Ritsurin Garden: Koi

I really enjoyed this challenge and struggled to narrow down the direction I was going to go with it. Thank you, Misik, for an interesting and inspiring prompt!

On my recent trip to Japan, I visited the beautiful Ritsurin Garden in Takamatsu. A gentle rain fell on the water and rippled through it. That peaceful moment was my inspiration for this piece. The repetition of the raindrops and the circles they created was my original thought, but as the piece evolved, that was replaced by the many ways repetition creeps into my work....fish are a recurring theme, layered painted organza frequently appears, parallel lines of quilting create a meditative repetitive process.....

3" x 3" squares of Japanese fabrics from Tokyo Quilt Festival form the background.

Fish patterns were created from photos I'd taken in Photoshop, which is translated into the raw-edge appliquéd koi from batik fabrics.

Silk organza was painted with dilute Dye-na-flow to create the reflective look of the surface of the water.

Final size is 18" x 36"

This was a wonderful way for me to finish and reflect on Viewpoints 9-4. Hard to imagine we have been together for 6 years now! Later this week we will start our 7th year together! The "repetitive" bi-monthly challenges are a really rich, meaningful creative process in my life and I am so grateful to be a part of V9!