Wednesday, August 04, 2010

Newsbird


My new bird is a newsbird, made from newspaper. This is the second bird in this series of stitched birds. (Here is the first)  I made one small adjustment to my pattern, which was a simple, but I thought, effective change. See if you can spot it. Give up? I turned the wings upside down. I noticed, as I was fussing with the parts that if I turned the wings the other direction I could line up the stitching line with the one on the body and I liked the way that worked.

You may wonder how I stitched newspaper, delicate stuff that it is. I collaged the newspaper onto very heavy non-woven interfacing. I used white glue, thinned with a little water, that I brushed on the interfacing, then laid the paper down and brushed over it with more glue. It was quite nice to hand stitch through and held the form quite well. This, of course, creates the possibility of collaging all sorts of things that could become part of the bird. I considered giving this bird more of a message by judiciously cutting words from headlines to place prominently on the wings and visible portions. In the end I liked the simplicity of just text. The breast of the bird is a photo from the paper of an aircraft carrier with jets lined up on it. Perhaps a reference to flight, or if you like, a comment on the war story that comprises the text part of the bird. People can make of it what they like. I really don't have any kind of message in mind here. Ray thought perhaps the bird was a carrier pigeon (ha! ha!) but, of course it doesn't look at all like a pigeon. My friend Beth suggested, given the military references, it was a bird colonel. Groan.  None of the above. It is really just a reflection of my fondness for printed text. I think I will submit this guy for a small show that Columbia Fiberarts is having at the Museum of Contemporary Craft. The theme is "Text."

16 comments:

  1. Anonymous12:54 PM

    Maybe this one is a bird brain? I LOVE using text for things like this.

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  2. Great bird! I agree that the wings work better this way. Keep 'em coming! Love, Del

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  3. Your newspaper looks very white - not like newsprint. Both birds are quite nice. What are the dimensions?

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  4. BRAVO yet again. This is a spectacular use of print and I thank you for the tutorial on creating the "fabric". I have wanted to work with newsprint but couldn't figure out how. Now, with my little friend Elmer I will be making some newsprint fabric.

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  5. This is fantastic! I love it.

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  6. Very newsworthy... how about a comic bird with comics? Sudoko bird? Crosswordbird? I can think of all sorts...

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  7. Anonymous5:30 PM

    I liked your other birds, but this one is the coolest yet.

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  8. I love this... are you going to make a pattern and instructions? Please :)

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  9. This would be a wonderful submission to a show with a text theme - go for it!! Do you have all your birds displayed in a group - how lovely that would be.

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  10. Sureley it is a text-ured bird?

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  11. Anonymous4:59 AM

    Love it, love it, love it!

    Synthia

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  12. I love this little guy! and I think I like the wings better in the new upside down configuration. Good luck with the show.

    Kristin F. in SC

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  13. Oh! This is even better!

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  14. I LOVE this bird! If he's ever missing it's because I flew to Portland, snuck into your house and coaxed him off to live with me.

    Beautiful, beautiful birdie. :)

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  15. He's wonderful! I love him -- a TEXT-ile bird! If Jane doesn't steal him, I just might!

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