Emerging from the tear gas and smoke of the recent protests with the sun behind her, “Liberty Leads Her People” is meant to be an uplifting tribute to the strength of the modern day Black Femme led protests throughout the country. She is flanked by an owl, looking back towards the past and symbolizing the spirits of the ancestors, the mothers and grandmothers whose wisdom and sacrifice brought us to this point in history. On her other side, facing the forwards towards the future, is a sparrow, representing youth and spring. She is both a nod to the hymnal “His Eye is on the Sparrow”, which speaks to freedom, and a symbol of the youth who are the inheritors of the future. The lines behind the work show that all three generations, past, present, and future, are all connected throughout time. Completing the circle of time, are floral elements which are a reference to Alice Walker’s Piece “In Search Of Our Mother’s Garden”, which talks about the muted creative potential of Black generations past. The flowers have been chosen for their symbolic meaning. Purple and White Iris’ for wisdom, the green rose, which was used as a symbol of the underground railroad, and the bird of paradise, selected because it originates in South Africa, and was brought to America through colonization.
The painting is loosely based on the Eugene Delacroix painting “Liberty Leads The People”, which was painted during the French revolution, and spoke to the people toppling a cruel and out of touch leadership, and shows a woman leading the charge. Auz and Nico have taken this image and modernized it to the more inclusive figure leading the charge over Richmond, megaphone in hand, and demanding equity, and a brighter future for the next generation.
Liberty Birds Of Paradise Cast
This Bird of Paradise is certainly colorful and has a bit of a Jacobean element to it, but the instructions state to use six strand floss instead of yarn. This is a free leaflet from Coats & Clark’s I came across in a pile of needlework pattern odds and ends.
During the process of designing and painting, Auz and Nico went out and had active conversations within the community in regards to the current uprising. They spoke with prominent community activist Chelsea Higgs Wise about the aims of the protests and the role of womxn leading the way. The artists also led conversations at Girls For A Change’s Camp Diva Garden party with Black girls, about what change they wanted to see for Black girls in their community. They also included a series of readings, which can be found on Nico’s IGTV, that were written by Black Womxn revolutionaries such as : Alice Walker, Audre Lorde, Angela Davis, Maya Angelou, and (with special guest Nadd Harvin) Assata Shakur. During the process of painting, the artists also yielded their space to Reformation Richmond, which held a teach-in which talked about problems with systemic racism, the death and birthday of Fred Hampton, and Virginia legislation in regards to the Marcus David Peters alert, as well as ending qualified immunity. Both measures are currently struggling at the state level.
- Our large-scale Paradise Bay artwork is made up of a mix of flowers including hibiscus, bird-of-paradise and frangipani. Drawn in watercolour paints and pencils, this detailed design evokes the creeping tendrils and flourishing blossoms found growing in an idyllic tropical cove.
- Liberty Paradise Bay Tana Lawn™ Our large-scale Paradise Bay artwork is made up of a mix of flowers including hibiscus, bird-of-paradise and frangipani. Drawn in watercolour paints and pencils, this detailed design evokes the creeping tendrils and flourishing blossoms found growing in an idyllic tropical cove.
- Purple and White Iris’ for wisdom, the green rose, which was used as a symbol of the underground railroad, and the bird of paradise, selected because it originates in South Africa, and was brought to America through colonization.
Crewel Embroidery
Most of the time when I think of crewel embroidery, I think of a colorful Jacobean design done in yarn. This Bird of Paradise is certainly colorful and has a bit of a Jacobean element to it, but the instructions state to use six strand floss instead of yarn.
This is a free leaflet from Coats & Clark’s I came across in a pile of needlework pattern odds and ends. The bird of paradise is beautiful and I would imagine could be used in many ways besides embroidery.
The numbers for J&P Coats floss used for this design have changed. Fortunately, the instructions list the colors along with the numbers. In addition, I was able to pull up an image of a Coats & Clark’s ONT Six Strand Floss, Art. C. 11 color chart with coordinating numbers.
The Crewel Bird of Paradise is done in turquoise blues, hunter’s green, tropic orange and shaded yellows. As always, you are free to experiment and use whatever colors you’d like.
Patterns to Trace
Originally a transfer, the scanned pattern will need tracing to use it. The images below are in .jpg format. When you save them, you’ll be able to change their size, etc. in photo editing software. I’ve also provided a .pdf format for you to download below. Usually you aren’t able to change a PDF file.
Below is a version to trace in the opposite direction or flipped. This way you can have two birds facing each other if you’d like.
Download Instructions: Right-Click on the image. Select either “save link as” or “save image as” depending on what browser you are using. Or simply click on it, it will open in a new window, you can right click it and save it from there.
Stitch Instructions
Next is an illustration of the stitches used is included. There are french knots, satin stitch, straight and long and short stitches. All of these appear in the PDF file too.
PDF File Download
The pattern is in PDF format so to read it you’ll need the Adobe Reader software on your computer. Most computers come with it, but it is free and can be found here.
Download Instructions: Right-Click the link and select either “save target as” or “save link as” depending on what browser you are using or simply click on it and save or print.
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Enjoy!
Liberty Fabric Birds Of Paradise
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