A little while after I made a batch of sun prints with my children and other big fabric cyanotype experiments, I faced a pile of interesting pieces of fabric that seemed to call to me. They wanted to become something. I shuffled the pieces around and around, trying to figure out what it was.

And then it hit me: pillowcases!

So I set off to create a pair of them. The scraps we created had a wild array of patterns on them -- feathers, doilies, lace, and other tidbits. Each pillow was going to be its own puzzle to solve.

I chose the sets of feathers as a centerpiece, since they would fit nicely and were more compositionally interesting than the repetitive patterning of the laces and fabrics.

I despise wasting the limited resources that I have around the house, whether it be time, money, or the supplies I use to create my art. It's a relief to me when the remnants of something--the pieces of an old project--can become something new, useful...

...and beautiful.