zebra art quilt, part one

A new art quilt in the works - two zebras. I've created the zebras using fused applique and the whole thing is temporarily fused to white muslin. I plan to cut away the excess muslin and then fuse the whole thing directly onto a colorful background fabric. So ignore the white background for now.

Also, once I start stitching the zebras, some of the exaggerated color around the eyes, for example, will be muted a bit when its covered in thread.

The stitching is truly the best part and I intend to change the character of this significantly once I start adding the line element with thread. The idea is to make this look more like fur, less like fabric... I'll also add the mane and whiskers with thread.

In the meantime, here's a look back at the progress from the last 5 days or so... in reverse order.

I actually started by drawing the image on paper. Then I converted that to applique shapes and covered both bodies with a layer of white applique (using dozens of different white and white on white prints) in order to properly form the zebra body shape. Next, I laid different shades of black over that - paying close attention to following the outline of the white shapes. I think this step will help create depth in the image... that's the plan anyway, versus just laying down one long strip of white next to one long strip of black. In my opinion, that would make the image quite flat.

I should add that this image is based on a photo that I took in Tanzania a few years ago when my husband and I went on a photo safari. Quite an adventure.

This my second black and white animal - so I have now officially launched a series. (My first art quilt series in fact.) Here's the first in the series.

Stay tuned for the next step. Fuchsia will be involved!