The inspiration for The Cutting came from photographs taken on our visit to Queenstown, (Tasmania,  Australia) last year.  We travelled through the old mining area and the road down to the town had lots of interesting cuttings, with very colourful rocks, stained by deposits of ore, and fine veins of colour from various minerals.  The area first began as a gold mining town, then further exploration found copper, and exploration for other minerals is on going.

The background is hand dyed and rusted fabric.  I spent considerable time auditioning background fabrics, and after leaving the fabrics on the table overnight, my first glance in the morning revealed just the right piece in the fabric pile.  The “rock” embellishment was made first, using a lighter piece of rusted fabric, stitched with various threads, and the addition of dyed silk fibre and silk cord, before adding a layer of fine net.  Beading was then added.  The three layers were then quilted with the patterns in the dyeing and rusting dictating the movement of the quilting lines to create the texture of rocks. Threads used were cotton and rayon.  The line of novelty yarn and the hand dyed cotton mesh were added before stitching the “rock” in place.  The piece was finally embellished with paint sticks.

Close Up:

Inspiration: