Original textile art and traditional paintings by Bertha Day, St Andrews, New Brunswick

About the Techniques Used in the Work

My inspiration comes from the ever-changing coastal scenery and wildflowers around St Andrews, New Brunswick.

Textile work:
The backgrounds in the wallhangings and cushions are painted and look very much like watercolors. I use colorfast painting dyes on cotton fabric.

The grasses and flowers are a combination of traditional embroidery, free motion machine work, and ribbon embroidery. Because I design the work as I go along, each piece is truly different. The way the colors work together and the texture of the materials influence the final piece.

From the beginning wearable art has been a signature craft for me. One of a kind vests and bags made from vibrant velvets and embellished with free motion and ribbon embroidery are ever popular. Within the last few years I've added the exciting "Splendid Cat" doorstops to my product line.

Traditional paintings:
Although my landscapes and flowers are painted with acrylics, they have the soft edges of watercolors. This 'soft' look was influenced by the early days of my work.

When I first started to paint I was working only with fabrics and using painting dyes. While I learned, I used watercolor books as teaching aids, so my work often has a 'watercolor look'. Now I use acrylics as most artists use watercolors, and I choose either watercolor paper or canvas as the support for my traditional work.

My print series "Scenes of New Brunwick" are from some of my original acrylics.

Click on the picture at right for a larger image.

A piece of my work is an easy way to have
the 'maritime feeling' in your home year round.