Orange Art Flags

Oh, I’ve been having fun making art flags!  Mine are very simple:  orange nylon fabric with orange grosgrain ribbon glued on.  (Which is hard to see in a photo.)

Click any image for a larger view
Art flags by Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog
I was inspired by pojagi, which is Korean patchwork made with translucent fabrics.  Their beauty appears when they’re backlit, and the pattern of the seams becomes evident.  To see if I was achieving the desired effect,  I auditioned them on my kitchen window.  Awesome!  It seemed to be working.

Art flags by Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

I joined the five flags a to a long narrow sleeve.  A wire will be threaded through it for hanging.  Next, it was time to try them out in the yard.

Art flags by Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

 Ooh, me likey.  What about the backlit view?

Art flags by Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Yes!  I’m loving this!

Why am I making art flags?  To go here.

F.I.T. Melbourne, FL

This covered walking bridge is on the campus of Florida Institute of Technology, in Melbourne, FL.  It leads from the parking lot to the Ruth Funk Center for Textile Arts, which will be hosting an art quilt exhibit this summer.  So, about a dozen regional SAQA artists will be decking the bridge with art flags.  Won’t that be cool?  I can’t wait to see it!

I know you’ll want to see it, too, so mark your calendar for May 15 – August 22, 2015.  Those are the dates for the Southern Accents quilt exhibit and the flags will be up for the entire time.

BTW, I intended to make these in white, but the white nylon wasn’t quite sheer enough.  Besides, this orange was calling my name for some reason.  (Maybe because of the Central Park Gates from a few years ago?)

Also, I experimented with adding color to the individual sections of the flags, but this made them more opaque.  Not what I wanted.

Art flags by Ellen Lindner, AdventureQuilter.com/blog

Ellen Lindner

10 Comments

  1. Gabriele says:

    The flags look great! Mine are done too . It is going to be a very interesting display!

  2. Jenny Goodson says:

    The orange will look beautiful on the bridge! This spot is what I consider one of the hidden treasures in Melbourne…Can’t wait to see it all covered with color! 🙂

  3. Annette Rogers says:

    Those are really cool! Is the fabric all the same? Is it cut in squares then resewn back together? Is that what makes the different colors in them? How did you finish the seams? The SAQA show will be great too. Wish I could see it.

  4. VERY cool idea and execution. Love these!

  5. ellen says:

    I can’t wait to see yours Gabriele, and especially to see all of them installed!

  6. ellen says:

    You’re right, Jenny. The bridge and the adjacent garden are both lovely spots. It will be REALLY cool when the flags go up!

  7. ellen says:

    Hi Annette, these are super easy. The fabric is ripstop nylon and there are no actual seams. I glued grosgrain ribbon in place to create the look of seams. I used Unique Stitch as the glue.

    I did pink the edge of the nylon and then later covered that edge with grosgrain. Since grosgrain sometimes navel, but is made of nylon, I used my craft soldering iron to melt some of the wayward edges. Just where needed.

  8. ellen says:

    Thanks, Betty. Wouldn’t you love to see a collection of these?

  9. Chris says:

    I saw the gates when they were in Central Park. I did a fragmented quilt last year in my master class with EB based on a photo of the gates. Trees, snow, orange gates. Here is a link to the quilt. http://chrissquiltinguniverse.blogspot.com/2014/12/i-need-title.html

    Love your orange flags.

  10. ellen says:

    Hey Chris,

    I REALLY like your quilt. I think it captures the contrast of orange fabrics and bare branches very nicely. (You’re really good with branches.)