Nellie"s Needles

Sunday, October 04, 2009

Prairie Flowers - The Countdown

Remember when all the carpets were cleaned recently here at the cottage? With all the big pieces of furniture out of the living room ALL the panels were laid out on the floor.
Woo Hoo! I never thought there would be a space big enough available to do this. The scale of it still boggles my mind ... 14 feet by 10 feet. At this point there were six panels yet to get their detail layer of flowers. Now there are just the three you see in the foreground along that edge.

Since then that furniture in the living room has been shoved up against the walls so sections can be laid out for me to define and refine as well as to punch up and blend in with oil stick pastels, permanent markers, and paint. I've done this a number of times and am still touching up areas as I continue the mounting process.
Below are two photos of the same panel. The one on the left had already been worked on once. The one on the right has even more pastel work and paint added ... it sparkles!
Here are a number of panels in various stages of construction. They've just been treated with Krylon Fixative spray to set the oil stick pastel work that had just been added. This product also protects the piece against fading by light.
Note the debris from the storms littering the patio. I've been gradually picking it up to use as kindling to start daily fires in the wood burning stove. The weather has been stormy and cold. It's time to go south. Two more weeks of vigilant work and this project should be packed up and on its way to Chicago.

And we should be packed up and heading south.

11 comments:

Kay said...

Getting closer! You're going to make it, and it's looking wonderful.

Beverly said...

All I can say is WOW- can't wait for a photo of it totally installed!

Heather said...

You are right Nellie - your touching up does make it sparkle and adds depth to the design. I love your outdoor 'studio' and how nice to have a real fire - so cosy. Here in the UK we are thinking about trying out the central heating in the evenings - autumn is definitely with us. Safe journey south and looking forward to seeing your masterpiece finished and installed.

Gina said...

Wow! I would love to see this in person!

Susan said...

Wow its so lovely and also very arty and also vibrant. Oh yes and huge. LOve it. very interesting too.

Corryna said...

Wow! this is so great! And it is so nice to see you smiling on the pictures. Your flowers are lovely! I also would love to see it in real life.

Magpie's Mumblings said...

My mind boggles. Totally. I am so in awe of this piece of art!

Marie-Thérèse said...

I admire your energy to keep working on this project. I think it is incredible. Thank you for sharing this. Greetings from Marie-Thérèse in Germany

Ela said...

Wooow!Love it!

Teodo said...

Congrats Nellie
your garden is like a true garden.
ciao ciao

Deb Lacativa said...

this is incredible. I am so happy you have included yourself in the photos. Lest ye fergit!