Pages

Tuesday 31 May 2011

Fresh

This little piece allowed me to play with two of my current preoccupations: square-in-a-square and colour transitions.

For square in a square: regular or irregular? pieced or fused? are rectangles allowed to play? does every large shape require a small shape inside it? do the shapes overlap or do they form a grid? can a shape be created by a stitching line, a cluster of beads?

Colour transitions can be tricky. How much "Fresh" green is needed to make a "Fresh" statement?

How much variation of stitch, colour, shape works? What is the balance between creating interest and creating disunity?

I was quite stumped about working with the theme "Fresh", but when I used it as a vehicle to play with some of these questions, I had a lot of fun with it. Perhaps one day I will be able to work it up as a larger piece. The cloth is mounted on a thicker stretched canvas, so I had to pay attention to the sides as well as the front.

10 comments:

  1. Very clever, Heather, the way you approached your theme. Having read Elizabeth Bartons blog has helped me with some of my blank moments... what is ?

    ReplyDelete
  2. What an interesting exercise. It looks like you had fun and the beads add a neat finishing touch.
    I am enjoying watching you explore your 'preoccupations'!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I thought that your piece looked very spontaneous until I saw all your questions! That's what experience and control can do! Well done.

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a 'zing' the green gives! Lovely piece!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Ah ha - all those questions and careful thought and planning. Is that what Elizabeth Barton called 'sprezzatura' - making something look spontaneous when it had taken a lot of design work? It is certainly successful and I think you got the balance between the green tones and the splashes of the complimentary reds just right.

    Hilary

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love the really fresh colours - I am absolutely passionate about colour and this piece certainly sings a song all of its own - it zings! Well done.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Your piece is very refreshing in contrast to all of the others! Your use of green fabrics gives the theme an organic feel but rooted in straight edges and sharp corners. Thank you for sharing your process and how this piece evolved!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Great piece! I love how the oranges and brilliant greens just draw you in so you just want to hang around and enjoy everything else. Very uplifting

    ReplyDelete
  9. I love reading about your thoughts Heather. Having seen it in person, I can appreciate it even more now. (those sides are great!)

    ReplyDelete
  10. a lot to be said for working in a series. i find your development fascinating and exciting. it works. interesting for me is how this kind of thinking translates well into so many themes. well done heather.

    ReplyDelete