The February Bremerton First Friday Art Walk is this Friday and I am so happy to be a participant this month. A local female artists group (Kitsap League of Artistic Women) will be featured at Fingers Duke in downtown Bremerton. The theme for the show is anatomical hearts, but the mediums and any other details are completely up to the individual artist. It will be fun to see the variety of art that is created based on this one theme.

I knew that I wanted to create a block print of a heart, but wanted to do something beyond just a framed paper print. In college my art concentration was fibers and I am always drawn to adding in elements fabric, sewing, or weaving into my art work. Perhaps why I prefer to print on fabric rather than paper!

After designing and carving my block, my son suggested I print it in gold ink! He’s obviously a genius! I used Cranfield gold relief ink, which is a dream to print with! On the black fabric it has a subtle sheen and prints crisply. I then added hand embroidered floral deigns in a variety of colors. I did not plan out any of the flowers and instead just made it up as I went along, as if I was just doodling with needle and thread. This part of the process was quite time consuming, but so enjoyable. I loved choosing the colors as I went and seeing the forms literally grow from the heart.

I hope for this to be just the first of a series, and I already have fabric printed with hearts waiting to be sewn.

If you are interested in purchasing this piece or requesting a custom piece, please feel free contact me.