Multiple Dimensions

I'm in one of those excited states of creativity where I feel expansive and eager to keep pushing my edges. Yesterday I replenished my photo bank with nearly 300 new images, taken while at Glendale Gardens, including the one directly above, which seems like leaf colouring an artist might have dreamed up, but they really are pink as well as green! From there I played with layering some of the images - if I had Photoshop and much more know-how, I would take this further then these basic combinations. Yet even as simple as they are, they capture an element of meaning and offer a quick surprise stimulus for my designing ability. The pink water lily was only a tiny bit in one of my photos, yet by cropping and combining it with the stone statue, I was still able to crudely express what I wanted. I enjoy the play of responding to what catches my eye when I take photos, as well as where my imagination has me staging specific shots. The process can also be contemplative, as I tune in to what's before me and really see it, taking care to frame it to best advantage. The layering process is something I am also wanting to explore further with fabric. Ever since making my first art quilt, I have sought to express dimensionality, wanting to show varying depths and movement between inner and outer worlds - that place of 'betwixt and between'. Initially I worked with fabric collage techniques, and after subsequently learning how to dye, foil, use oil sticks, etc, I have combined them in quilts. But I'm also interested in creating a finished piece of cloth that is layered with combined techniques and is beautiful on it's own. Towards this end, I have signed up for a 'Mark Making on Fabric Intensive' course with Hilary Young at a local art school, for a week in August. I had just been aware of this burgeoning desire to make some complex cloth when a fellow art quilter mentioned the course. Another event I want to mark is a recent pricing bee I participated in. Along with other art quilt group members, I laid out several of my quilts with a piece of paper beside each and then everyone went around anonymously marking down what price they would pay for the quilt, followed by folding the paper with the sum on it, over, so that the next pricer wouldn't be influenced. I had assessed one of my art quilts without considering materials, time, or complexity and chosen a price that just felt 'right', prior to doing the bee, to see how close my estimate matched that of the others, once I added them up and divided by the number of estimates. Interestingly, it was the same. I found the discussion about how we each price our art to be engaging and stimulating, and I only wished there might have been more time to enjoy the lovely work without focusing on coming up with a value.

Inside Out

I'm getting close to completing this quilt which I call 'Inside Out'. The name appeared in my mind unexpectedly when I wasn't thinking about it. When I make an art quilt, the meaning unfolds along with the creating and the center of both original pieced blocks that I combined to make this, have flowers in full bloom. While that certainly mirrors what's happening in my garden, I also note how I felt the need to expand the bouquet beyond the confines of the center square, beyond two dimensional into 3D with the help of thread and batting, taking what's 'inside, out'. Creating is like this too - pushing past boundaries into the unknown, reaching for the next vista, making our vision concrete, adding a splash of colour to the world - and that's how we grow. The neon orange thread that echo quilts the bouquet gives a sense of vibration, to emphasize the vital and radiating energy of blooming in motion. The puzzle style quilting is the unknown - that place of mystery we enter when we create. The tablecloth base speaks to the need to have stability out of which to grow, and the horizontal quilted stitch on either side of the vase represents what is known - my experience and learning that are already established. I plan to add beads, a sleeve and signature. Many of the pieces I saw at FAN's 'Elements' show were simply signed with fabric marker on the back and I may choose to do that, as well. The photo directly above this writing shows a tiny piece of much quilting I had to undo because it went awry - I rethreaded and the problem disappeared and it happened because I didn't fully unthread the machine when I spun a bobbin. Even though I should know by now that shortcuts do not work and end up creating much more work in the end - I still take them now and then!