Why Art Matters: LHOTR Barn Quilt

Two Why Art Matters in a row? It's an artsy winter here! 

Getting acquainted with the community at the little house, we were enthralled with the sheer number of quilt squares adorning barns, houses, and businesses in Osceola County. Apparently, quilts are quite the thing: 

Osceola County Quilt Trail

So of course, I wanted to contribute to the public art movement and create one for us. The inspiration came from the wildlife in our woods and river, and my project became Four Friends. 

The blank canvas. This is a 4' x 4' square for the side of the shed. Barn art squares are 8' x 8'.

Mapping out the squares and the appropriate colors. This organizational method helped, at first. 

Border down.

Most patterns feature geometric designs, but since the next door neighbor's quilt window is an owl, I wanted to complement their theme. I looked for patterns on Pinterest and found the four that worked just right - a deer, a fish, a cardinal, and a fox. I bought the patterns on Etsy - shout out to Ellis and Higgs, Sew Fresh Quilts, and MaGalina for their designs. Always pay your artists. 

Now I had to copy them onto a big sheet of plywood!

I hooked a fish. 

My biggest challenge was working on a new medium, that being a porous sheet of plywood with an uneven surface. Taping helped create a guide, but I was frustrated by bleeding under the tape, no matter how hard I pressed to create a sharp edge. I ended up scratching the burrs away with an Exacto knife, and filling holes with a ruler and a marker. 

Work on the cardinal and fox was a two-for-one job. 

I technically started the cardinal first, taping out the design. Since it had more angles and colors than the fox, I would paint a section of the bird, then fill in a little bit of the fox. Back and forth, then suddenly, I had the two panels completed. 

Will's reaction? "Whoa - I love the fox!" 

Next, I had to tackle the deer head. Man, I could have chosen something easier... 

Those antlers were a pain in the neck. 

The initial design is complete, but it's missing something...

The deer head needed a lot of love and a lot of angles. I started by using tape, but it became more of a hindrance than a help, so I freehanded it, using paint, paint markers, markers, and straight edges. I filled it in with a couple of layers of paint, but the panel still didn't look finished to me. It needed some green to tie it to the other three.

I incorporated some light gray birch tree trunks and some leaves into the background. I'm not crazy about it, but everyone loves it. I kind of wish I had done a frog in its place, but leave it alone or else I'll tweak it to death. The spray sealant only works at 55 degrees or warmer, so it's currently chilling in the basement until spring. I may add more green as a halo around the deer's head as if he was peaking through a bush. Plans are to mount it to the shed, so we will see it as a welcome every time we drive up.