See how "Full Circle" came full circle

Initial sketch of "Full Circle" (from the Parallel Worlds series) .

These 2 images show the subtle stitching which I did on the quilt to guide me as I added the main elements. If you look closely, you can see the cube and tunnel wrapping around it.

Now I'm just at the beginning of the problem-solving stage. I have quilted the background, including wisps of wool and silk fibers. I have also loosely stitched on the back side of the cube which will contain the main elements of the work. Because these elements will be "inside" the cube, it required 2 layers. The scary part about this idea of 2 layers, is that I had to be 100% certain that I had finished and included everything I needed inside before I effectively closed it off for good. Once I stitched on the top or "outer" layer, there was no going back. I have already done the initial stitching for the tunnel and was in the process of testing out different colors for the circle. If I remember correctly, I ended up using these colors but added an additional layer of color on top to tone it down.

The "passable wall" of the cube has been stitched with fibers to look foggy and the circle has been stitched down with it's additional colors. The image is beginning to get built up.

After including all of the figures, created by forming wet silk with a mixture of water and soluble film, I am now doing the finishing stitching around the tunnel. I had to cut away the green silk to give the impression of the tunnel exiting through the top of the cube. These edges needed to be reinforced.

The other tunnel is getting finished in this photo, including wispy silk fibers and glass beads. I don't remember why the pins are sitting there.

The cube was finished up with some soft hand-stitching (machine quilting would have looked too harsh and obvious) and many other parts were finished up with hand embroidery to accentuate the lines.

This work was featured in Patchwork Professional March 2020.

This work is in a private collection, but other works from this series are available for purchase from Roberta and Bob Rogers Gallery.