This quarter at SCAD, I enrolled in DRAW 242 (Sketchbook Pro), which filled in my last elective class that I needed to take. I took this class because of the professor who I had in my drawing 2 class. I loved how she taught, how open she is to new and alternative mediums, and how great she is with beginners or people who are frightened by drawing. I always appreciate my professors & my teachers so much, whether as SCAD or anywhere else.
For our second project, we spent 2 weeks sketching out the architecture of Savannah and practicing the art of watercolor, which are two things I have proclaimed to be bad at. But I had no choice in the matter! Below are some sketches (better & worse) of some things we did in class. This is my only studio class this quarter, so I'm trying to pour my heart & soul into it!
for the final project of this unit, I decided to create something inspired by architecture but not necessarily depictional. I went with a rather elementary drawing of a house, but a house nonetheless. I used fabric scraps that I have managed to collect over the years and spliced them together for this piece.
At the top of this tapestry, I included the verse Psalms 91:10, "no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home." I chose this verse as a reminder that God has control & that He will always protect us and the homes we chose to dwell in if we dedicate it to Him. I really wanted to emulate the southern feeling of using scraps of different patterns to make something brand new, and what else would I put at the top other than a bible verse?
My professor told me it looked like it should be hanging in Sunday school, and I loved that compliment! How wonderful would it have been to be in a Sunday School classroom with Godly art covering the walls.
I used a variety of stitches on my sewing machine to also emulate the quilts many southern/rural families have made from their ancestors, like the crazy patchwork quilts from the Victorian era. I've always loved those & I've always been drawn to them because the ladies in those times that were making them were using leftover material they had from other projects to turn it into something brand new. How wonderful is that!
I was very specific in the different patterns I used because each pattern tells a different story. The house itself is 2 different pink patterns showing how the sun hits the house at different angles & alters the colors. On the windows, I used a cotton fabric that had music notes written on it, which was to be a reminder of the singing in the houses & churches I heard when I was growing up. Likewise, the pathway leading up to the house was a print of a Dick & Jane book from the 60s which I used because it reminded me of running into my grandmother's house when I was younger with my cousins, laughing and screaming and panting as we came inside for a Sprite & a Fudge Round.
There's a pie I screen-printed at the bottom corner of the house, which reminds me of all the pies my grandmother made & how there was always at least two pies, cakes, or other sweets on her table when we arrived. In the sky, there's a little rainbow cut out & sewn. This rainbow is not put there for secular reasons and not put these because of its cuteness, but because of the fact that the rainbow is a symbol of God's love, God's grace, and God's faithfulness to always fulfill His promises. He promised to never flood the earth again, which He has never done since the flood of Noah's time. Our world & our culture has warped, perverted, & distorted the meaning of the rainbow, but ultimately, the rainbow belongs to God, just as everything else belongs to Him.
This tapestry is one that I hold close to my heart. Every fabric I included in this has meaning, which is something I strive to have in every piece I make.
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