and I am now trying on the title of "Energy Healer" -- adjusting the fit a bit, but I think we're a match ;) Here is a photo of me and my eldest daughter at the graduation ceremony:

As a parting gift to my teacher I created a wall hanging. It is based on a zen quote, "The snow falls, each flake in its appropriate place." I took minor liberties with the wording and replaced the word appropriate with perfect. I'd like to share some photos of the process of this wall hanging's creation.

First the original chicken scratch sketch. This scene came to me as an inspiration while I was cooking. I grabbed my pad of paper I use for to-do lists and grocery shopping and sketched it out:

And here's that same scene sketched in pencil on poster board. The square is about 23"x23":

This the the canvas and background fabric (a hand dyed cotton with the colors of the evening sky radiating upward) with some of the poster board template positioned on top:

These were taken when most of the appliqué was finished. The wool felt tree wasn't yet stitched down -- it's just laying in place here. And the edges weren't turned yet. The crystals are just laying on top -- not yet in their final positions.

You can see here that the "snow" catches light when seen from the right angle:



and the variegated purple moon swirl:



And the fence fading into the horizon:

And this is the finished hanging:

If you're looking for news about Sweet Mama - Small Sugar... well keep watching for surprises ;)