During the summer of 2017, my mother had the most magnificent Ladybird Poppies growing in her garden. Just the sight of them swaying in the summer breeze would give you a high.   Unfortunately, the beautiful blooms did not last very long.  Luckily she did not cut them back but let nature take its course.  So, come autumn, they had developed into giant seed heads which were truly as wonderful as the flowers.

So don’t be too keen with the shears, when the flowers have died, as there is still more beauty to burst out.

When it came to the big tidy up in the garden, I was given a few of the seed heads.

At that stage the seed heads had hardened so I used them just like wooden printing blocks.  Firstly, I colour washed some cotton fabric with water colour paint.  I then put some acrylic paint onto a sponge and pressed the top of the seed head into the sponge to take up some paint.  Pressing the painted seed head onto the fabric left an interesting print.

 

Embroidery thread stitching and poppy seeds were added for some texture.  The end result is a textile piece, which although it is far removed from the original Ladybird Poppies, encapsulates the harvested poppies, autumn, bonfires, fireworks and thanksgiving.

 

Dee Kelly