PLaying around with Ideas

I am back from New Zealand- it really was a flying visit- managed to refrain myself from buying some of the wonderful books, Anne Scott has in Minerva Gallery in Cuba Street in Welllington, though several did nearly come home.... I finished my bushfire/Extreme conditions quilt- even did some more stitching on the aeroplane so that passed the time- and in the end it did come together. It willbe shown at Minerva Gallery along with the work of 10 others interpreting the theme Climate Change in June of this year.

But I have been straining at the bit to get working on some icon image ideas I have had. I always did want to include some icon imagery in my Carvanserai exhibition, because I encountered them quite readily whilst in Syria in the Christian churches , but also from places such a Sedanaya and Maloula. The icon images I encountered were definitely of a byzantine or orthodox influence- and I must admit that some fo the stitching I do is heavily influenced byt the richness of colours of byzantine and medieval tiling. So this little image shown here is a prototype- I wanted her to be modern at the same times as byzantine- in the end I think it looks as if the image has had botox . I used this round shape first to see what I had in mind would work but I can see many other shapes that I could work with less icon like but with the potential for stitching and decoration. Tha facial image is inspired by a medieval wood block print.