Form, Not Function 4 -- fusing

Longtime readers of this blog will know that I'm not a big fan of fusing, but I do admit that it's the only efficient way to achieve many compositions that would be much more tedious executed in piecing or applique.  Here are a few that I thought were particularly well done and artistically effective.

Echoes of Important Things, Christy Gray, 17 x 45" (detail below)

Christy Gray's small work is an austere composition of an aerial landscape, given depth by the hand-dyed fabrics and free cutting.  It's impeccably machine quilted and given a real spark by the small areas where an edge is highlighted by an inch or two of satin stitch.

Gender Equality, Kathleen McCabe, 43 x 61" (detail below)

This striking image looks from a few feet away as if it's made from mottled hand-dyes or other tone-on-tone printed fabrics.  But up close you can see that the mottling is made from tiny guns,about two inches long, cut out from a contrast color and placed on top of the background fabric.  Then each little gun shape is outlined with machine stitching.