Artist Statement: This piece began in a Jane Sassaman class entitled "Abstracting from Nature." The starting point was the study and drawing of all the parts of the plant from my photographs. Enlargement and simplification followed and resulted in units that were then arranged and rearranged on a background. I'm not sure I would call the final result "abstract" but for me it distills the astonished delight I feel when coming upon a brilliant display of these glorious flowers.

Materials & Techniques: Hand-dyed and commercial fabrics are faced, then cut into shapes from patterns derived from my drawings. Each unit is embellished with hand and machine stitching before being satin stitched onto a whole-cloth background fabric and machine quilted.

Dimensions: 38 x 29 x 0

Photographer: Stephanie Ostmann