My Fine Feathered Friend, ©2018 Brenda Wroe
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My Fine Feathered Friend 2018 102cm x 148cm Inspired by a peacock in Bradgate Park. Wholecloth. Ice-dyed Radiance silk cotton mix. Hand-guided free motion quilting on longarm machine. |
Looking Closer
Another quilt in my series which starts with ice-dyed Radiance fabric and then explores the marks created. I allowed my imagination to flow when first examining the breakdown of colours in the fabric and memories of a favourite walking spot Bradgate Park in Leicestershire brought peacocks right to the forefront of my mind.
I am intrigued by the fact that a peacock’s tail feathers are pigmented brown, but their microscopic structure makes them also reflect blue, turquoise, and green light, and they are often iridescent. Researching why this happens I discovered that it is called structural colouration which is the production of colour by microscopically structured surfaces fine enough to interfere with visible light. Different colours will appear at different angles.
With a sketch of the peacock beside me I worked first on the critical circles, identifying which will be the centre of the peacock’s eye and which would form the plumage of the tail feathers. Some of the other circles then appear to me as the flowers. Gradually the detail is added to the initial landmarks until the last work to be done is the background quilting and some embellishment with seed beads to highlight the flowers and the peacock’s eye.
I am intrigued by the fact that a peacock’s tail feathers are pigmented brown, but their microscopic structure makes them also reflect blue, turquoise, and green light, and they are often iridescent. Researching why this happens I discovered that it is called structural colouration which is the production of colour by microscopically structured surfaces fine enough to interfere with visible light. Different colours will appear at different angles.
With a sketch of the peacock beside me I worked first on the critical circles, identifying which will be the centre of the peacock’s eye and which would form the plumage of the tail feathers. Some of the other circles then appear to me as the flowers. Gradually the detail is added to the initial landmarks until the last work to be done is the background quilting and some embellishment with seed beads to highlight the flowers and the peacock’s eye.
