Quilting on the Edge

Tuesday's Two Cents: Art Quilt Challenge Piece: Fractured Quilts

I think I mentioned a few posts ago that I had joined a challenge group online, here is the small quilt I just completed for our second challenge.  The challenge was to use three colors, do fracturing, or breaking up the background, and create  something that had wings.  I had a great photo under a bridge, by the Gulf waters, which I used for inspiration.  I did a lot of fracturing, or breaking up into pieces. There are three distinct sections, the top is the bridge area, the middle is the water, and the bottom section is the beach are.  I added the heron as the winged thing, of course, his wings are not visible but they are part of him nevertheless.  If you click on the photo it can be seen in greater detail.  The size is 14.5 inches by 13 inches.  Fracturing is an interesting technique, it can add dimension or interest to an otherwise plain background.  I used the secondary colors of orange, purple, and green.  I'll add a photo below of the inspiration photo too.  These challenges are sort of like a problem to solve, so it's always fun to see how what turns out.  There were many other great pieces from other members of the group.  We post our pieces to a blog, and then comments are made by others in the group, and best of all, we learn about ways to improve our design, what could be added, and of course, we get compliments too which we all can use!  Here's the inspiration photo.

Tuesday's Two Cents: Fabric Dyeing of Thrift Shop Find

Remember this?  This is the design on a duvet cover, king size, that I bought along with two pillow shams, for 5 bucks at a thrift shop before Christmas.  Saturday, I finally had time to dye, so I cut the duvet into many pieces and went at it with different colors of dyes to create about 28 new pieces for my art quilts.   Next is a photo of all the fabrics I dyed lying in a collection.  If you'd like to see them better, you can view a short video by clicking on this link: http://s604.photobucket.com/albums/tt124/chrispredd/Dyed%20Fabrics%201%2031%202010/?action=view&current=20100131120727.flv

I'm thrilled with all my results, and hope you like them to.  The video really helps to see them better.  

Artist Trading Cards

If you're not familiar with artist trading cards, they are small pieces of quilt art, 2 1/2 by 31/2 inches.  I joined a group this year that will make and trade these cards.  Our first theme was to use the color red on our cards.  Six people participated in this first exhange.  These are the five I made to send to the others.  I used recycled art quilt pieces for the backgrounds, adding the images from my photo collection.  The walking man is from a quilt I made, I cropped out his image and printed it on lutrador, then applied it to the card. Layer with batting,and  timtex or another rigid item.  Edges are bound with satin stich, the back is card stock paper.  They're about the size of a baseball card when done.  When I receive mine, I'll post a photo of the ones I was given.  I've heard of these before, but often wondered why I would bother to make such a small item.  Then, a friend asked me to join the group, so I said why not?  Guess what?  It's really fun to make them.....and fun to create art in such a small space.  Looking forward to next month's theme.  maybe something you would like to try......save those bits of quilted fabric you may trim off your other projects........they could be perfect for this!  Or, create an ATC (artist trading card) from the scraps of the quilt you made, then leave it with the quilt to write info about your quilt on the back.  Or as a gift card if you give it away.........ideas!!!

Tuesday's Two Cents: Inner Child Art Quilt Progress

So here's where I am on the Inner Child quilt I've started within the past ten days or so.  I added two more images.......the clearest one is in the 'cave', or dark area, and the other two lose their focus as they proceed out away from the dark area.  Maybe I should call it a closet.    I like it so far, altho I am not finished.   As I've worked on it, I began to understand that I was thinking about our childlike tendencies in creative work......and how as we get older, we often become judgmental of our work, and more restrictive in what we do and try creatively.  We no longer work with a child's mind of freedom, and let ourselves just create.  Instead, we analyze, over study, and sometimes fear that we'll make a mistake.   I know I'm not the first one to talk about this, as I've read about it many times. And I know I'm not the first one to experience this phenomenon.  My piece here is showing that the inner child is like a ghost outside of the confines of our inner space, wanting to get out but just really invisible around us as we work. Food for thought anyway.  This piece is resting on my design wall now as I figure out what to do next.  I have to admit, this has taken a turn I did not expect.  Isn't that the fun part about creativity?  You never know what it will end up being, until you finish making it. 

Art Quilt: Threaded Petals

I finished another one of the projects I left hanging on my design wall when I left for the holidays.  The final size is 16.5 inches tall, 21.5 inches wide.  The background is collage, free motion quilted with vines and leaf patterns. The flowers are extensively quilted with threads for the petals.  I added the white centers to the flowers for added attraction.   I wanted to create a lot of movement in the background, and use fabrics with interesting motifs for exploration by the viewer.  This quilt is available  on my website, click on http://www.christinepreddquiltart.com/for further information.   

