Finally a finished piece!

Well, we're up to our ears in kitchen renovations here, but I've still managed to find a few minutes in the studio.  I have a Machine and Free Motion quilting class scheduled in a couple of weeks, and like to beef up my technical skill a bit prior to class.  Awhile back I showed the pieced top comprised of various hand dyed mandalas that just didn't work out.  Since this will probably end up as a charity piece, I've used it to practice my quilting, and ended up with a bit of a sampler.

Here is the piece, finished with a traditional binding.  It is about 38" by 38".The red and turquoise are commercial fabrics, but everything else, including the backing, is a hand dye.

And here are a couple of close-ups of the back.

Since I've also had a goal this month of "loosening up" a bit, I didn't sweat the starts and stops.  If I could get away with it, not every loose thread is tied and buried.  :)

I plan to link this with The Needle and Thread Network and Nina Marie's  Off the Wall Friday.

Tiny example of change

The small piece I spoke of in my last post is almost finished.  It just needs to be trimmed to size and bound. It is a very simple design, and hand stitched.I considered various finishing techniques, and chose to go with tradition. This decision was based on the final use for the piece.  It is just intended for a casual challenge amongst a small group of friends. The message of the piece is more important than finishing, and once viewed, I have no further plans for the piece.  There are flaws in the design.  I have chosen to ignore them.

Here is a large view and a close-up.  The finished size will be 8 1/2" by 11".

Finding a direction

In a couple of previous posts I've described my agonizing over what is a partial "artist's block', and what is a lack of clear direction in my work.  I also came to the realization that the exploration of various techniques had become as much a part of my "comfort zone", as was my background in traditional quilting.  I also started to wonder if my insistence on developing, and demonstrating, a high technical skill level wasn't a much of a barrier to creating "art" as anything else.  Even when teaching, too high an expectation of skill can be intimidating and serve as a barrier with students.  I still believe that technical skill can only help in conveying a message as  much as basic intent.  So my developing strategy is to give myself a "break".  For the next little while I plan to concentrate on creating something--anything--and to forgive and accept technical flaws.

I accept that some of the techniques I've picked up over the years have a place, but that place is not front and center.  I accept that my background in traditional quilting and hand stitchery is what formed my interest and love of fibre, and should be acknowledged.  
The next project is created in an effort to force myself down this path.  I dyed cotton Damask because I like the look of it dyed, although I have never felt it was "elegant" enough to be in my work.  I used a fairly pastel dye.  I have been resistant to moving in that direction as I'm much more comfortable with stronger colours.  I tore strips and wove them ( OMG! Raw edges!) as I've seen this and liked the effect.  Not an original idea, I know.  My plan involves some hand work--nothing too elaborate, just running stitch.  Because I'm not sure how my arthritic hands will react, I've chosen a small size, but one for which there is a small show coming up in the near future.  The piece also presents a technical challenge in terms of how to construct and finish it, and this will hold my interest--an important part of anything creative.  It's about 1/2 done, and I hope to have pictures in a couple of days.

Dyeing-revisited

When last I posted about my dyeing, I was unhappy with a couple of pieces.  One in particular bothered me, and I've spent time thinking about it.  I decided to over-dye it.  The first attempt was useless, and only muted the bright white areas a bit.  So I tried a clamped Shibori technique.  While the results aren't great, I'm much happier with the piece, although I haven't quite figured out how I might use it.

Below are a before and after picture.

I'm going to try to link this with Off the Wall Fridays and the Needle anD thread Network

Further navel gazing

The other evening, I had the opportunity to talk with another artist whose work I admire.  We are of a similar age, and at a similar stage in life.  She, however, has lived and worked as an artist, all of her life, and only in the past few years has expanded her interest into using fibre as a medium. She echoed my concerns about artist's block.  We agreed that we are both past the age of serious messages aimed at changing society, although, IMHO, she has a constant message about ecology in her work.  More specifically, we touched on two future exhibitions that we are both somewhat committed to, and the difficulty we are having finding a relationship or message relative to the theme.

The gist of our discussion is that we are at the stage in life when we can please ourselves and not worry about society, acceptance or pleasing others.


So, building on my previous post, I accept that I need to reduce my reliance on method and tradition, and do whatever the heck I want.  To that end, I'm now playing with an idea I've had for awhile, although the method was inspired by a technique I had seen done.  That doesn't matter.  Technique can't be copyright, and I'm going to experiment and please myself.

More introspection

While this blog is sometimes used to create  a chronological trail of things I create, it's also occasionally, used for me to sort out things in my own mind.  Recently on the  Quilt Art group on the internet (   quiltart@quilt.net ) there has been discussion about the definition of an "art" quilt.  I believe that many of the quilted pieces I produce are "art" quilts, but I started as a traditional quilter and that is where I find my comfort zone.  In times of stress, that's where I retreat.  In better times, I call myself a "fibre" artist, or simply an artist, and explore many various aspects of, and techniques of, art. Recently, for whatever reason, I have struggled to find a mechanism by which I can convey a message through my art.  It would appear that, for many people, a definition of art requires that there be a message, whether overt or covert.  When I produce a piece that contains a message, in my opinion, it often fails.  There is also the problem of determining a clear message.  I seem to be confused about what I'm trying to say.  ( I guess that is clear, from the difficulty I've had expressing myself, in the words above.)

Re-reading the above I wonder if what I'm trying to say is that;  My traditional quilter's comfort zone has expanded to include a variety of techniques, and I find myself trapped in that rut, not able to  figure out how to add the "message" to my work that would turn it into "art".  OMG!  Epiphany??  I gotta think about this one!

More dyeing

There have been a couple more ice dye batches this week, and, unfortunately, I'm very disappointed with the results.  Several friends had suggested that I try using less dye, as my pieces were very dark and there was a lot of dye left over in the bath.  So I made a point of using less dye, hoping for a slightly more pastel result.  The strategy was successful, but the pieces just don't work IMHO.

The one above really bothers me, and I think I might find it difficult to work with.  It just seems so "washed out".  But the upper right corner does interest me with the delicate almost-floral motifs, shown below.  I'm thinking of cutting it down, and seeing if I could produce a smaller piece that would be satisfying.

The piece below does appeal to me, probably because it is back to my preferred darker colour scheme.  I also think the colour changes within it are sharper and more pronounced, and that's a good thing too.  Again, some of the smaller motifs within the piece attract my eye. 

The piece below was in the same dye bath as the one above, but positioned in the opposite direction, prior to adding the ice and dye. I'm fond of this one too, but not sure what I might do with it.

This last piece may just have to be labeled a failure  I have no idea what to do with it.  Have to think about that some more.

I will try to link this with The Needle and Thread Network.