All the Pretty Houses

I can't remember what prompted me to make these tiny fiber art houses but what started out as cutting up failed projects and putting the old scraps together on 5 inch squares of fabrics somehow exploded into a "cottage" industry. I'm currently on house #47, which is a commission, with no sign of stopping. There's something about the image of a small house that evokes memories, nostalgia, a sense of place, and the importance of "home".
House #1, some African fabric, wool, a piece of selvage, and a bit of embroidery, on a sunny background.

The ingredients are pretty simple: geometric pieces of fabric assembled into basic houses, a background of land and sky, machine stitching, embroidered details, beads, and yarn, quilted onto a backing, and attached to a small painted canvas to hang on the wall. They're quirky, imperfect, and slightly wonky, a bit more labor intensive than my hearts but all in all, most satisfying.



More examples:

A grouping:

A commission of the Church of St. Francis in Taos:

Another church:

More houses:

A commissioned set:

 And an English cottage for my mother, for Christmas.

These are all sold now. There are more in the works, including three more commissions. Fortunately, I have a huge stash of fabric and yarns, and infinite variations on a theme.