A Sapling Takes Root On Purple Dirt

Part of my process for this piece includes drawing the mixed media section to scale so that when it comes time to make it I already have all of the information I need as to how things are going to fit together. This also has allowed me to work on how the tree is going to look. I am not a expert on trees and trying to draw one to this size and keep it fairly realistic has been challenging. The tree is not meant to be any particular species of tree so I didn't have to make it look like a oak or an elm or a maple or anything.

Drawing the piece to size also allowed me to play with the placement of where I want my 12 blocks to be on the piece. The colored index cards represent where the blocks are going to go. At first I was thinking of making the background smaller but I wanted the tree to figure predominately in the piece so I went for the larger size. The finished mixed media piece will be approximately 24 inches by 40 inches.

The photos show the sketch laying on the fabric that will be the front of the quilt that the piece will be attached to. While I was visiting the in-laws I was working on the ideas for the piece, when I mentioned making the quilt with purple fabric, Marti pulled out a piece of beige printed raw silk that some one had given her years ago and asked if I would like it dyed purple. Mmmm would I, heck yes! I got to help a little and we ended up with this fabric in shades of fuchsia to purples. At the moment I am planning on using the printed side up but I could always go printed side hidden.

She also gave me the three little stone turtles that are sitting near the bottom of the top photo. She had planned on making a necklace with them for me but once she saw what I was doing on this piece she thought that I might like them better to add to this. I will include the symbolism and my person take on what they mean on this piece in a later post.