The Monarch

Inspiration:

Concept: A single egg laid on a pesticide-free milkweed leaf can help save the Monarchs.

The Plan: Depict a milkweed leaf with a single Monarch egg. Use the colors of the caterpillar to represent the Monarch. I started looking closely at the plants in our yard, then searched the internet for close-up photos of the milkweed leaf. Then I did a rustic sketch of my idea and did a color version on my Asus tablet. 

The Making: I wanted to use hand dyed fabric for the main body of the leaf as I didn't want a totally solid piece of green. I was glad that I had kept some samples and actually labeled them from the last time I did some dyeing. 

 Luckily I found a piece large enough and with enough variegation that I was totally happy to use it rather than dye a new piece.

 I laid out the basic leaf adding some darker green for shadow effect and possibly a red piece down the center vein. (later I chose to use thread instead of the red fabric)

I did a few sample pieces of painting in yellow veins but opted to keep it simple and clean, choosing the 'less is more' idea. 

The Monarch: created with Artistic License.....

I used gold metallic thread to stitch around the white egg to represent the importance of these tiny little pieces of nature. They are fragile and need our help.

Thank you Judy for "Artistic License". I was very inspired!