When you make your art do have a plan that you stick with or do you just let it happen? I usually have some sort of plan and then as I work on it I let it speak to me and changes happen as I go. For this one, I took apart some leaf pieces I had matted and placed them on top of fabrics that coordinated with them and thought I might make a long scroll-like art work of some sort.
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| leaf pieces on fabrics |
But I didn't know exactly what I had in mind. Maybe embroider leaf designs onto the fabrics, maybe put log cabin blocks between the leaf pieces, maybe strips and borders around the leaf pieces.
I started by sewing extra pieces of batting between them and then hand sewing a strip of the brown fabric onto the batting below one of the leaf pieces.
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| one piece of fabric sewn on |
Then I cut strips of fabrics and one by one hand sewed each on top of the other onto the batting. Some of the fabrics were sheer and I folded them over to make them thicker before I sewed those on. I used one strand of embroidery floss in the same color as each fabric so that the thread would hardly show. For some of the fabrics, like the brown one in the photo above, I used the finished edge of the fabric because I like the look of the stitching that was already on the edge.
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| section below leaf finished |
Some of the fabrics had stitching on them already in a criss cross pattern and some had a folded texture.
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| two sections finished |
So now I think I'm going to build it up by adding a small section to the top and a small section to the bottom and then add sides of some sort. After that, I have think about if I want to quilt the added sections or embroider them somehow and how the finish off the edges all around. But I'm enjoying working this piece completely intuitively which is not my normal way of working and I'm enjoying all the hand sewing. Sitting on the porch while I stitch I'm noticing a lot of birds and sounds and I saw our box turtle come by to sip from the small pond we built. If I was at the sewing machine, I'd miss all that. I'm linking this to
Off The Wall Friday where you can find other art quilt blogs. Please make comments on their posts so that they know you stopped by. Thanks for visiting.
We work alike, some plan lots of serendipity. I admire the abstract piece you've come up with. LeeAnna at not afraid of color
ReplyDeleteUsually I plan a lot more and make sketches before I cut fabric, but not on this one. I'm curious to see how it will end up.
DeleteThe answer to the question is.....YES! It depends on a lot of things. But I have to admit. Mostly it is a rather intuitive process, even if I start off with some kind of plan!
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting how we have an interaction with our artwork as we create it isn't it?
DeleteI love the improv of your pieces, it is all going together well.
ReplyDeleteThanks. I'm liking it so far, also.
DeleteHi Regina! Not often, I plan a piece from start to finish but I usually work intuitively as you have here with your lovely leaves. Sometimes I have a plan that changes along the way. A few times I've begun on a certain course only to find myself doing something I never even thought of before I started doing it - the muse rules!
ReplyDeleteIt's fun when a piece changes completely from your plan as you work on it. It' as though the fabric and fibers have a mind of their own and tell you what to do. Almost like magic.
DeleteI use my intuition a lot but have a basic plan before I start. I adjust as seems appropriate along the way. Of course, the 'plan' could be to add random pieces as in a crazy quilt but usually I have a purpose or an idea that I am expressing.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to seeing your finished piece.
I'm looking forward to seeing the finished piece, too, since I now don't know what it's going to look like :)
DeleteI often work that way, have some vague idea of what I want to do and then make it up as I go along. This was a good way to use those small pieces. Well done!
ReplyDeleteI've had those fabric samples for many years. I picked them up in an upholstery shop that was selling them off at their end of the year sale for five and then cents a piece. I'm glad to finally find a use for them.
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