Happy Mardi Gras!

-

 Letters in a Different Medium


Initials created with plastic beaded necklaces 

Today is the start of the legendary New Orleans tradition- Mardi Gras. One of the features of this celebration are the family friendly parades, which include elaborate floats and colorful, imaginative costumes. Participants throw beads, and other items, to the spectators along the route as they march and perform. It's a vibrant atmosphere. 

Unfortunately, Mardi Gras will look very different this season, festivities have been pared down considerably to meet the demands of the moment. This is a shout out to all the undaunted, creative people of New Orleans who put so much time and effort into this celebration in the best of times and who are calling upon that creative energy to rethink the celebration for 2021.

I'm reminded of a project from a few years back that was inspired by New Orleans. We used old plastic beaded necklaces to create initials. The beads were hot glued to sturdy foam board and hung with wide ribbon,- a festive home decorating accent. It's a fun way to recycle those little items that pile up and outlive their usefulness.   

A tree on Tulane University campus that stays 
decorated with Mardi Gras beads year round.

Hopefully sometime soon we will all be able to return to celebrations like the festivities of Mardi Gras in New Orleans. In the meantime, if you're looking for something to do with the mementos from parades gone by,... 

Comments

  1. AnonymousMarch 5, 2021 at 3:58 PM

    You really inspired me with this tree. I'm putting some Marti Gras beeds on a tree today. xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lauren Klementz-HarteMarch 6, 2021 at 8:04 AM

    What a fun idea! Who says the sparkle has to stay in New Orleans? ;)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Ooops, I did it again

-
Image
You know when you make a mistake and you end up thinking " Man, I really should have known better!"? I recently experienced that moment when I took my latest finish out of the wash, hung it to dry, and later found that the backing I used had bled through to the front of the quilt. Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad if it had covered the entire quilt, but in this case I have a strip of a stronger color on one side of the back: Heartbreaking to think that after all that time and effort, the piece was ruined just because I forgot to turn to the cold/cold setting for the delicate cycle on the washing machine. But then it occurred to me to "put it out there." I posted the problem on Instagram and got back several suggestions. The most popular solution was Dawn dish soap. And I'm happy to report I've met with success!!! It did require some persistence though. First, I tried applying Dawn to the affected areas and then putting it through the wash with a bit of ...
Read more

A Follow Up

-
Image
Shifting Contour When last you heard of this quilt it had been saved from the scourge of fabric bleeding. But I never posted the whole quilt. So here it is.  I have called it Shifting Contour because, in my mind, the patterned fabric plays the role of the background on the left side of the piece. On the right side, the patterned fabric moves to the foreground and becomes a solid shape against the cream background. It is an experiment with the concept of negative space. This year our local guild has taken the lead from our parent organization, the Modern Quilt Guild, and focused on a specific topic each quarter. They covered categories which can be found in the annual QuiltCon quilt show: modern traditionalism, applique, negative space, and minimalism.  I found defining these terms has been really helpful, as sometimes it's difficult to identify why a certain quilt is in a category, in which category a quilt "belongs" when entering it, and even how to deliberately incorpo...
Read more

Q=A=Q 2025 Opening

-
Image
  The first weekend in November was the opening of the annual Quilts=Art=Quilts show at the Schweinfurth Art Center in Auburn, New York.  Q=A=Q Opening Night The show includes seventy quilts created by fifty three artists from around the world, including  Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Hungary, Kuwait, Switzerland, and the US. This is the second year that I've been honored to be juried into Q=A=Q.  It requires a bit of effort to get to upstate New York on opening night; there are no direct flights from our location. So I'm doubly grateful for the support of family who joined me to take in the experience.  This is very different from a large quilt convention. While you can get up close to the work at any kind of quilt show, the more intimate setting of a gallery brings a unique perspective. The environment elevates a quilt to the status of art. I love that there are so many ways to present my work. I know this is a relatively new phenomenon and it reflects c...
Read more