«  Pour faire le portrait d’un oiseau »  is a poem by Jacques Prévert (1900-1977). Close to the Surrealists, Prévert’s poems and stories are a blend of fantasy and heartfelt humor.

As the poem is rather long, I’ve chosen just a few lines to illustrate my quilt. The text is quilted around the central motif like a frame. Here’s the English translation:

To make the portrait of a bird

First paint a cage

Then paint something pretty for the bird

……………

When the bird arrives, if it arrives

Wait for the bird to enter the cage

And when he is inside

Gently close the door with the paint brush …

Paint also the freshness of the wind

………….

Translation Adam and Emil

The background fabric is painted with diluted acrylics. The flowers were drawn on a serigraphy screen with neocolors II, then transferred with gel medium on the fabric and worked in free-motion quilting.

The cage: reproduced on 3 layers of organza, it was then cut out with a soldering iron and lined with black tulle.

The birds: made with Deli paper printed on Gelli plate then fused to fine felt; machine-appliqued.

The letter P is a linocut embellished with gold metallic thread and fabric paint.