Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Me, Myself, and I by Ann Morrell

These postcards were not made this week... I made them about a year ago for a postcard swap. I used thread painting and colored pencils. This week I have been working on a Pamela Allen's "Think Like an Artist" online class.... I am working on a piece that could be considered an image of myself as "I would like to be thought of as being." It is called the Hand of the Artist. It is done in Ms. Allen's style...you cut out chunks of fabric to represent shapes and things, you glue down these chunks, and then you hand sew the areas down with embroidery thread. The final stage is to quilt the background on sewing machine and then add further embellishments. The hand sewing is new to me...and I have found even with very sore fingers I love the details that can be achieved with the floss. I have found that the frayed edges of the cut out pieces add a softness to the piece that fused down fabric just can't do. I have been sewing on the piece now for three days on and off. My goal is to post the finish hand sewn piece on my blog by Thursday night as we get Lesson 3 on Friday morning. I invite you to visit my blog, either Thursday night or Friday morning to view my "double-duty" piece...which will serve two challenges...Fast Friday and Pamela Allen's Lesson 2 Assignment.

For those who don't visit blogs:

Close up of stitching:


8 comments:

anna k. said...

Ann,
I can so relate to your postcards. Thanks for showing them and the details of your blog.
I'll be doing Pamela's workshop in March. You have me worried.
Anna.

Joni said...

Ann,
Thanks for sharing about your class with Pamela. I'm looking forward to checking out your blog tomorrow to see what you made. Sounds like you are having alot of fun. Joni

Betty Donahue said...

That looks like a fun piece. I envy people who can really let go like that. I have a hard job getting away from realism.
Betty

Carole said...

Thank you for sharing your postcards. That size is probably a good way to get into 'self-portrait's' because of the size you don't have a lot to think about..or over-think!
Looking forward to more.
Carole

Cherie in Del Mar said...

I can see the "Pamela" influence in your fun quilt. I just love this work but like Betty, I am much too literal!
What a wonderful portrait!
Cherie

Cynthia Ann Morgan said...

You are having fun now...good for you! It's showing up in your new piece...it's delightful!

Love your postcards, too. The cropped face combined with the text and the splashes of color...brilliant!

Cynthia

brendaj said...

Looks like a fun class! What great colors. Quilting with attitude!

Brenda

Cay Denise said...

Hello Ann,

What an amazing difference between your postcard work, and the piece you've posted to meet this challenge and your Pam Allen classwork!

There is a sense of crazy quilting to this piece, and it looks like you've been having fun with the stitching.

What I do notice is that there is little room for the eye to rest when looking at the piece, because the color is so intense in most all the areas. It further adds to my reservation about what the focus is. Since the figure is oriented in the direction of the easel, I assume the focus is the painting on that easel. But the green rug under the red footies is competing for my attention.

The things that stand out to me in this piece based on color are the red footies, yellow/red legs, and bright green rug and bookcase. Are these what you want me to see?

You're definitely working outside the box in an interesting way, and I applaud your effort and willingness to experiment so boldly!