2016 First Place, Non-Professional Mixed Media

Stump work is one of my favorite needle art techniques. The ability to use wire, fabric and thread to create a realistic design, seems to me, to have endless possibilities. I love the complexity of the passion flower with its exotic stamens and twisting vines and many petals.

I painted paper covered wire to the appropriate colors before covering the wire with thread, wrapping the wires for the vines and stems, and couching them to organza fabric for the petals. The leaves and birds wings were stitched on a fabric foundation. The nest and body of the birds were shaped with felt and then covered with embroidery thread. I experimented by using Beetle wings for the head and breast of the male hummingbird.

The branch is a piece of petrified cactus that my husband found when we went camping about 30 years ago; I had kept it in my stash all this time because I knew it was special and eventually I would find a use for it. I also utilized beads and a purchased ladybug to complete my design.

The completed piece with then nailed to a wooden base for display.