Tuesday's Two Cents: Crayolas and Living Simply

So I bought a box of 64 crayons while Christmas shopping.....I was at Keeton's, an  art supply store in Bradenton, and I was attracted to the display and I guess my inner child started salivating. Yesterday I finally had the chance to open the box and look inside.  I was surprised at my reaction......you see, all my childhood I usually had the box of 8 crayons, sometimes 16, and rarely, the box of 24.  I must have been thrilled with the 24 I imagine, and here I was a half century later with a brand new box of 64 crayons. I smiled to myself and just took a second to view all those wonderful colors!  Where was my coloring book????  Anyway, I was planning to color out a quilt pattern I was thinking about, so I reached for red.  First I picked brick red.  Then I picked strawberry red.  All I wanted was plain ole red.  I settled for something and went to find blue.  Same experience, only now I chose coneflower blue first.  I found the regular blue on the second try.  Same thing happened when I wanted yellow.  I decided I would have to find a container to put all the crayons into so I could more easily find what color I wanted, but I didn't do it then, nor yet.  I don't want to disturb the lovely presentation of all those colors.  It occurred to me that maybe I was happier with fewer crayons.  Not so many choices to make.  Maybe not.  I realized this was more than about crayons though.  It was about having more than I needed.  Kind of like having the bungalow, or the apartment, versus the McMansion.  Or a closet full of clothes, most of which hang there waiting, because we usually select our favorites over and over again.  Then this thought morphed into the "grass is always greener" story.  A box of crayons, most wished for as a  child, no longer holds the magic I assigned to it back then.  Maybe it never did.  Maybe it was more of a symbol of being better off.......having more than I needed?  Maybe I thought as a child it would somehow improve me, or my image to others?  Maybe I would feel like I "belonged" with all the others I knew who usually had the 64 crayon box.  Maybe I just coveted more for the sake of more.  A lot to think about.  I'm relieved to say, though, that a half century later I'm well past it,have been for some time,  and I don't mean just with crayons.  A simpler life is fine.........but maybe, for me and for some of you too, you have to have the bigger and better, before you realize all you really wanted was the simple. Simple makes you free to be the person you want to be, the one you already are.  Simple opens up avenues you never imagined, because things are not keeping you.   It's funny how a box of crayons can remind us of the value of simplicity.  Today I'll find a plastic little container, and dump out the crayons so I can really use them.  I guess I won't be tempted to get the bigger box again anytime soon.  I am reminded of the wonder of simplicity.  How about you?  

Link for Monoprinting Instructions from Quilt Art Magazine

http://quiltingarts.com/media/p/13878.aspx Here's the link to Quilting arts magazine instructions on monoprinting fabric.......if you join their site, you can download instruction of surface design techniques.  These are the instructions I followed to do monoprinting as described in the previous post.

Tuesdays' Two Cents: Monoprinting on Fabric

The cold weather has given me cabin fever.......and I was stumped on my latest piece Inner Child......so I decided to try my hand at monoprinting on fabric today and had great success!!  Here's all the fabric pieces I did, each piece is about 18 by 24, some smaller.  Here's the technique:  On a piece of glass, I squirted out acrylic paint, added matte gel medium, and combined the two and painted over the surface of the glass plate with either a foam brush, or a regular paintbrush.  Then, I made a design into that surface.......I used a plastic scouring pad, the side of a ruler, a putty knife, even some bubble wrap.  After your do the design, you lay your piece of PFD fabric,(prepared for dyeing), flatten it out with a brayer or roller, then remove the fabric, and voila!  you have a printed piece of fabric.  I had heard this was fun and could be addicting, and I can see how.  Here's some photos of the pieces of the fabric I created today!  My favorities are the ones done with scouring pads swirls, but all were fun, I recommend it!  Click on the photos for a better view.

These are just some of them, but you get the idea. I can just imagine that someday these fabrics will be just right for an art quilt! 
 
 
 
  

Art Quilt: Step 2 Inner Child

Here are the beginnings of the art quilt I started combining the photo of the sad child and the inspirational piece that reminded me of a cave.  I have sewn together the black cave area and the yellow strips around it.  The rest of the fabrics are just lying there.  The child is transfered to lutrador and is just sitting there while I determine where I want him to go.  I'm considering making more transfers of the photo in various sizes and somehow including them in this piece.  I'm not sure I'm finished with the child either.....I like the exit from the cave, as it narrows it seems to limit the possibilties of leaving the cave.  I think I need to do something to the background of the black area yet also.  Just wanted to keep you posted if you are following along.  This is incomplete for sure.  One of my friends lamented that this would be a depressing piece.........I hope you can think of it more as thought provoking instead of sad.  will post more as I go..........right now it measures 24 by 36 inches, unsewn.

Tuesday's Two Cents: Art Quilts Around the World

Here's a fun thing to do.......since many of us are in frigid weather with snow and ice, this is something you may enjoy.  Click on the following site that I have attached: http://taggalaxy.de/    when you get there, type in art quilts as your tag, then click on quilts....... watch what happens!   I found one of my pieces on the globe......at least I think it was mine, it was the Snail's Trail quilt pattern, guess it was taken off my website.  Oh well......enjoy it!