Color Journals: Blue and Brown for Rose

I made this page earlier in the summer, but since Rose was on vacation when I showed it, I held off on blogging so she would see it in person first. Her colors really aren't "mine" although I do appreciate the sky/earth concept that she has mentioned several times. I know that Rose's family enjoyed a trip to Alaska several years ago, so I started with a Google search for "Alaskan art." The native motifs of salmon, bear, and orca jumped off the (virtual) page at me, and I fine-tuned the search for some clipart that I could replicate in fabric.

Within the bowels of the Strategic Fabric Reserves, the perfect fabric was lurking. I must have purchased it specifically for this very project; the colors were spot-on and the motifs looked like they were lifted directly off a totem pole.

From the Andover Facets collection

I started with scrappy strips of the focus fabric and other coordinating browns and blues to make a frame, then I created the whale on a piece of ultra pale blue batik that had a very faint chunky swirl print, just the right background for this style. I fused every piece separately and satin-stitched around the edges. I used a Micron pigma pen to draw in smallest eyes (in the brown diamonds on the dorsal fin and tail), free-motioned spirals all over the background, then added a beaded plume.

Rose's orca journal page

Detail, Rose's orca journal page

For the back, I used another of the Facets print:

Alaskan orca journal page (reverse)

 My husband has requested a copy of this project to hang in our house.