Sunday, August 16, 2009

Back to Square One

After a couple of sleepless nights, a WAQ meeting (where I think nobody knew just what to say!), and an hour or so trying to figure out quilting designs- I have decided that this



just will not work. The negative space doesn't work, and I think I am trying way to hard to make my fabric be the idea. So I'm scrapping it.

Since I have four pieces I printed, I thought I would see what would happen if I cut it in strips and rearranged.



Nope. Maybe for a border, but it doesn't work on its own. So I'll toss these in my drawers where I keep bits of fabric for smaller pieces, and start over. (I will, however, keep this fabric in mind if I ever decide to do a Rohrshak quilt!)

How I am interpreting 'Passages' hasn't changed- stages of life, life passages we all go through, from birth to death. And, I want it to be abstract, not pictorial. So I came up with a shape, drew it in several sizes and iterations, and started playing.



I did a couple of designs with these shapes, then added circles in different sizes. Here's the two designs I came up with.



The bottom one just has way to much going on for me- it feels busy, no place to rest. I may try a couple of others, but reverse my process- figure out the circles first, and then add the second shape, which I want to predominate. And, I remembered why I wanted some vacant negative space- I may decide to add some text.

I want to get back to where I was when I made 'Out of the Blue'- it all just seemed to flow, nothing felt forced. And that one definitely started with fabric, but it was lots of fabric that shared some design elements. So how to find that flow again? I'm toying with doing some disciplined design exercises out of a couple of books I own. I'm also trying to figure out a more disciplined process with the photography- finding the shots that are under my nose that I'm not seeing now. When I figure it out, you'll know.

And, for something totally different- yesterday Shannon and I went to the Provo farmer's market again, and had lunch at a couple of vendors. We found Thai food that was good, and topped it all off with Hungarian crepes- filled with Nutella, topped with whipped cream and strawberries. Yum!



i will be getting my lists and supplies ready for my trip to Grand Junction on Thursday- I don't want to forget anything. My handout is ready, just need to photocopy it, grab a couple of dye colors from my stash, and get it boxed. I am so looking forward to getting away for a couple of days to spend it with folks who like fabric, quilting, and art as much as I do.


1 comment:

Rayna said...

Beverly, you gave up too soon. You had a first layer and I'm surprised that you didn't keep going and print another layer. Oh, well. I have plenty of my own cut-up strips.

I empathize with the frustration of trying to make something work that just doesn't seem to come together. I have had a piece in my head for years that I still can't make sucessfully.
Why don't you just put this one on the back burner and do something else in the meantime? It might just come to you out of nowhere while you're not looking!