Tickled Pink

The most recent challenge for my small Fiberart group was to produce a work that is inspired by a female artist. I chose Huguette Caland. whose work I have admired  for a long time now. Originally from Lebanon, she was a painter, sculptor and fashion designer. It is her paintings that I admire the most and wanted to interpret in Fiber.

I like that she tends to use bright, pure color and that she often applies paint with a grungy, muted texture. But, I really like her use of layers the most. She adds little elements such as checkerboards, stripes, dots and houses over the top of the base layer. These are tiny so not a part of the focal image but make you want to get up close to notice.

 I have tried to capture this level of detail in my work, titled Tickled Pink. It begins with a base layer of muted and grungy pink and grey to which I have added painted florals, branches, checkerboards and dots. The top layer and focal point is a plethora of flowers, resembling trillium. They are dyed, painted and stitched for another layer of texture.

This is my tribute to Huguette Caland. It has been a fun experience to note elements from her work and use them in my own way.