Challenge 92: Aspiration

Challenge Host: Tobi Hoffman

Title:  Aspiration

Theme: Illustrate your goals

Technique: Limited palette

Due date: May 3, 2014

Aspiration

Definitions: 

1)       a hope or ambition of achieving something.  “He had nothing tangible to back up his literary aspirations”

Synonyms: desire, hope, dream, wish, longing, yearning

2)      (medicine) the action or process of drawing breath.

Theme:

How do you show your highest ideals, your greatest triumphs?  How can you stretch yourself to achieve what is deepest in your heart, to fulfill your deepest yearnings?  Let your quilt this month express these.

If possible, before you start work on this, sit down in some quiet place and meditate for 15-20 minutes on the seed idea of aspiration, and without trying to force an idea, see what comes.  Then write down any thoughts and develop them in your quilt.  Remember that the word “aspiration” also relates to breath; in your meditation, keep your breath deep, slow and even, but after the first few breaths, do not focus on it.

One note on this: aspiration need not be linked to religious belief.  You may choose to embody the guidance of your religion, but aspiration is not limited to the religious.

Technique:  Restrict your colors to three that go with your thoughts on your ideals.  This is not an absolute ban on other colors; if they are a minor part of the fabrics, let them in!

Resources:

Aspiration through art:

A lengthy article – you may or may not agree with him, but it gives food for thought.

http://www.newenglishreview.org/David_Hamilton/Aspiration_through_Art/

Aspiration/Inspiration

http://wassaicproject.org/exhibitions/2009-2/aspirationinspiration-2009/

Quotes about Aspiration

http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/aspiration

Art:

Deborah Corsini

http://quiltnationalartists.com/category/education/

I am deliberately including only the one actual art reference, as your aspirations are yours, by definition, and your inspiration will come from you and not others!

And one more thing: have fun with this! :)

Red Tulips

When I think of spring, I think of tulips. Last spring I took a photo of my red tulips right outside my door. Their vibrant red was such a contrast against their green foliage, which is why I chose this photo for this challenge using contrasts. I printed my photo out on my InkJet printer onto fabric, and hand quilted around all the leaves and tulips. I used gold cording to bring out the yellow of the tulip's centers, plus the black borders to also help accent the centers of the tulips. I bought the quilt hanger at our guild's silent auction. I love the way this hanging brings a touch of spring to my living room.  Pam Clark

Totally Pieced

As hostess for this challenge, it wouldn't do for me not to participate. So I made two!  I saw Neo-plasticism and non-representational art as two distinctively different styles, even though the work of Piet Mondrian is listed as being in both categories.  "Off The Grid" is more in the style of De Stijl and "Audition" is more non-representational.


I used gradation fabrics from Cherrywood to create both pieces.  "Audition" is just that.  I took a 14" segment from a much larger piece that I had designed and have been unsure of where to place the colors and values.  So, I followed my suggestion and chose the various shades of the greys to tell me how it would work in the finished project.  "Off the Grid" was hoping to show depth as the darker fabrics receded.  Not sure I accomplished that and am not sure why.  Perhaps the darker pieces should grow ever smaller instead of ever bigger; the reverse of what I did.  I now see why artists work in series.  Never satisfied with their work, they do it over and over until they get it right.      

In Focus

When I first read this challenge, I immediately thought that it would require a gradation dyeing, but knew that one week just wouldn't give me enough time to set up the wet studio that only exists around here in summer. ( We still have huge amounts of snow and freezing temperatures).  Then I remembered that I had some remnants from grey and black gradation dyeing I did a few years back.  However, I could only come up with a range of three that worked together.  So, I added black and white, even though neither is really part of a true grey scale.  However, it still needed more.  Since the grey I had, appeared to have a very slight shaded teal undertone, I used the red-orange as a complement, and think it works fairly well together. 
 The piece is 12" by 12"

Perpetual Motion

I had originally thought I would piece this project, but it turned out to be way more complicated than I could handle...so I fused it.  I used lots of different fabrics...velvet, metallics, satins.  I couched black cording between all the pieces.  I really love working in grayscale

Thanks for a fun challenge...

