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Tuesday 31 May 2011

Fresh ... air and peace

I almost feel like a bit of a fraud posting something so simple in it's construction - painted fabric with simple machine quilting, but arriving at this point was a long process.

For a long time I couldn't let go of the idea of "minty freshness" and toothpaste (Maybe the stripes remain?) but wasn't able resolve a design for this. Then that Elizabeth Barton blog article popped up and I was amazed at how different our interpretations of 'Fresh' were. For some reason the differences validated my ideas and I began to doodle both physically and mentally. Fresh for me relates to calm and peace, I could hear waves gently lapping ........ then I remembered my daughter being delighted by the action of the tide making 'her' beach fresh for her to play on each day whilst on holiday.

I had intended to machine quilt foam along the 'wave crests' then heavily embellish the 'sea' (Hence the teaser earlier this week.) but neither of these things happened. I reached a point of calm and peace:





10 comments:

  1. Simple is good. I like it and I almost did a piece with a white background and a couple of wavy blue lines.

    You've captured the essence of a day at the beach.

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  2. Very Zen, Linda. Lovely. I like its simplicity. No seashells, pebbles, or gulls required to convey the idea.

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  3. Such a peaceful piece! I'm glad you didn't add any more detail, it feels 'right' the way it is.

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  4. What a wonderful calm piece. I'm glad you didn't add the threads and things. So very you: do you remember the quotation from Antoine Saint-Exupery?

    "Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away."

    Hilary

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  5. That quotation sits on the wall nearest my machine!

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  6. The gradations in the dyed fabric give the sky and the sea depth and makes the beach look sandy! I can smell the salt and feel the ocean breeze...I am transported there looking at your piece.

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  7. I know the feeling of the fresh beach in the morning. Simple but very effective. I am linked to a webcam which shows part of our beach and every morning I have a look and see what the waves have been up to over night and how many people have been down to disturb it early monrning.

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  8. Sometimes the simplest things are the hardest to get right. You definitely got it right!

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  9. Glad you reached this point of peace and calm and I love it too. Really enjoy the meandering movement and great colour.

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  10. the fabric gradations and apparent simplicity makes it so fresh and beautiful. you sure knew when to stop. a great interpretation

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