Background Quilting of Commission Piece Underway

The hand guided machine quilting of the background really makes the motifs stand out. I begin in the smaller areas that are in the center of the piece. With every change of direction, I have to move the entire quilt. Small areas require a lot of moving in comparison to the number of stitches.


This part of the construction process goes somewhat slowly, but with each finished area, the piece is better revealed as what it will be.


This photo shows one of the challenges that I had with the colors in the piece. There are a lot of overlapping leaves in the design. I needed to make sure that it is clear which leaves are in front and which leaves are further back.


I used several different techniques to convey depth in the artwork. One technique is overlapping the edges of the motifs. Another more subtle but really important technique is the use of warmth and coolness of colors. Greens that are more yellow will seem in front of greens that are more blue. Shadows also help clarify images. Shadows are visible in the stem and in the lower leaf.

Nancy

Mountain Scenery

I mentioned in an earlier post that my friend Holly Wilkes creates amazing tapestries of mountain scenes. She lives up in the mountains and wakes every morning to fabulous views of mist, sunrises and nature unfolding in front of her. As a result, her work breathes with the mountain air and is awash in glorious colors. She captures the unfolding imagery beautifully. In the image here, you can see that she has a really good feel for creating depth in her work.

Rose Has Got Some Hips II

Rose Has Got Some Hips II - 8" x 8"

Last fall I collected some seed, berry and fruit specimens for new work. One that I especially liked was a group of rose hips. I am doing a series of small pieces that will be for available for sale at up coming exhibitions and thought these charming rose hips would be perfect for one of them. The little undeveloped rose hip was quite appealing and the bugs had found the leaves a real treat.

You can see a lot of different techniques in the leaves to show depth - for example: overlapping images, shadows, cooler colors in the back, warmer greens in the front. You can read more information on these techniques in earlier posts.

Creating Depth - VI - Quilters' Tools

Creating Actual Depth

Quilters' have the opportunity to create depth in several different ways. One technique I use is trapunto. Here is the reverse side of the top. Once the piece is quilted, these padded areas will have a definite additional dimension to them.




The two rose hips and just the tip of the small bent leaf have one layer of batting. I pinned a layer of the batting to the back of the top and sewed around the hips and the tip of the leaf.




I wanted some dimensional work inside the hips. I sewed between the two hips and then at the end of the hip where there is an indentation where the stamens were. I can increase the depth of these areas by sewing them again when they are quilted, or leave them unquilted for only small indentations.




Quilters can change the amount of depth by choosing some areas that are left unquilted and some areas that are densely quilted. We have more options that some other artists do for creating a sense of depth in our work.



The impact that the quilt line gives is largely why I love quilting rather than painting.



Nancy

Creating Depth -- Part III

The first step in creating depth is in the initial design work. Overlapping images is a very basic tool that those of us with Western art perspectives probably all understand how to interpret. Eastern art uses different techniques.

In this case the left rose hip is in front of the right rose hip. At the top right, the leaves are on three slightly different levels, the larger left leaf is in front, the partial leaf in the right corner is between the top left leaf and the lower bottom leaf.

Since this photo was taken, I added a small leaflet onto the front of the underdeveloped rose hip.


As I work with the inks, I will need to remember which leaves are in front, and consider how to make the leaf on the undeveloped rose hip appear to be in front of the hip.

The colors I choose can either make the image confusing or carry the initial design forward.

If you are an abstract artist, this may seem like it does not apply to your work, but it helps to know what makes areas move forward and move back in the visual plane so you can choose what you want it to do in your art.

Next time we will look at color choices and how they change the depth perception.


Nancy

Creating Depth in a Quilt - Part II

My second choice in creating a quilt, is to choose the fabric that will go with the design. I use hand-dyed fabrics from Heide Stoll-Weber for their subtlety. This piece was cut from a larger meter of fabric. Getting the courage to cut into her luscious fabric was one of the big challenges for me.

I choose this piece of fabric for the fall leaf color at the top that will imply additional leaves in the background. And the warm pink tones at the bottom will hint at the red rose hips. I also like the light area that will allow me some clear colors on the rose hips.

Next I begin choosing colors for the design. Given how well this piece of fabric conveys the season and mood that feels right, I will go with natural colors.

Nancy

SAQA "This is a Quilt!"

Happy New Year to all!!


Last November I had the opportunity to collect specimens for upcoming quilts. I plan on blogging on the process of creating a small, 9 x 9 inch piece for the Studio Art Quilt Associates exhibition, "This is a Quilt!".


Each of the pieces will be matted to a 8 x 8" opening and put into a traveling trunk show to demonstrate what is being done with quilts today.


This a photograph I took of a specimen of rose hips and some distressed leaves. Note the one undeveloped rose hip nestled close to the upper leaves.



Below is the design that I have created on freezer paper. I cropped closely to make it more dynamic and to produce the square format required for the exhibition. I will cut templates from the freezer paper to allow me to apply the design on fabric with inks.



I will post progress on the piece as I work. Please let me know if you find this interesting.

One of the first issues that I need to identify is what elements of the design need to come forward and what elements need to recede. This helps with choosing colors, and specifically in determining value and warmth or coolness of colors chosen. We will look at my choices next time.

First of all, the red hips are round with some wrinkles on them with dark centers.
One hip is in front of the other and is throwing a shadow on the hip behind.
The undeveloped hip's stem is in front of the stems for the other hips.
The three leaves at the top overlap each other, so the front leaf will need to come forward and the smaller middle leaf will have to drop behind the other two.
And there will need to be clarity in the leaf combinations on the upper left.
The undeveloped hip has a folded leaf on the front side of it, that will need to show the fold.

I have some challenges in front of me. I hope you will keep tuned to see how I resolve some of these issues - or if I can.

Happy quilting!!

Nancy