THE
MAGIC
OF FABRIC
Art quilts by Leela Cherian
 Icon11" x 13" Poly silks, candy wrappers Layering, burning |  |  Beggar Girl's Dream30" x 57" Multitude of fabrics, handmade doll Layering, fusing, burning |
|---|---|---|
 Beggar Girl's Dream, Detail |  Burgundy Vase43" x 55" Hand dyed cottons, silks, poly silks, sheers, laces Layered and scrunched appliqué, hand embroidery, machine embroidery, beading |  Landscape8.5" x 14" Hand dyed voile Soft edge appliqué, hand embroidery |
 Lake in the Fields18" x 13" Torn fabric strips |  Yellow Town21" x 17" Cottons and poly silks Machine appliqué and quilting, whole-quilt dyeing |  Square Chrysalis42" x 42" Hand dyed cottons Machine appliqué, piecing, machine embroidery |
 Reef40" x 30" Layered dyed cottons Fused and raw edge appliqué |  The Hare and the Tortoise25" x 28" Hand dyed and commercial cottons Fused appliqué, embroidery |  Village in the Fields13" x 18" Dyed cottons, yarns Soft edge appliqué |
 Seahorse7" x 11" Hand dyed fabrics, laces, handmade paper Stuffed appliqué, machine embroidery on soluble fabric, beading |  Pot on Ledge26" x 32" Hand dyed fabrics, silks, laces, yarns Layered and scrunched appliqué |  Village by the River21" x 22" Hand dyed and commercial cottons Fused appliqué, machine piecing, quilting |
 Prince on Horseback29" x 37" Based on a Mughal miniature painting I saw in a museum when visiting Zurich. Cottons, satin, lace Painted, "antiqued" background, padded horse and prince, dimensional tree and leaves |  Hanging Basket25" x 27" Dyed cotton background, laces Layering on background, scrunched and sculpted flowers |
I was blown away by an exhibition of Russian icons I saw in London many years ago. So much rich, gilded magnificence in a darkened room. Then I came across a technique described in Maggie Grey’s Workshop on the Web (WOW) online publication and it was the perfect way to celebrate old, peeling images. Metallic foils, candy wrappers, fabric and thread and polyester overlays are used in this technique and then the soldering iron and the heat gun “distress” the piece. Fascinating. I did a number of these icons. Some were totally destroyed by the time I’d finished with the heat gun! But many were successful and have given me some much-loved gems.