Cherie 

Challenge 91: Art in the Gray Scale

Challenge Hostess: Karen Markley

Theme:  Non-representational

Due:  April 5, 2014

Technique:  Piecing - Take the challenge and see if you can piece completely your little quilt. Quilters like Ruth McCormick and Judy Dales have proven that even the most complex design can be pieced.  I know it is easy just to fuse things, but it will give you a nice feeling of accomplishment if you can see each piece together.  However, this is a design challenge and some of us just don't have the time.

Have you ever made a quilt, and when it was finished, you wished you had put some of the colors in different places, that they were brighter or more subdued?  If you had been able to audition your fabrics, or make a mockup first, you might have been able to avoid these disappointments.

The gray scale is the foundation of all color choices. Photographers use it as well as artists.  And not just with black and white photography. If you understand value, you can translate any level of the grey scale to colored fabric.  We’ve all studied black and white photographs and wonder at the pictures that capture our attention:  it’s the contrast between black and white that gives the picture sparkle.  The same is true for the old movies and early television – if they wanted to portray a dull, depressing mood, they chose very narrow parameters.  “Value or tonal contrast creates visual interest or excitement. … A low key painting is one in which the tonal range is narrower.”

If you choose a range of fabrics for a quilt and arrange them on the copy machine, you get a range of grays that tell you if there is going to be enough contrast. 

References and Samples:

Grace Errea teaches a great class on value.   if you go to her website, and click on workshops, she has a nifty chart with the grey scale on the left and all of the colors that correspond with every level - purples, greens, etc.   She also sells a little value tool that is invaluable in choosing your fabrics.  If you look at her quilts, you will see that value is a key element in their success.

www.amazingquiltsbygrace.com

Piet Mondrian, a Dutch painter, was the creator of non-representational art.  Except for his cubist period, he always used color in his paintings, but started with a white canvas and added bold lines.  A few of his paintings show at least 3 gradations from black to white.

Mondrian's book on Neo-Plasticism became one of the key documents of abstract art.  In it, he detailed his vision of artistic expression in which "plastic" simply referred to the action of forms and colors on the surface of the canvas as a new method for representing modern reality.

http://www.theartstory.org/artist-mondrian-piet.htm

  

Meaning in Nonrepresentational Art - http://tinyurl.com/FFFC91-1 or https://www.boundless.com/art-history/thinking-and-talking-about-art/content/meaning-in-nonrepresentational-art/

Gray Scale and Value Finder - BLICK art materials –

 www.dickblick.com/products/gray-scale-and-value-finder

What Gray Scale Means in Painting -- Art Glossary Definition:  http://painting.about.com/od/artglossaryg/g/defgrayscale.htm

Grayscale art on Pinterest http://www.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=grayscale%20art

Grayscale Art for Sale - Fine Art America: http://fineartamerica.com/art/paintings/grayscale/all

Grayscale quilts: http://tinyurl.com/FFFC91-2 or 

https://www.google.com/searchq=grayscale+quilts&hl=en&qscrl=1&rlz=1T4LENP_enUS577US577&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=UKAvU5uwA8iy2gXkkIHoCw&ved=0CDgQsAQ&biw=1280&bih=611

Even though a lot of the artists of that period used black and white, coupled with primary colors, we can attempt to recreate the abstract while still using a variety of values instead of just bold colors.

And one more thing: have fun with this!

Trillium Grandiflorum

It is almost Spring in Michigan and that can mean only one thing – it's trillium time! Trillium grandiflorum, also known as the great white trillium, are low growing woodland flowers that are one of my favorite signs that Spring has finally decided to grace us with Her presence.

I love traipsing through the woods in search of these rare and delicate little flowers. In creating this piece, I used a photo that I took in 2012 in Columbus, Michigan (St. Clair County) on the eastern side of the state. Set against a mottled, impressionistic background of woodland decay, this delicate little flower offers the promise of more Spring beauty yet to come.

I hope that you enjoy this piece as much as I enjoyed finding the trillium inspiration for it. We still have lots of snow here - several feet in many places, but the grass is trying really hard to poke its way through in many others. . .that can only mean that the trillium can't be too far behind. 

