RRR Challenge

Locally we have a quilt exhibition with classes taking place this weekend and the challenge for the exhibition was 'Recycle, Revamp, Rework' ... very now. Below is my piece - an old duvet cover revamped and reworked into a wall hanging.  We were not to buy anything other than the essentials - in my case batting and some applique paper.

The duvet cover had a very simple leafy design on it (you can see some of it in next picture) . To this I added more 'growth', whirly flowers and some simple birds.  The path is tea bags that had to be painted lots and worked into as they were too yellow. Size : approx  120cm x 70cm.  A bit of fun that took longer than I would have liked.

Critique Complete

Back from the critique workshop so I will relay as promised some of the feedback.  Heather and I also had time to attend the Van Gogh exhibition called UP CLOSE that showed works from the last 4 years of Van Gogh's life in France. Amazing exhibition with mountainous landscapes and fields borrowed from some private collections but missing the principal pieces that you think would be included . Regardless the colours and textures are still swimming in my head. One of my favourites of the impressionists.

The first day of our workshop with Willam Hodge was run in a loose lecture format  so it did reduce the benefits for our time to do critique and discuss any particular colour and design solutions for each artist thouroughly. BOO HOO. He basically stated that the world loves a winner so always stay positive in public.Cry to your friends. His definition of art was  "any manifestation of an original concept from within ". So quite an inclusive viewpoint .We did discuss approaching a gallery and the types of gallery situations that could exist and  the importance of doing the resarch on this before heading out. His suggestion was to include no more than 20 pieces with a cv and artist statement that is truthful and concise. Once dropped off with confidence he suggested that it could be picked up in 3 days to see if there was an appropriate fit with the artist. A group show presentation on cd could also be suggested to a gallery on a chosen theme to save them time but be prepared for up to 2 years wait for a show date.

 As for the personal feedback for my work, he suggested that I look at Picasso's Guernica to see all the tricks that he uses to lead the eye in and around the piece creating flow. That the collage method I am using have more integration tricks. The emphasis in finishing a composition should always bring you back to your original statement of intent so that focus is not lost .This should inform the desision to add  or subtract regardless of the temptations available .One paragraph should be written for the series and one for each piece in the series so that there is lots of room to use variations on the broader concept retaining the focus as things develop. The punch can be emphasized by hue or value contrast and the golden mean should be applied to determine the most successful points to place emphasis.

We should also look at The Three Musicians to notice a small wedge of black added along the side edge that helps create the asymetry within the square composition. He thinks square format is the hardest. Specifically for me I am glad that he liked the variety of textures and technique in my work and he encouraged me to do more where less is more and I get that. Also emphasis is created by value and hue contrast  to create flow so keep studying colour. He suggested  The Colour Workbook  by Becky Koenig and to study colour for life. Sounds fun to me.

Critique Workshop

  

Forest Poem II

20"X20"

Winter in the City

20"X40"

These are two  of  the pieces that I will bring to a critique workshop on Momday  with William Hodge. We have been advised to bring lots of work to discuss and he will also give an evening presentation on his career as an artist . Hope to share some of the feedback with you..

Congratulations to all

I'm finally back from my (very) long weekend away for the Queen's Jubilee and at long last have the chance to see the results of our latest challenge on a reasonable sized screen (rather than my mobile phone).  What a great series of work; again they have all turned out very differently, and very true to the personality of the people who have produced them.  I tried commenting on them as they appeared, but then the difficulty of doing it via phone (enhanced by the seemingly vast difference in size between my finger tips and the letters I was trying to touch on the phone) defeated me.  So congratulations to all the makers, and on all the sales and inclusions in catalogues that has happened over the last few days.

I had a wonderful time away; enjoyed a village 'fashion' show, a lamb roast and dance and then participated in a 60 boat parade from Dartmouth to Dittisham along the River Dart on the Monday.  If only the weather had been slightly better!  I've never seen so many Union Jack flags and bunting, and people in red, white and blue before.  Hopefully I have lots of images I can use for our next challenge; in the meantime I have some long overdue work to do on a Shakespearean theme!

