Caro Higgs – Nature #6
Arbutus onedo
The last of my Bardenas/ Mallos Rigolos series and the second close up of a plant seen there. The strawberry tree ‘arbutus onedo’ has the most wonderfully coloured fruit (apparently edible though I didn’t try!) which standout amongst the undergrowth.
As the backdrop I used some sample pieces that were built up using a resist technique and overprinting which was stitched and subsequently machine embroidered/quilted. The plants were built up with appliquéd hand dyed silk and some sari scraps. The stalks are dyed wadding machine quilted. The spots on the berries were created with a decolourant and then each one stitched to create an indentation before using expanda-paint to give some relief to the piece.
Detail view:
FIFTEEN BY FIFTEEN 
Beautiful design, stitching and use of the many techniques of dyeing and printing on fabric. I feel I could just pluck one of these fruits and take a bite. Bravo
These berries are stunning ! At first sight I thought you had made french knots on them ! I like the printed background.
My first thought was also French knots. This is a great technique for the spots. I love the whole piece!
Those berries look amazing. As always, balanced design, beutiful texture. Bravo!
Thank you for describing your process. This is quite a visual feast of texture, and I especailly like the berry stems. The background quilting greatly enhances the overall image.
A lovely image created with a fascinating range of techniques. So much detail, even in the background.
I love the way that you have constructed such a rich and complicated background that perfectly depicts the background vegetation. The fruit of the tree is in lovely contrast to the background and the stitching is perfect. Beautiful work
A great mastery of techniques and taste for composition. Nice ending to your series. Bravo!
I admire the variety of materials you use in your work. Also your stitching is great, and the color combination is excellent.
Love all the layering, techniques and quilting you used to create your composition, It gives your design so much depth and texture. Well done!
What a lovely design and attention to details, quilting and embroidery. Beautiful!
A stunning piece with great variety of materials and techniques. The colors so beautiful and that strawberry so life like! The stitching is superb as always, awesome!
What a nice idea to use decolourant for the spots on the berries. So many techniques in this beautiful piece. Lovely composition. Very well done.