Because the winter months are dedicated to designing fabric, I try to limit my teaching schedule during that time. It takes a lot of concentration to design a line of fabrics, which is usually about 9 or 10 designs in three different colorways. Sometimes the muse needs more coaxing, but this season the designs fell into place smoothly and I was actually able to turn in my work ahead of schedule. So this has afforded me some luxurious time at home to pursue a few activities on my wish list.
First of all, I have created some beautiful art prints based on some favorite fabric designs. They are limited editions printed in archival ink on heavy rag paper. Each 8.5″ by 11″ print is signed and dated.
Their graphic clearity and matte finish are truely stunning.
Next, I have been casually taking online classes at
Lynda.com in Adobe Illustrator. For a small fee, you can take classes in almost any software. You can learn at your rate on on your own schedule. Which in my case means watching the same lesson several times in a row, so it will finally sink in!
But even more exciting is that I have found a Bernina machine embroidery coach to guide me through some of the basics for digitizing and stitching some of my own designs. This is something I have dreamed about for years, but don’t have a regular schedule to take training in a traditional class. I will show you some of the results, as I learn more.
But the lions share of the time has been spent working on a new art quilt. After so much time with computers, I really needed to get up to my elbows in fabric. This quilt is part of the Totem series. I guess my brain has been in a symetrical mode lately. I began knowing that I wanted to use characters from my own environment, including seeds and salamanders.
You can see the evolution of the design from photo to photo. I start with a few given shapes or objects and let it grow. I like to just jump in and make the pieces directly into fabric. Even if a few extra shapes get made and rejected, I know that they will be the taking off point for a future piece.
The spring weather has also been an inspiration. The snowbells and crocus are up and the sharp little fingers of tulips and hostas are poking through the blankets of old oak leaves. So my imagination wandered over the garden to anticipate some favorite summer flowers and portray them in this new quilt.
This kind of collage is putting together a puzzle. The shapes get moved and nudged until they find their proper place and then the details get filled in. Below you see the basic composition pinned to the wall.
Below, through the magic of Photoshop, you can see an approximate version of the final layout with the anticipated black frame. This Illinois Album Quilt will measure around 65″ wide by 75″ high. But first I need to assemble and embroider the independent units before they can be appliqued to the background.
So I have lots of quality stitching time to look forward to!! That means many books on tape, too, so I’d better head for the library and stock up.
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on Wednesday, March 24th, 2010 at 3:24 pm and is filed under Uncategorized.
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