T-Shirt Sleeve Bag

This purse was published in 1998 by Lark Books in a book called, Making Handbags and Purses.I designed the fabric and made the purse from the cuff and sleeve of the shirt by discharging the black with bleach and then painting the discharged areas.

Buddha's Bag

I donated this purse to an organization that helps women become self-sufficient by donating money from their annual auction called, The Power of the Purse. This purse was completed in 2005. It is made from a burlap bag, gold lame, original photos printed on canvas, pieced, quilted, and hand embroidered.

Rags to Riches Purse

This was published in a Lark Book Publication called Handbags and Purses in 1998. I sold the purse at a craft show a year later. It is made from a used painter's drop cloth, photo copies of real money and a horseshoe image on the back, quilted, applique and decorative stitches.

Facebook | Art by Peggy DeBell

Facebook Art by Peggy DeBell

Red Dawg Saloon

The only saloon in town..Clearmont, WY.. Mixed Media Textile in the collection of Jen and Shannon Rabby (photos on cotton and linen, pieced, quilted, hand and machine embroidered, bottle caps, jute twine, dude ranch fabric, framed.

Kozy Shack Purse, Photo of Interior

An explanation of the process is on the next post....

Kozy Shack Purse, Interior

I printed all the fabric for the lining on my Epson printer. I used my digital camera to photograph 4 bowls of tapioca pudding placed on my red kitchen countertop. Then I used
image editing on my computer to make smaller mirror images. This made an interesting pattern. Next, I put KozyShack lids on my scanner bed and used image editing to make a kaleidoscope image.
The next post shows the front of the Kozy Shack purse. (18" x 12")

Kozy Shack Purse

30 recycled Kozy Shack tapioca pudding lids sewn to transfers of images of the lids on a painters drop cloth, recycled purse parts ( metal chain mail purse, strap)quilted, hand embroidered, lined with images of pudding in glass containers, images of the Kozy Shack pudding, ribbon, pipe cleaners, antique button, trims.

Short Bio for Peggy DeBell

I transform the mundane into the marvelous. The Red Dawg Salloon in Wyoming becomes a story in embellished imagery. Kozy Shack pudding tops are sewn on canvas to make a
fashionable bag. Buds, flowers, leaves from a spring pear tree are placed on my scanner bed. All kinds of odd surfaces run through my ink jet printer. How about printing on a recycled bird seed bag, or on soil separator fabric, or on fine linen? What will happen? How can I design the materials and images into something totally unique and beautiful? I am always questioning and exploring and have done so for almost 30 years. My main material has always been, well...material! The tools have changed. I began by painting nappy paint rollers with fabric paint and rolling it across yards of recycled sheets. Currently, I use high tech tools such as a digital camera, scanner, wide format printer, a computer and image editing software! What an evolution and it still continues!

Pillow for Persie

I made this pillow for a friend after her cat died. I have created several pillows for clients that want to give something to a friend or loved one as a memorial to their cat or dog. It is always quite a wonderful joy for them to receive the pillow. It is something they can hug.

Each one has photos of the pet that I print on cotton and piece with other fabrics and then quilt and embellish. I often use a kaleidoscope effect. Also I "clone" some of the fabric from the photographs and print that out as well to add to the pillow. The pillows always blend well with the clients decor.

"Best Kept Secrets"

"Best Kept Secrets", 43"l x 35"w x 3"d (wall hanging)

Price: 4,500.00

(On display at Bead+Fiber, Boston, Mass from April 2-May 2, 2010 )www.beadandfiber.net

Media: Photos on cotton, linen, paper:pieced, quilted, free motion stitching, hand embroidery, applique, beads, stones, scanned aspen leaves, metal button, leather, book in pouch that folds down.

"Best Kept Secrets"

"Best Kept Secrets", Detail of folding book

Plaid Mary

Title: "Plaid Mary" 25" x 20"

Media: Photos on cotton, organdy, silk;pieced, machine and hand quilted, hand embroidery, beading, antique sequins, lace, heat transfers, applique, paper flowers, crocheted years, glass

Price: 3,000.00

"Cowboy Music" (28" x 35") 2004
Artist: Peggy DeBell
Media: Photos and altered photos, inkjet prints on cotton:pieced, fused, appliqued, quilted, hand embroidered; Bottle caps, plastic, foam stars, braid, beads, leather, scrapbook finds.
Price: 2.400.00

http://www.facebook.com

Please check out my new business page on Facebook. Art by Peggy DeBell

The Three Julias

the earlies morning wonder - Google Search

the earlies morning wonder - Google Search

AOL Mail - Message View

AOL Mail - Message View

"Mourning in Appalachia"

"Mourning in Appalachia", 36' x 30" x 1", 2004

Artist: Peggy DeBell

Media: Photos and altered photos, archival inkjet prints on cotton, silk and organdy, pieced, quilted, slashed, layered, hand and machine stitched, beads, glass, paper, stones, ribbon

Price: 3,000.00

"Mourning in Appalachia"

Detail of "Mourning in Appalachia", --A red sheer panel hangs over the blackbirds..

