Monday, December 31, 2007

Stepping Out Side the Box

I wanted to think outside the box on this challenge. So it took me several days to come up with a concept. For the Fire part I focused on red fire-y hot peppers, and for the Ice part I focused on frozen on the vine peppers that got caught in an ice storm. My husband didn't understand my piece and suggested that "I might want to stay in my box that I was trying to crawl out of. He was afraid that no one would get my piece. We laughed about it, and I thought about not sharing it all. But the more I looked at it ...I saw what I was trying to express so...am warning you now...look at it for awhile before thinking..."What was she trying to do."


There are two layers to the piece....the back layer is the ice layer. It is done in icey blues, pretty clever hun? The top layer represent the fire layer....and it is done in bright reds. (Another clever move on my part, don't you think?)

I used my Shiva sticks and watercolor crayons to shadow areas on the piece. All stitching was done with free motion.
Ann Morrell

AND NOW FOR THE PIECE.......


9 comments:

Linda Cline said...

Of course we get it. I'm glad you decided you could share with us. Now the logical side of me says that if those are peppers caught in an ice storm, then there would still be peppers inside, and you wouldn't be able to see all the way through. So those must be pepper shaped ice cubes. And how did those bright red ones escape the storm? It's a fun piece. Bright, and cheery.

Ann Morrell said...

You know Linda...I wasn't really thinking that the peppers were actually together...it was more like two scenes or pieces in one...frozen peppers in background with firey peppers in front. The peppers were blue with cold, if that makes sense. So perhaps that is what hubby saw too. I was trying to make it like more of a double exposure type piece. Thanks for sharing what you saw in it. Getting out of our safety zone isn't easy.

Sandy said...

I like the way you did the blue peppers. to me, it looks a bit like shadows, or ghosts of the peppers. I like the fact that they retain a bit of their "heat" even though they have been frozen.

sometimes you have to show your family and get them to comment, but more often than not, you have to ignore the comments and go with what was in your head/heart!

this is actually quite a cheerful piece, the more I look at it!

Sandy in the UK

Roberta Ranney said...

Hi Ann - Bravo for jumping out of the box. I like the way your mind wrapped around this challenge. I love Sandy's comment about the ghosts of the peppers - that's sort of what I see. She's also dead on about asking family for feedback and then going right on with your own vision. No one can see through your eyes but you and transforming your vision into fabric is enough. Good work.

Roberta

Art by Rhoda Forbes said...

Ann, I love your piece. The firey peppers and the icey ones are wonderful. I can feel fire and ice when I view the piece. Great job.

Cynthia Ann Morgan said...

Hi Ann, you should definitely stay out of the box! This is a really good piece. I like the cool ghosts and the hot live ones. It has a western feel to me...like fence posts and ristas on a ranch.
Great job!
Cynthia

Carole said...

Interesting Cynthia said ' western feel'.... every time I looked at this I thought ' boot scootin' boogie'... guess my line dancing days are showing through.
I really like this piece, feels like fun to me. Maybe that is why... the blue and red are almost 'bandana' colors.
I think this is a real fun piece, and , yeah! Stay out of the box.........
Carole

brendaj said...

Hi Ann,
I really like this one, too; definitely fun and different. Makes me want to head to New Mexico.

My husband's first comment on mine was that it looked "retro" (with a barely disguised sneer). ALMOST took the wind out of my sails, but then I happily ignored him like I usually do when he comments on my stuff.

Great job getting out of the box.

Brenda

LAQuilts said...

I totally get the peppers - it is very whimsical.