Mies Van der Rohe
I didn’t enjoy this challenge as I am not a
fan of modern architecture. It is too cold, bleak and clinical for my taste.
All I could see were the straight lines disappearing into the distance (I wish
I’d found that staircase!), so I tried to do something with those. Like
Rosemary I liked the view of the buildings when looking up, and decided to use
that in an abstract quilt. My original design was similar to Rosemary’s, but it
was in plain colours: blue to represent the sky and I decided on an orange to
represent the building. It was really boring as there was nothing to hold the
interest, the lines just leading the eye off the quilt. Finally I decided to
make four ‘buildings’ leading into the centre of the quilt, changing the
colours around as the orange was a bit too overwhelming. I hand dyed some ombré
fabrics, which took two attempts to get something that I could use. The blue
fabric could have done with being a bit darker at the centre. I experimented
with using inktense to darken it on some scraps, but it was too patchy, and
when I tried using Markal with a stencil brush, the colour didn’t really go, so
in the end I left it as it was as I was worried about ruining it. I hated it,
and felt that I’d just made a glorified quilt block! However, once I’d quilted
in the black lines, I decided it wasn’t quite as bad as I thought. It hasn’t
photographed very well, the blue looking a uniform colour however I photograph
it. The only way that you can see a difference is in the black and white photo.
Jinnie, you may not have liked the subject, but the end result is a novel and captivating take/perspective on modern architecture in towns and cities today. And don't worry, the blue and orange shading is very clear and effective on my monitor screen. Hilary
ReplyDeleteYou have the perspective of the leaning in buildings spot on. Enlarged it really draws you in.
ReplyDeleteA very interesting piece with the perspective taking the eye immediately to the centre. This was achieved both by the contrasting fabrics and the lines of thread . An excellent design Jinnie
ReplyDeleteWell done Jinnie. I felt exactly the same - way too clinical for me! But you achieved a very interesting result and the photo looks as though it could be worked in shades of grey and that would be a challenge in itself.
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