14.5" x 17“

Raw-edge fused applique

Hand dyed and commercial cottons, tulle, pencils and paint

Sign me. . .

Anxiously awaiting Spring.

Cheryl Casker

Your comments and critiques are welcome.

Spring is in the Air

We are experiencing the early signs of Spring with the buds on the trees thickening a little more each day.  Today is overcast with light snow, so Spring isn't quite ready to arrive.  This 12" x 12" piece was made by dyeing white fabric with bleeding tissue paper in blues, greens and purple.

Snow and Crocuses

13½" x 17"

A picture of early spring, I think I have it -- Impressionist style, probably not!  However, I always love the sight of the first crocuses to pop up among the leaf litter from the previous fall.

With this piece, I began the sacrifice of a mattress pad for my backing, and found that the top layer of that pad could be pulled off and made a nice impression of snow on the ground.  All the other pieces are cut from various cotton fabrics, and then I over-painted with some glitter fabric paint.

I would love any comments on this.

Reawakening

This was a really fun piece to do.  I simply freehand cut all the fabrics, pinned them onto the background layered onto batting and started stitching.  The snow is a sparkle organdy in two colors layered over a blue hand dyed fabric.  All the fabrics are hand dyed except for the organdy.   The larger tree trunks are strips of fabric, but all the rest of the trees, branches and the grasses are all thread painted.  The crocus and leaves were each cut from a single piece of fabric, then enhanced with stitching and Inktense pencils.  

I think this represents the theme and the light and shadow aspect of this challenge.

Here is a close up of the thread painting...so much fun to do!

It's been quite awhile since I have participated and this challenge gave me the 'bump start' I needed to get back in the groove...Thank you Cheryl!

As always, your input is appreciated...Cherie

Challenge #90, February 28, 2014

Hostess: Cheryl Casker

Title: Hurry, Spring!

Theme: Interpret the gift of life (Spring) that rises from the death (Winter) that came before it

Technique: Impressionism incorporating broken color theory that depicts the subtle play of light and shadow

Due date:  March 8, 2014

Having set a historical record for the most snow in one month in January in the state of Michigan (as well as others), we are more than just a bit winter-weary and anxiously look forward to the exquisite flora and fauna that Spring gifts us with each year. 

Awake, thou wintry earth -
Fling off thy sadness!
Fair vernal flowers, laugh forth
Your ancient gladness!

            ~Thomas Blackburn, "An Easter Hymn"

Yesterday the twig was brown and bare;
To-day the glint of green is there;
Tomorrow will be leaflets spare;
I know no thing so wondrous fair,
No miracle so strangely rare.
I wonder what will next be there!
            ~L.H. Bailey

  

Color As Light

Impressionism was a new style of painting that emerged in France at the end of the 19th century. The Impressionist artists were interested in trying to capture the changing effects of light on the landscape by using a more exact analysis of tone and color. Their ideas were inspired by Eugene Chevreul's scientific research into color theory.

The Impressionist artists abandoned the old idea that the shadow of an object was made up from the color of the object with some brown or black added. Instead, they enlivened their canvases with the new idea that the shadow of any color could be mixed from pure hues and broken up with its opposite color.  For example, the shadow on a yellow surface could have some strokes of lilac painted into it to increase its vitality.

As the Impressionists had to work quickly to capture the fleeting effects of light, they had to sacrifice some of the traditional qualities of outline and detail. http://www.artyfactory.com/color_theory/color_theory_1.htm

Broken Color

http://www.larrymoorestudios.com/broken-color/

Role of Colour in Impressionism

http://www.123helpme.com/view.asp?id=43792 

Characteristics of American Impressionism

http://www.flogris.org/learning/foxchase/html/about_impressionism.php 

Resources:

Claude Monet (French, 1840-1926)

 “When you go out to paint, try to forget what objects you have before you, a tree, a house, a field or whatever. Merely think here is a little square of blue, here an oblong of pink, here a streak of yellow, and paint it just as it looks to you, the exact color and shape, until it gives you own naïve impression of the scene before you.”

