This is my first time posting to the blog. I am a little skiddish about posting my work. So, here it is. This piece was a bit difficult for me in that a lot of my work is monochrome where I am most comfortable. With this piece having a lot of color, I struggled with what colors to quilt it with. I ended up quilting it with monofiliment and black cotton thread. I felt like I "cheated" because I couldn't decide what to use. I have a lot of different kinds of decorative threads and really have never used them. The threads never seem to "fit" the pieces I make. I took this photo at the Denver International Airport a couple of weeks ago. I was attracted to the colors and the ice the bottles were in mixed with the light that was coming up from the bottom. I took the photo quickly with my phone while in line and couldn't get the composition I wanted right away. When I got home I cropped the photo until I was satisfied. I use Bubble Jet Set to prepare my fabric and then used my HP inkjet printer to print on my fabric. I increase the ink volume and color saturation in order to preserve the richness of the photo. I know that this quilt does not really meet the requirements of the challenge. This challenge was hard for me because I regularly use many different fabrics in my quilting. I have a background in theatre costuming and my fabric stash is mostly silks, velvet, wool, weird fabrics, stretch fabric etc. I also have a lot of quilting cottons. I use them all so it was a challenge to find something I hadn't used in a long time. The vinyl was what I finally came up with and I like the way it sets off the black of the bottle tops. I tried to think of ways to incorporate the vinyl into the actual photo. When I realized what I could have done it was too late because I had already quilted the piece to death and couldn't go back. What I would have done was done reverse applique for the tops of the bottles using the black vinyl. Anyway, this is my piece what is and what it could have been! -- Becky p.s. for those who don't know me I thought I would introduce myself, My name is Becky Kaufman. I live in Seattle, WA. I have been art quilting for only a couple years and love every minute of it. I was introduced to this group by Lisa who posts to this blog regularly. I really appreciate her introducing me to this because I am actually making the art I want to be doing. My background is in theatrical tailoring. I have worked on Broadway, and in many of the regional theatres in most major cities, Chicago, NY, MA, WA, ME, CT, IN (and Alabama which was for 3 months and I don't count!). I own my own business which is now in its tenth year www.periodcorsets.com . I am not working at the moment but will be the Costume Shop manager for the theatre in town for the next couple of months starting next week (wish me luck!) Not related to my art exactly- I have 2 children, 1 husband, 1 cat, 2 cars, and 6 sewing machines(not including the ones I own at work).
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Phone Jones
This is my first time posting to the blog. I am a little skiddish about posting my work. So, here it is. This piece was a bit difficult for me in that a lot of my work is monochrome where I am most comfortable. With this piece having a lot of color, I struggled with what colors to quilt it with. I ended up quilting it with monofiliment and black cotton thread. I felt like I "cheated" because I couldn't decide what to use. I have a lot of different kinds of decorative threads and really have never used them. The threads never seem to "fit" the pieces I make. I took this photo at the Denver International Airport a couple of weeks ago. I was attracted to the colors and the ice the bottles were in mixed with the light that was coming up from the bottom. I took the photo quickly with my phone while in line and couldn't get the composition I wanted right away. When I got home I cropped the photo until I was satisfied. I use Bubble Jet Set to prepare my fabric and then used my HP inkjet printer to print on my fabric. I increase the ink volume and color saturation in order to preserve the richness of the photo. I know that this quilt does not really meet the requirements of the challenge. This challenge was hard for me because I regularly use many different fabrics in my quilting. I have a background in theatre costuming and my fabric stash is mostly silks, velvet, wool, weird fabrics, stretch fabric etc. I also have a lot of quilting cottons. I use them all so it was a challenge to find something I hadn't used in a long time. The vinyl was what I finally came up with and I like the way it sets off the black of the bottle tops. I tried to think of ways to incorporate the vinyl into the actual photo. When I realized what I could have done it was too late because I had already quilted the piece to death and couldn't go back. What I would have done was done reverse applique for the tops of the bottles using the black vinyl. Anyway, this is my piece what is and what it could have been! -- Becky p.s. for those who don't know me I thought I would introduce myself, My name is Becky Kaufman. I live in Seattle, WA. I have been art quilting for only a couple years and love every minute of it. I was introduced to this group by Lisa who posts to this blog regularly. I really appreciate her introducing me to this because I am actually making the art I want to be doing. My background is in theatrical tailoring. I have worked on Broadway, and in many of the regional theatres in most major cities, Chicago, NY, MA, WA, ME, CT, IN (and Alabama which was for 3 months and I don't count!). I own my own business which is now in its tenth year www.periodcorsets.com . I am not working at the moment but will be the Costume Shop manager for the theatre in town for the next couple of months starting next week (wish me luck!) Not related to my art exactly- I have 2 children, 1 husband, 1 cat, 2 cars, and 6 sewing machines(not including the ones I own at work).
Hi Becky, your piece is wonderful...a visual delight! You've captured alot of the reflective quality of the bottles. The lights and yellows grabbed my attention first, then the shapes of the bottles and bottlecaps, then I realized what I was looking at. Everyone likes to a surprise, so having an abstract-looking piece click into something recognizable is fun.
ReplyDeleteOnly one comment, how does it look without the vinyl binding? It might be a bit distracting.
Great job, Becky. I look forward to seeing more of your work!
Cynthia
You have a good eye for finding interesting compositions in ordinary places. I would have likely walked right by there without giving the bottles a second thought.
ReplyDeleteYour thread choice was perfect for this piece. It compliments the photo without competing with it.
Replacing the caps with black vinyl would have made them very flat looking. I like the dimension and highlights on the caps in the photo.
Are those black beads you have added? They compliment the piece nicely and add to the abstract quality of the piece.
Becky,
ReplyDeleteI love this piece, and I think the quilting looks great. I do agree that the vinyl binding is a little distracting, but i think it's a great abstract work, and I just love the colors.
Brenda