Bush Sentinelle Experiment 3.

As with the first two figures, I worked the body of this one in a hoop. I kept the blossom in dark pinks and the caps in brown-grey. On the leaf side, this time I worked the leaves in dense fly stitch to get complete coverage. I was tempted to add some pink stab stitches on the right side, but took advice from a Guild friend and left it.                               

I appliqued the figure on to the background fabric (Bush Plum Ecru by Polly Wheeler Napurrula )so that the head was centred in a large pattern circle. It's what attracted me to this fabric. As with Experiment 2, I cut the halo ring away and fussy-cut the leaves inside the halo. I was attracted to the green stamen on the fabric and positioned the head to pick them up.                                         

I didn't have a stitch or colour plan in mind but worked it out as I went. I satin stitched the leaves lengthwise, couching them down with sparce fly stitches. Around their base I added a couple of rows of chain stitch.

The 'gems', as before, were worked in padded satin stitch. I used gimp around the face and between the gems. It really was a matter of 'how does this need to look?' then 'what would give me that effect?'

This is how that looked on the fabric.   

 I managed to construct a 60cm cushion cover with a fold-over on the back, rather than a zip, but was concerned that it might gape open without a fastener of some sort. I was reluctant to add buttons in case they were uncomfortable on a cushion designed to be leaned or sat on. After discussing it with Margaret Morgan at the Guild, I came home, used a small piece of left-over fabric to make loops and settled on two beaded brooches as buttons.

I had bought these at the National Museum of the American Indian in NYC around 2009. They are hand-made and had safety pins as a means of attachment. I removed the safety pin and stitched them on. 

I think they look quite good, they are fairly soft if you make contact with them and I like the First Nations connection.

This is not as spectacular as Experiment 2, but I am satisfied with it.  I feel comfortable with the merging of fabric designed and printed by Indigenous artists, this European-influenced figure and a koala. 

I have tried to think, work and construct it respectfully. I hope it works that way for others.