Snow at Argenteuil, 1875

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_at_Argenteuil 

The Water Lilies (series), 1899-1920

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_Lilies

Garten at Giverney, 1902

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Monet_-_Garten_in_Giverny.jpg

Garden Path at Giverny, 1902

http://www.claude-monet.com/giverny.jsp

Camille Pissarro (French, 1830–1903)

The Garden of the Tuileries on a Spring Morning, 1899

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/1992.103.3 

Fields: http://www.camille-pissarro.org/Fields.html

Gelée Blanche (Hoarfrost), 1873:  http://artchive.com/artchive/P/pissarro/frost.jpg.html

Snow Effect at Eragny, 1894: http://www.camille-pissarro.org/Snow-Effect-at-Eragny,-1894.html

L'Hermitage, 1868  (scroll down to #7):  http://camillepisarro.blogspot.com/

Rye Fields at Pontoise, 1868 (3rd painting down): http://camillepisarro.blogspot.com/

  

Pierre-Auguste Renoir (French 1841–1919 )

“No shadow is black. It always has a color. Nature knows only colors … white and black are not colors.”

Boating on the Seine, 1879

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/boating-on-the-seine-pierre-auguste-renoir.html

Two Sisters, 1881

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Renoir_-_The_Two_Sisters,_On_the_Terrace.jpg

And one final note – have fun with this!

Blue Rose

Blue Rose Center

When the 'Coming Up Roses' exhibit was announced, I choose to create this blue rose.  I decided I needed to post before the next challenge comes out in two days.

I wanted to create something dimensional.  This is my first try after seeing the wonderful dimensional flower quilts by Barb Forrister at Houston last fall.  I also attended her demo and got to meet her.  What a thrill.  She makes it look easy.  However, I found I ripped out a LOT.  If I had more of the blue satin, I would have just cut more.  Having a limited amount of fabric really pushed my creativity.  

I have been experimenting with different ways to finish out the quilt.  I have already thrown out three tries.  Because of my fabric limit, I try ideas out using other fabrics.  However, for me, the blue satin is the only fabric from my stash that works. Perseverance is the name of this game.

Blue Initials

This little quilt was from a guild challenge to use

our initials. I like blue. It's nice to make a quilt just for fun.

Cityscape: A Study in Blue

51" x 61" 

Commercial cotton, silk and polyester fabrics and threads

This piece has been on my drawing board since last fall: the pattern was drafted, the blue fabric palette had been auditioned, and the quilting design was determined.  All that was lacking was the time and motivation to begin.  Thanks to this timely challenge, I have not only started the piece, but finished it too (albeit a week late in the posting).

I have toyed with the idea of a series of cityscapes since last summer, and have drawn inspiration from many quilts and quilt artists on the Internet, our own Fast Friday contributor Meena Schaldenbrand's "I Love Detroit" http://fastfridayquilts.blogspot.com/2013/09/i-love-detroit.html, and the many incredible art quilts created by Ludmila Aristovta http://ludmilaaristova.squarespace.com/.  

This imaginary cityscape serves as a practice piece to sort out a few techniques for my future cityscapes including selection of appropriate fabrics for building surfaces, the quilting of water, working with reflections in water,  and getting proportions right for a realistic look.  While admittedly, this work is not even in the same class as one of Ludmila Aristovta's works of art, I certainly aspire to her level of artistry and look forward to creating more cityscapes that reflect many of the great cities that we all know and love.  This is my first step in the process and I thank you for allowing me to share it with you.

Your comments, suggestions and critiques are welcomed.

Warmest regards,

Cheryl Casker

Comedy/Tragedy

Sorry for the bad picture but I have a new program and can't seem to make it work for cropping.  I saw a picture of this small comedy/tragedy block and fell in love with it .  I knew it would look good in blue and white so here it is.  It always makes me happy to see these masks.

Pat Havey

Sea and Sky

16½" x 13¼"

A while ago I had gathered some black and white fabrics, and I always have plenty of blues, so I got a good start on this piece, until I found that the sparkly organza overlay somehow got cut at the bottom, and I had to piece another scrap on top and hand-sew it in.

