More Love and Irises

I am still behind but I finally got some time spent working on my May block. Since we are leaving tomorrow for a trip to Boston I will keep this note pretty short and will look at any symbolism in post with the finished block. The first photo show the background painting and the stitching getting started.

The second photo shows the piece with the thread embroidery done and the piece ready for some beads.

The last photo shows the piece after I added the stiffened Iris to the piece. The only part I needed to stiffen was the petals so that they would stay upright on the piece. I added leaves and sewed the roots down and spreading to get their moisture and nutrients from the world around them.

I do realize that Irises do not grow along salt water beaches but that is what Artistic License is for. These are primordial waters that give life to us all.

Wayne said that he really likes it so far. I still need the surf, sand and shells and then we will be finished and ready to move onto June.

If you want to see all of the photos of my Sacred Tree so far this year please visit my Web Gallery.

May Brings Love and Irises

Life has seriously gotten in the way of my art lately and I am hoping that things will now start to settle down a bit so that I can spend some quality time creating. If you want to read about all of the hub-bub in our life you can read about it in my Artistic Kreations and Passions blog.

May always starts out with our wedding anniversary on Cinco de Mayo, lucky for me that is also when the Irises around here are blooming. Wayne bought me some creamy roses that he thought would look good with the Irises we had.

I have always liked Irises and they are one of my favorite flowers and I have used them in y art before. I made a 3-d iris for my Pond Necklace. When I wanted to include irises in my Tree of Life I knew that it would be for May and that I wanted to make a 3-d iris for it.

I did get this much beaded in May but haven't had the time and energy to post the iris until now. I made each of the petals separately and then sewed them all together. The stem is made using herringbone stitch. I have also stiffened the iris with acrylic matte medium so that it will not look like it is dying with all of the petals about ready to fall off. I am planning on adding a leaf or two as well but will wait until I know how it is going to sit on the block.

I have the background painted as well and will try to get that up on here in a few more days. Once I get to work on the piece I expect that it will come together fairly quickly.

Although we have some stuff on the schedule for the month I am planning on spending some time just making art and trying to regain my sanity. I really feel like I loose that when I go too long without making art.