Untitled - EBMC January, Part V (Crit Update)

Start

Finish

16" x 16" 

Commercial cotton fabrics, 

cotton thread and batting

Machine quilted with walking foot

ETA (Editted to Add) the Crit:

EB is very perceptive as well as kind and supportive with her remarks.

Square is definitely "in"!!    I like the simple uncluttered look...you do have a lot of weight in the left hand corner though - something to think about for next time.  it is hard to balance such a distinctive and strong shape.  I love how the lines form an abstract pattern.

I think the 'weight' in the lower left was one reason I was struggling with proportion -- I just couldn't put my finger on the problem at the time.

I'm thinking that if I'd reversed the fabric it might have been a bit less 'weighty'.

The distant hills work well...narrowing it off you do get a sense of going off into the far distance.  Probably, with our 20 20 hindsight would have been interesting  to have reversed that rather distinctive fabric for the further hills, so that the pattern was a little less clear...but it's just a nicety.  

Re: the background fabric (the not-snow parts): I'd already auditioned that fabric both 'right' and 'wrong' side up...but it's a batik and there's really no difference.  Had nothing else in my stash that was quite right -- either too dark or too light.  Tried coffee-dyeing a piece...too uniform, no texture.

Also the quilt on the very light band could have been further apart at the bottom and closer together at the top - also giving an illusion of distance.  Otherwise looks good!!  Very prairie!

I think EB is referring to  the quilting on the wide band of snow, and she has a good point there.  I hadn't thought about that.  Need to tuck that valuable point away for later use!

In the next few days before February, I'm piecing, hand-quilting and knitting while resting up up for the next episode of EBMC!

Out and About

this morning; back in the studio this afternoon.  Meanwhile, on this morning's jog I listened to Alison Lee of CraftCast interview Harriete Estel Berman on the subjects of copyright, artistic voice and critique...based on Ms. Berman's Keynote Address at the Synergy 3 International Polymer Clay Association Annual Conference (in 2012, I believe).   Her topic?  "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly in the Age of the Internet".

It's definitely food for thought for artists in any medium, and once I've listened to both interview and address at least twice, and chewed over the content, I may just add my two cents...

Would love to hear from any of you, Gentle Readers, on these topics and more specifically, on the conversation between Ms. Lee and Ms. Berman, so why don't you pour yourself a cuppa and tune in?

Ta-ta for now!

Re-vamp!

It's always a risk, showing one's work to friends.  In the case of friends who don't do what you do (such as work with textiles in any way), there's the risk that they'll be so blown away by your stuff that they won't be honest with you; rather, they'll think it's all wonderful.  Alternatively, there's the risk they'll be so inexperienced in seeing your kind of work that they won't understand it or find anything good to say about it because it's simply beyond their ken.

If you're lucky, however, they will be thoughtful and intelligent people who will be both honest and not unduly harsh if they find something to criticize.

This was my experience last week with D & S, the long-time friends who purchased "Prairie Autumn".  In going through the selection of miniatures I'd brought simply to show them what I'd been doing, S came upon "Ski-doo Tracks Under the Arch" and said, "This one I don't understand".  While D took him to task for this and called upon me to give him the name of the piece so he'd 'get it'...deep inside I knew that unwittingly, S had hit upon 'the rub' -- the problem I'd been having with this piece, the sense it wouldn't go over or appeal to a viewing audience.  He affirmed what I already suspected: something had to be done with that piece.

With nowhere to go, I had to either add to it or consign it to the waste-basket.

For some time before S made his comment, I'd been thinking about adding actual snow-mobiles to the piece, but I had very little confidence in my ability to do so.  I thought about it, mulled it over, said a little prayer...and went for a jog.  That was yesterday afternoon.  Lo and behold, for the first time in weeks, as I came 'round the corner to the field that was the inspiration for that piece, there were young people on a snowmobile riding the field!

When I got home I made some sketches, and today I took the plunge. Asking myself, "What have you got to lose?  A little fabric and some time...?",  I turned this:

Ski-doo Tracks Under the Arch

Into this:

Snowmobiles Under the Arch

And here's a wee detail, accomplished with Pitt Pen (R), embroidery floss and beads:

Snowmobiles Under the Arch (C) 2013

Now isn't that more fun?