I found the larger pattern of the black and white fabric to be too stark as it was, so I mixed some blue and black ink into water and dyed them, with a bit more blue applied to the edges.

The only added color would be the bit of silver in the sky with their "reflections" of the sparkles in the water.

Thanks, Ann, for a great challenge.  Comments welcome, as always!

Ori-Nui Shibori

When this challenge was announced, I immediately thought of all of the wonderful Shibori fabric I have created over the past couple of years.  While I've used many colours, a fair bit of it was done in blues.  Looking through the various fabrics, I found this table centre that I started working on a couple of years ago.  This was during a time that my arthritis was making itself known.  When I saw this, I had to accept the reality that it is unlikely that I will ever start any other hand stitched project. I am no longer capable, but --I could finish this!  A sort of "last Hurrah".

While I can't really call this "art", I did create the  dyeing design on the fabric, and then used that as a basis for the stitching design. I used a fairly coarse running stitch, using Coton a Broder--somewhat reminiscent of Sashiko.  My days of 20+ stitches to  the inch are long gone. :(

I feel a great sense of accomplishment with this, and welcome any comments.
Pat Findlay
aka fndlmous

Blue Moose

I am working in a class taught by Pamela Allen.  One of our assignments was to do a monochromatic piece.  I chose blue, my favorite color. I call it Blue Moose. It was made from bits of fabric left from other projects the center mountain was a pieced triangle lft over from an indigo roman strip quilt I made a few years back.  It is raw edge applique, the applique and the quilting done by hand with embroidery floss.Rosemary Hopkins

Blue Form

This could have been any color, but since the challenge was blue....  Yes, it's sculptural, but note that it is composed of five sections, each of which has backing, batting, and front fabric, all quilted before assembly.  So, is it still an art quilt or quilted art? Do art quilts have to be flat, 2-D?  You make the call.  Feedback is welcomed.

It's 9" tall and approximately 10" wide.  It's not a a soft sculpture; it's hollow.  Contour mesh (aluminum screening) adds structure to the lower portion.

Robert Hartley

Field of Square Posies

Blue is not a color I use often, so when the challenge was announced, I was on the fence. But after all, it is a challenge, so I pulled what few blues I have and came up with this piece, Field of Square Posies, which measures 12 1/2" x 9 1/2". I thought I added only a bit of yellow, so was surprised to see  a bit of green as well. Sorry, I didn't notice this until the quilt was finished!
All comments are welcome.
Ann In Fallbrook, CA

Wild Blue Yonder

Some friends and I dyed white fabric in an Indigo dye vat a couple of years ago, and I never did anything with the fabric.  The Blue theme this month is perfect for this.  It is a quilt on a quilt, as I brought the lighter square forward to add dimension.
Size is 14 x 22 inches.  I still need to add the outer binding.  Comments welcome.

Bluebird of Happiness

My sewing room is too cold to work in right now, but I found this challenge irresistible. So I decided to make "something blue" by just using cutting and fusing. I used fabrics from my bag of blue scraps, and there are about 40 different fabrics in the feathers. 

Once it warms up enough for me to get to my sewing machine, I will do some quilting on the bird and in the background. The finished size will be about 12" x 12"

Challenge #89, January 24, 2014: Blue . . .

Hostess:  Ann E. Ruthsdottir

Title:  Blue . . .

Due date: February 1, 2014

Theme:  Thinking blue

When I think about blue, countless themes come to mind: blue bloods, blue mood, the Blue Man Band, blue skies, blue water, Blue Ridge Mountains, Blue Stocking Society, blue collar, blue ribbons, etc. Blue is often used to signify the best quality as well as the lowest emotional mood.

Blue was my Mother's favorite color, not mine. However, I am painting my bedroom a shade of blue-purple. Not sure if it is to remember my Mother. It just seems to appeal to me at this point in my life.

Blue is the most popular color for decorating a home. My first table ware was white with blue decoration. My neighbors got together and got 'the first set free' at a Kroger promotion. I tired of the decoration, but loved the gift of friendship.

My challenge is to create a quilt that makes one think “blue”.

