Thursday, August 14, 2008

Art Quilt Workbook Group

I am participating in a workbook group. We are studying the Art Quilt Workbook by Jane Davila and Elin Waterston. There are 30 of us studying together online. We are now in Chapter 3. I have chosen water as my theme and set a color palette. Chapter 1 introduced the concepts. Chapter 2 covers several elements. A 9x12" quilt is made for each chapter. We are allowing 2 weeks per chapter to finish and report our experiences. There are 10 chapters; the last focuses on the business of art. When we finish we should have a nice series of 9x12" quilts.

I chose water as my theme because I live near a beautiful wide creek. This water is a daily part of my life. I have always lived near water and would not be comfortable without water access. Being near water gives me the feeling of freedom.

I have also been enjoying our pool this summer. So, I
started sketching while sitting by the pool. I also took photos of different sources of water. Water is usually moving which is challenging!

I happened to see a wonderful fountain while at the WWII war memorial in Washington DC. It was such a hot day I almost jumped in!

For Chapter 2, I chose the topic of perspective.


I painted some Kona cotton with the theme in my mind.

I found an old post card that I purchased over 20 years ago on a trip to Italy. I found it while looking through my sketch book. I have all sorts of references taped inside along with sketches. The scene on the post card was the perfect combination of water and perspective.

I used a piece of the painted kona cotton for the base and added many layers of sheers to create the effect of water.

I used the painted painted kona cotton for the base. Some of the sheers were hand painted silk and some printed.

The composition came together better than I expected; this was a good study. I now may attempt a larger version.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is really wonderful, Debbie. Great job!

Amy Munson said...

Wonderful quilt. I have found a great value is creating small studies and then taking the idea to a larger format.

Tanguera said...

Beautifully done. You captured the water so well.

Cay Denise said...

Your piece is lovely! I find it incredibly challenging/difficult to 'see' a way to create an image that gives the sense of water. You've done a marvelous job and the colors are rich, and the umbrellas just add that spark of delight to the piece.

Bethel of Bethania said...

Woow this is so great ... love the depth of colour in the whole quilt ... keep inspiring us ... OOroo ... Bethel of Bethania