Victoria Gray

The "Together" exhibit of Western Canadian artists held at the La Conner, WA Quilt Museum provided an opportunity for collaboration of artists working in different media. My partner for this project was Ann Bates, a talented and accomplished watercolour painter from Clearwater, BC. Both Ann and I derive inspiration from nature and things around us. Our mutual love of flowers and gardening influenced our selection of Irises as our subject.

In keeping with the "Together" theme, I used a sketch of Ann's for one of my irises while the others are my own creations. Thread and fabric, both commercial and hand-dyed, became my palette. As a fibre artist, I had the added option of using a third dimension which I did by padding and stuffing the iris petals and stiffening the leaves, allowing them to protrude and extend beyond the edge. To coordinate with Ann's watercolour painting, I matted and framed my piece.

Hand needleturn appliqué, hand embroidery, padding and stiffening, hand stitched and hand quilted.