Forest in the Northwest by Sharon Barrea

This is a piece of Congress cloth that I painted with water-color paints and then stitched using many different kinds of thread and various other materials. I used cheese-cloth dyed with the paint rinse water, tyvek-heat shrunk, wool for felting, wonder-under pressed on fabrics, such as velvet and interfacing.

My goals were to achieve perspective and depth through the use of texture and color. The shadow box frame was picked to lead the viewer's eyes into the depth of the forest. The design on the frame repeats the trees in the piece. These were elements I used to enhance the feeling of depth in the forest. Another part of my goal was to make the stitches and threads portray how I wanted them to interpret the trees. This is not a piece to depict exact realism, but leaning more towards a little bit of surrealism.

I would like the many stitches, textures, and greens to give the effect, in the eyes of the viewer, of a forest in the beautiful Northwest!

I think it is quite apparent that I'm a true lover of the Pacific Northwest--.