This will be an “in-between” week in the studio.
This past weekend, I completed the online exhibit with Artburst Studios. (Many thanks to the patrons who took home my artwork from that event.)
This coming weekend I will be exhibiting in-person in downtown DeLand (my hometown) at the Fall Festival of the Arts DeLand.
My car is packed. The work is ready except for finishing touches.
So this seems like a good week to take a look at a recently-created work.
This is “Knowing What Is”
“Knowing What Is” Art Quilt (37”H x 26”W)
I was pleased with the outcome of this piece, and I think it offers some interesting things to discover and learn.
WHOLE CLOTH CONSTRUCTION
Generally, I work in the method of most quilters: I create small sections and then sew them together. On this work, I wanted to experiment with creating the look of a quilt created in sections without actually doing that. So, I started with a piece of muslin the final size and sectioned it off with masking tape as I created each section. I found that it made me very aware of composition as I progressed.
COLOR AND ITS SURROUNDING
One of the challenges I gave myself in creating this work was to explore ways to work with a single color and still achieve variety. In the section above, the background color of the top (grassy-shapes) section and the circles section below is the same color. They look different because of the color that is next to them.
POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE
I used the same grass forms on my printing plate as stencils, but reversed the colors. In the top section above, I started with the darker blue on my fabric then printed the lighter over top as a monotype. In the bottom section, I painted the lighter color as the background then printed the darker over top as a monotype. Same image. Different applications of color.
The stripe in the middle is one more variation. The teal background is the same as the teal in the sections above and below. The shape of branches is screen printed on top, using the same teal color with a lot of white mixed in.
HELLO BIRD
The crow was the final addition to the work. I screen printed the branches. Then I painted the bird directly on the almost-finished quilt with semi-transparent paints. I frequently use birds in my work. Sometimes, I cut them out of painted fabric and collage them as raw-edge applique pieces. This allows me to move them around the work to find just the right spot. It is less prone to mishap.
In this case, I knew where I wanted the bird to be, and I wanted it to allow some of the background to show through.
Finally, when I step back and look at the finished work, I see how important color is to a work. I love color and I love mixing colors. Varying the patterns, values, and the side-by-side neighbors of a color can create a work with both harmony and variety.
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If you would like to learn more about this art quilt, it is on my website HERE
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This is my last opportunity to invite you to DeLand’s downtown Art Festival. If you are near Central Florida, I hope you will drop by. (I’m right at the center of the Festival layout, booth 133.) It’s a wonderful Festival in a delightful downtown.
For all the artmakers: Happy creating
For all the art lovers: Happy appreciating
Thank you for reading. I always enjoy questions and comments.
--Bobbi
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