November: Full Moon

At one point I was sure that I was not going to manage to get my November or December blocks done until after the start of 2009 because things were just a bit too busy and hectic but I managed to finish November and do December on a trip to Philly were Wayne was combining a visit with friends and some consulting work.  I had 2 days in their house with no interuptions for several hours plus the time driving and got both finished.  I just didn't manage to get to blogging about them until after the New Year.  

One interesting thing I have noticed is although I haven't decided on what order I am going to work on the blocks that I have been asking Wayne  which block I should work on sometimes giving him a couple to choose from and I have found that his choices seem to have some relivance to where either I am at or where we are at.  So far he has pick which block for every month but the first one.

I am still really enjoying the effect of combining the painting, embroidery and beads on my blocks.  I have been finding it a bit more challenging to figure out where I want the beads each month but it still seems to be flowing really well and the smaller size that have less beading and stitching are faster to work up that my 8 x 10 last year which seems to be a really good thing this time around.  

The moon and sky are painted directly to the fabric.  I made the branches out of painted interfacing and added some background leaves out of painted fusible web.

I used blue metallic thread to stitch texture into the sky.  I did find out that trying to stitch dark blue thread on dark blue background in the car on a rainy day was very challenging so I switched to adding my moon lit leaves and finished the sky later with better lighting.  The next addition was crystal sequin stars and a bit of topography for the moon and viola a beautiful twilight sky with the moon and stars shining bright.

Because these are the first stars to make it onto the piece I will include there meaning here.  I am sure that they will end up on most of the sky blocks and background as well.  Stars represent the spirit or the forces of the spirit, the soul,  guidance (especially spiritual) and hope.  

The moon represents the positive and negative traits of the female.  It represents the accumulation of knowledge.  A symbol of regeneration, it shows that life is full of fresh starts.  The moon also is a symbol of intuition, imagination, reflection, sensitivity and the upward progress of humans.  The full moon symbolizes wholeness and perfection and the ever continuing  process of reaching these goals in our lives.  Many of the symbols of the moon speak to parts of my personality and my quest for knowledge and wholeness in my life.  As I work my way through another year full of personal growth I am amazed closely the objects I have chosen match the process of my growth.  

I will try to get December's block up tomorrow but for those who can't wait I have added new photos to my website and to my web gallery (including all kinds of new photos of my BJP progress) feel free to check them out.  I have also added a photo of my BJP as of the finish of the first quarter so if you want to see it go to my Artistic Kreations and Passions Blog