"Mourning in Appalachia"

Detail middle panel of "Mourning in Appalachia"--6 layers of fabric, slashed to reveal hidden wildflowers of Appalachia that often get disturbed when homes are built. (photos on cotton)

"Mourning in Appalachia"

Detail of Mourning in Appalachia.. original poem, hand embroidered

"Red Shoe Magic"

"Stitched into Reality",Bead+Fiber, Boston, MA

I have 8 pieces in my one person show called "Stitched into Reality" at Bead + Fiber in Boston. "Red Shoe Magic" marked a change in my art because I had discovered the holy trinity : My new computer, scanner, and image editing software! www.beadandfiber.net

Red Shoe Magic, (27.5"L x 20"W x .5"D) 2,500.00 (wall hanging)

2002

Red Shoe Magic" began with a photograph I made of a Flamenco dance teacher in Tucson, AZ in 2002. I was visiting a friend, Norma Kwestel, and was inspired by her paintings of these dancers. The woman was wearing black heels that reminded me of the shoes worn by Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz , so I used my own magic to make red ones. The entire surface is transformed and integrated by my use of heavy hand embroidery, free motion machine stitching, heat transfers, photos that have been digitally altered; scanned and appliqued images (nautilus shell), piecing in a collage like manner, and depth added by layering and quilting.

It took about 120 hours of labor intensive work to complete this one of a kind textile.

Monday I mailed a 19x19x24" cardboard box with 8 of my most important artwork of the past 10 years in it. It cannot be insured for its true value. It is heading for Boston via The US Postal Service. From my bird's eye view, I can see the snow blowing and the wind gusting as it gets transported in a white truck with red and blue trim. If it gets lost, I want it to be lost in the semi-socialist service of this part of the United States government, and not lost by a private company such as UPS or FedEx. That is my way of being patriotic. I am trusting this government regulated agency with my textile heart. The work is not mediocre. It is quite inventive. It should be going to a museum, but I am happy to have my work shown by a fiber gallery run by fiber-hearted women in a major United States harbor city. When I get home from my house sitting job (I cannot yet make a living with my art), I will post some of this work. You won't be able to see the richness and depth of my work from these photos. So if you are in Boston anytime from March 5th to April 23rd, please see my show,"Stitched into Reality".
The name of the shop/gallery is Bead + Fiber on Harrison Blvd. in South Boston.
Please check out their website:www.beadandfiber.net. My work has not arrived yet, but there will be images on this site soon.
Many thanks to Barbara Poole, a fellow artist-in-residency who I met at the Jentel Foundation in Banner, Wyoming in 2006, for inviting me to do this show. She is a wonderful painter and felt-maker and inspired me to begin a hooping journey that is still in progress. She gave me a photo myself when I first picked up the hula hoop at Jentel. She added a rainbow and the quote from the Wizard of Oz. "Never give up. You don't know how it will end." And I haven't given up. I am just beginning.
http://www.blogger.com/www.beadand%20fiber.net
http://www.peggydebell.com

This is a composite of 2 images...Lake Santeelah in Western NC and the Sandhill Cranes in Hawassee Preserve in Tennesee.

This is the largest tote bag made from recycled woven polyester sunflower seed bags. It is quilted with hand embroidery. The interior is shown in the next post. It is in the collection of Rick and Liz Lindsay.

Interior of largest tote bag..vinyl, with 4 pockets

Birdbag Tote

Another recycled bird seed bag...this time a tote..(quilted, hand embroidered, lined)

Bird Bags

My daughter -in- law wanted a photo of her Pug on a bag. I recycled a sunflower birdseed bag made out of woven polyester by cutting out parts of the seed bag and then quilting them. The photo of her pet was printed directly onto a heavy cotton with my inkjet printer and used as a flap.

"Lullaby of Birdland"

The last art work I did was entitled, "Lullaby of Birdland". It is made of woven polyester that I printed with my inkjet printer after coating the surface with a product called INKAID. The images were scanned from sunflower seed bags and altered. Then I printed several large sheets using Epson Ultrachrome K3 inks as they are both archival and colorfast. I cut the sheets into many smaller shapes and rearranged them into a kaleidoscope, pieced them on my sewing machine, then used hand quilting, embroidery, and all kinds of embellishments. Some but not all of the embellishments include: beads, pipe cleaners, paper clips, rickrack, springs, rolled plastic beads, glass...

It is about 38" in diameter.

I picked the title for my blog, Bird's Eye View, because it came to me and just as I started typing I saw a red-tailed hawk perching on a tree. This is unusual and I am hoping that it is a good sign for the beginning of my blog!