Congrats Heather

Congratulations to Heather who has a piece, Tuscany #5, in the latest SAQA Journal.

Hilary

I sold work

Some of you will know that I am up to eye balls with various projects at the moment and one of them is our county 'open studios', Dorset Arts Weeks.  For a fee you can join the organization and be part of a well run and established event which takes place every two years across Dorset.  It is open to absolutely any kind of artist and I am always amazed at the amount of wonderful work that is going on behind front doors in this county.  I was invited to join a group and the six of us are exhibiting together for the first time-  in a lovely rusty old barn.  We are felters, quilters, jewellery makers and Liz also has vintage linens.

It has been very interesting to see what people are buying.  It is mostly small (no big price items have sold yet) and decorative in the sense of being easy to live with (calm country scenes, floral), wearables like scarves, covered books and cards.  Dennie had some giclee prints made of some of her work, added small 'extras' like gold foil and wispy bits of felting, framed them and they have sold.  It made the pieces cheaper than selling the original and is possibly worthy of thought.  Framing is still the biggest expense and all my pieces were sold unframed.  I feel justified because framing is a very personal choice and we had one customer who bought one of Liz's pieces and said straight out they were going to change the frame!

But what provoked this posting was that one of the pieces that I sold was "The day the boats came in"!!!!  The other two were journal quilts "Harvest Moon" and "Crop Circles".

12" square

10" square

Tickled pink but not planning to give up the day job!

Hilary

Fine Summer's Day

I have posted a new picture.  Heather was right, it wasn't bright enough.  The other was taken with my new Lumix which on auto pilot doesn't do the same as my SLR whose lens is not functioning properly.  However it took one pic today and that's it!  I bought the Lumix, which was on sale, because it was less than the new lens that I need!

Jubilation

So, red white and blue everyone? Or perhaps not-

JUBILATION. 1. : an act of rejoicing : the state of being jubilant.
2. : an expression of great joy

Hilary is well practised - she has Jubilee themed pieces in both of the main UK patchwork magazines this month, even though she keeps quiet about these successes!

Steps Redux

I am having a fine old time in NYC this week, giving myself an Artist Immersion holiday. My hotel is near Lincoln Center, and this urban landscape caught my eye. Located on a large plaza, this grassy set of steps, beside a reflecting pool, is meant to serve as amphitheatre seating for outdoor concerts. Of course it reminded me of the Steps challenge we did earlier this year.

It was fun for me to check in on our "Fine Living" unveiling as it emerged over the day. Congratulations to the whole group for their great work! I will admit I had a hard time with the topic. Now, "Jubilation". Can I find an architectural interpretation of that theme? Other than Buckingham Palace. Please.

Dining in the Moonlight

Fine living for me, is about having a delicious meal either at a large holiday gathering or an intimate dinner with my husband. The word "silver" came to mind and I immediately thought of my mother's silverware. Her silverware is called "Coronation", a silverplate pattern, that was introduced by Community (now Oneida) in 1936 to commemorate the crowning of Edward VIII of England (which never took place). Coronation has been a highly successful pattern in the U.S.


I wanted to stay true to my commitment to use different techniques with each challenge. I experimented with foiling and metal pieces which did not give me the results I wanted. 


Then, I tried using a silver Shiva Oil Stick to make a rubbing of the knives. (This reminded me of the rubbings we made at Westminster Abbey when we visited London years ago.) 


The cabochon that represents the moon was made from modeling clay that was stamped, pearlized and then baked in the oven. In order to affix it to the quilt, I beaded it with a peyote stitch in the round. 


In order for the quilt to handle the weight of the beading and cab, I used black felt and a medium weight non-woven stabilizer. I used a metallic thread to match the blue beads.


The silverware rubbings were arranged as moonbeams ... hence the title of this piece, "Dining in the Moonlight".