Saturday, January 01, 2011

FFFC 52 "Endless Summer"

Okay, this group is really pushing my boundaries, but in a good way. I was going to use the holidays and travel as an excuse to not complete this challenge. The real reason being that abstract quilts are a new venue for me and understanding the colorfield concept was difficult for me. But hey, I am three for three for these challenges, so I forged ahead! A post a couple of days ago cleared the waters a little for me, so I went ahead and attempted a piece.

I have titled my adventure "Endless Summer" which is what I am wishing for in the subzero temperatures of Spokane, WA. I chose the colors of blue (for the sky), green (for the plants), and yellow (for the sun). I pulled out a piece of white silk and used my dyes to paint it, which is another first for me. Once the foundation was done, I struggled with what to add to it. I have been reading some posts about lutradur and it's transparency, so I decided to paint it with the same colors. After it was dry, I sliced it and diced it and then rearranged the pieces into a grid pattern. I think that if I had diluted my dyes more, the grid would have blended more into the background, but I didn't really consider this until everything was already put together. I then quilted it with vines and leaves, and yes, those are the sun's rays peeking out of the squares! I echo quilted around the grid and am thinking that I will add more rays on the outside of the grid. I believe that it loosely fits what I understand to be the colorfield style. It is okay if I didn't hit it on all levels, because I love my piece and it brightened my otherwise very cool day!

9 comments:

Betty Warner said...

Louise, This piece is wonderful. I can see why you are so happy with it. I do think that aspects of it are 'color field'. Your careful placement of the lutrador pieces and judicious use of quilting are very effective. It is bright and cheery indeed. Also, I really admire your pushing through to get this done. Great job!

Joni said...

Louise, what a wonderful cheerful piece! I love the fresh feel it gives and the variegated thread for the quilting really stands out for a nice effect.

Pam Harris said...

Very pleasing quilt with calming colors and great quilting. I think we all need more summer in our lives, I know I do.

Veronica said...

Louise: I like the way the yellow and blue vibrate and glow. Great job. How big is the quilt? Veronica

Sharon Robinson said...

I also think it's beautiful. And hearing the stories of how others have pushed boundaries, inspires me to try to do the same. So many techniques to try! Tanks for sharing the details of your process and congratulations on a very successful adventure outside your box!

janice pd said...

I like this just as it is without additional quilting. It has real depth with your overlap of color. I also like that you engaged the edge in one place that carried through with the 'field' rather than a frame.

Carole said...

Louise, this is beautiful!! Because I am still feeling my way with Color Field I won't try to critique, but your colors and quilting... well... my dear friend... Over the top! I am glad you pushed and it worked... dual purpose...

ann said...

The colors and the quilting are just too too fabulous. This is an outstanding piece.

Anonymous said...

Louise,
I love the 3-D effect you created with the lutradur lattice and your quilting. It feels I am looking through this.
The darker blue on the lattice brought it forward which helped with that effect.
I really like this.
Penny