For this annual 12 day competition (6 design sessions), I often have to prepare 3 wallhangings with different class titles so I am always on the look out for new ways to showcase a wallhanging. These designs used to be displayed against a black wall but in recent years have been staged on an easel, often against a window, so I am mindful of the way the light might affect the design and its presentation for judging.
I came across this sectioned canvas piece of “art” at a charity store and immediately thought how useful it would be as a backing for a wallhanging. It was originally three sections but this would have been outside the dimensions required so I have removed the smallest of the sections. The painting is not too dominant so I decided to incorporate this into the finished design rather than paint over it. The title for this class was “Floral Gatherings” as a collage.
Thinking about “floral gatherings” I was reminded of how often I wander around the house paddock at the farm looking for inspirations from whatever is in season even if it is not flowering. So my interpretation is based on my “wandering path”. By using a spiral as the central theme I can also join the two sections visually whilst keeping some negative space in the design by the gap between the two sections.
First task was to cover the metal rods joining the sections with coloured jute. I then drew a spiral across the sections with PVA glue and placed plain jute along this spiral.
Dried plant material placed in groups, both for the collage effect as well as the interpretation of gathering, has been attached to emphasise the spiral shape.
A few separate placements give the design visual balance and allow for larger pieces to be incorporated for scale and proportion.
This design placed first.
Judges comments: A fresh approach to a collage wallhanging that interprets the class title well.
The lower part of the design borders on being too visually heavy as the eye is drawn to the empty space in the top section. Be mindful of colour that is not reflected in your plant material.
