Meeting a deadline

I am working on a piece featuring cardinals.  Years ago, at a dear friends house on a lake…we looked out across the water to a little island.  The sight we saw became one of those “moments” that I will never forget, one of those dramatic seconds that seem to make time stop and is forever imbedded in memory.  Looking across to the island, we saw a flock of cardinals, hundreds of them.   They were glowing red against the late afternoon light, the azure November sky, and the bare branches of the shrubby growth.  They were roosting, and eating berries.  Cardinals have a dignity in their demeanor that is beautiful to see, and I love the devotion a pair of cardinals show each other.  So, with the Michigan Art Quilt Invitational’s theme being nature, I decided to create a piece to honor this moment in time. 

I cannot show you the finished piece due to the rules of the exhibit, and well..there is no finished piece yet.  But I will show you some of the cardinals I’ve been working on.

These birds are inspired by the artwork of Charley Harper.  His simple lines and graphic style really appeal to me. 

I’m experimenting with backgrounds, no success yet…not going easily.  Wish me luck.