My studio work this week has involved discoveries in the surface of a quilt-in-progress.

(This is the continuation of the work I wrote about last week, adding an architectural element and an old truck to a large surface filled with patterns of water and rust.)

Here’s the work as it’s on my easel now: almost done. (It’s about 38”H x 55”W)

I think some interesting things have happened.

First, most obviously, is that the quilt is now more clearly “about “ something. Before, it alluded to the elements of water and metal creating rust. But the process wasn’t applied to anything big to see in the picture plane. I did not have a visual anchor. Now it’s about specific things rusting: the barn and the truck.

Second, there are more layers to discover. I did not want the barn and truck to just be plopped on top of what I’d already done. I wanted to integrate them into the layers. As I worked, it was almost like the experience of a natural force (like rusting) being applied to an image. I was trying to push these new elements in the background.

The roof line of the barn intersects elements around it.

The truck is both in front of and behind other elements around it.

To be there. But not completely there.

Waiting to be discovered.

Finally, a surprise that pleases me. There is now more movement through the work. Movement is important in a viewer’s experience of a work, and sometimes difficult to control. You want there to be a way or a place to enter the work. And want some flow of movement once the eye is in the picture plane.

I’ve created several possible entry points.

Maybe the first place you look is the barn. If so, then there are elements to guide you up and around n a counterclockwise circle: the blue gear is in movement. It connects to the larger gear above it, which draws your eye up to the top right where the other gears are in motion, leading you down finally to the lower right and the intense blue water.

Maybe the first place you look is the truck. Following the direction of the hood, it’s almost pointing like an arrow down to the lower right and the water, then up through the gears sections and around in a clockwise motion to the barn, then back to the truck.

I was thinking this week about art that is powerful. I realized that, in my own appreciation of other artists’ work, a simple test is if I can remember the work later. If I’ve discovered enough in it that I can remember what spoke to me.

I am hoping that this re-working takes images that I liked and has re-connected them in ways that do that more.

. . . . . . . .

Do you enjoy listening to artists talk about their work? You might enjoy listening to my upcoming artist interview with Artburst Studios. (It’s a it of PR for the online Artburst show I’ll be part of in November.)

You can register at this link and Artburst will send you an email  reminder and a zoom link the day before.

https://artburststudios.com/artburst-live/

For all the artmakers: Happy creating
For all the art lovers: Happy appreciating 

Thank you for reading.
I always enjoy questions and comments.
--Bobbi

bobbi@bobbibaughstudio.com

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