Technique:  Limited color palette

The major color should be blue. It is OK to add white and black and ONE other color. These should be minor additions; just an emphasis on the BLUE theme. Any subject that appeals to you, real or imaginative; traditional, modern, abstract or 'art' quilt

Resources

Following are some links to BLUE sites that hopefully will give you some ideas. I tried to put the ones I thought the best first. I got totally overwhelmed with all the gorgeous eye candy that is on-line.

Picasso:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picasso's_Blue_Period

http://pablo-picasso.paintings.name/blue-period/

http://www.pablopicasso.org/blue-period.jsp

Matisse also had a BLUE period

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Matisse

See specifically: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Nudes

Biblical uses of “blue”: http://tinyurl.com/FFFC89 or

http://www.blueletterbible.org/search/search.cfm?Criteria=blue&t=KJV#s=s_primary_0_1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue       

Blue quilts

Eleanor McCain: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/533958099540265816/

Kim Yasuda: http://www.kimyasuda.com/quilts/blue.html

Judy Laquidara:  http://www.patchworktimes.com/2010/01/21/quilt-without-borders/

http://www.allpeoplequilt.com/quilt-patterns/quilt-throws/blue-jeans-quilt

Tanesha: http://www.craftygardenmom.com/2012/09/fo-lovebirds-art-quilt.html

Video: Hungarian Blue Quilts, Houston Quilt Festival 2012: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m59YO-XLBQA

More references to BLUE

Depression Awareness Week: 11 Artists Who Had Blue Periods

 http://tinyurl.com/FFFC89-1 or  http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/04/25/artists-with-depression_n_1451512.html

Blue Man Group: http://www.blueman.com/about-blue-man-group

And to find more references, just google “Blue”!

One final note: have fun with this!

Sedimentary Strata

 

 

Painted Tyvek Rocks

Bend with the Wind

Painted Tyvek trees

Winter Ditch

Here is the full view, followed by two close-ups

This is my impression of a dried grasses in a snow filled winter ditch.  I started with white fabric and added colour using coloured pencils, because snow is very rarely seen as pure white.. The actual FMQ'g was done with three different colours of thread.  I used one of my own photos as inspiration.  I have been fascinated with the effect of wind and water, on snow and sand, for years and collect photos whenever I can.  Comments are welcome.
Pat f in Winnipeg

Challenge 88: Water and Wind

Challenge Hostess: Pat Findlay

Title: Water and wind

Theme: Create an image that shows the way the flow of water and/or wind can change things, over time.

Technique:  Free motion quilting

Due date:  Jan. 4, 2014

Both water and wind can move objects, sometimes minute objects, over time.  Sometimes the effect can be as simple as a gentle rain or breeze on our faces, or moving our hair, and is often indicated by repetitive lines or waves.  Over time the effect can be huge.

The result of this type of action can create a sense of awe within in us. Think of the way wind can sculpt a sand dune, or water erode a shore line, over time. Snow drifts can be both beautiful and sometimes a little threatening.  Think of the strata exposed in rock faces eroded by flowing water. You could show the actual action happening or maybe the result of the event over time. 

Similarly, you could use the technique of repetitive lines to show the effect on a skirt,  or even the fur of an animal.

Resources:

Judith G. Glover: www.judithgloverart.com?2011/09/16/beach-at-fort-fisher/

Roxanne Lessa, desert series: http://tinyurl.com/FFFC88-1  

Archived work of Charlotte Ziebart: http://www.charlotteziebarth.com/archived-work/ 

Claudia C.M. Raffi: www.cladiacamraffi.deviantart.com/art/water-and-wind-195950934

Tom Thomson: www.ago.net/the-west-wind

Marcia Baldwin: www.ebsqart.com/artist/marci-baldwin/5960/art-portfolio/thunder-wind/425777/ or http://tinyurl.com/FFFC88-2

Elizabeth Lunday: www.lunday.com/stormy-weather-wind-rain-and-lightening-in-art/

As well as the above, the usual Google images also show some excellent examples of the repetitive lines and curves that result from the long term effect of wind and water.

Google images of :

            wind effect on snow

            water lines in sand

wind action on sand

strata in rock formations

And one final note: have fun with this!