“Selfie” is my latest Esterita Austin (see esteritaaustin.com) type portrait. I’ve been working on it since October of 2015. I used commercial print batiks fabrics from vendors at the Pacific International Quilt Show last year. Working with these fabrics was challenging! As you can see, it is impossible for these fabrics to look natural! But, neither do any of the earlier portraits I made with quite bold unconventional hand dyed facial fabric. It is just fun to try to make it work!
I appreciated the fun that eminated from this “selfie” and wanted to see if I could make it into a quilt. I got the idea to try making this quilt 10” x 10” from a magazine. I thought a square would be an interesting shape for a portrait quilt. I traced the image to make a pattern that is traced onto freezer paper and a black background simultaneously. Then, you are set to go! Select your fabrics and begin auditioning each piece to create the face. See how to do it all in Esterita Austin’s step by step video Dynamic Fabric Art Portraits (Shop.QuiltingDaily.com). I have put some photographs below to show the progression of making this mini quilt.
The newest thing I tried with this portrait was using a severe demarkation between lighter and darker fabrics and then blending the line with paint. This is especially noticeable with the jaw line and the side of the face. See the comparison below:
The photo - A selfie of my Grandneice
Making a Pattern
Selecting the first piece is the hardest!
And you keep going until the pattern is all filled in...
This time I tried to make the hair separately, but I am not a fan of that technique!
The “Unpainted” Portrait
Painting the Portrait
See the blending of the severe light jaw with the shadow underneath by using paint!
Changed the shadow piece around the face on the forehead from the photo above
The Portrait and the Portrait Quilt
The Final Portrait - 10" x 10"
Close Up
The point of these portraits is to make your own interpretation of a photograph - what does it shows you? I saw the happiness and appreciation of youth, the fun of trying to look nice in a “selfie,” (not an easy thing to do) and the pride of accomplishment, even as it was happening! I agree, it’s a great “selfie."