Browse the Collection
Buy Now >>
Spotted Owl vs. Chainsaw: Trespasser
65 in
x
51 in
(165 cm x 130 cm)
Photo Credit
Amy Melious
Price
$0.00
Spotted Owl vs. Chainsaw: Trespasser, is the first quilt of three in a series dealing with wildlife in the west being threatened by the expansion of logging. The spotted owl became the pawn for the environmentalists who used its dwindling numbers as a symbol of environmental doom and the loggers saw the owl as a hated enemy of their livelihood and way of life. The owl in this piece is sweating and alarmed, and doesn't quite know what the war in the woods is all about. There were many protests and demonstrations at this time, 1991-2. I was working on my M.F.A. at San Francisco State University and focused on these issues for my final thesis and show which resulted in three quilts that made up this complete set.
Materials
The fabric is 100% cotton print cloth. The painting was done with fabric acrylic paint using an airbrush and painting by hand with brushes.
Techniques
The fabric was dyed a light blue using procion dyes. The image of the owl was first drawn on freezer paper and then ironed onto the whole piece of fabric. I cut shapes out of the paper and airbrushed the image, then I reattached the paper with a small iron. I could do this as many times as I needed. The airbrushing created general shapes of dark and light and imagery. All of the paper was then taken off and I hand painted the detail. I finished the piece with hand quilting.