Ideas and Inspiration

What was I thinking in my last post, promising to write about getting ideas?  For me, ideas for art pieces come from anywhere and everywhere.  If I lived to be 100 and sewed constantly until then, I still would not get out all the ideas that I have in my head.  For those of you looking for inspiration, it is a matter of training yourself to see and not just look.  Don’t overlook simple things, if you pass over many possible ideas, it is time to ask yourself whether or not you really want to make something.  Forget about the myth of waiting for inspiration, ideas are all around you. 

I might be captivated by a vintage textile.  My collages usually start with two or three vintage pieces that I like, and I build a composition around them.

A color combination could get me started:

I am surrounded by beautiful Appalachian meadows, forests and farmland, some of my art reflects the scenery I see every day.

Oddly, abandoned buildings hold great fascination for me.  My fabric boxes are my way of capturing the passage of time.  Those same boxes came about first from a quote in a John Steinbeck novel. 

Most importantly, just make things!  Make time to be creative at least several times a week.  Turn off the TV for an hour, and create.  Don’t be afraid of making a mistake, it will happen, but that is how we all learn.  I am always reciting my mantra that a new skill or technique will not be perfect the first time that you try it.  Keep going!

Getting Started with Art Quilts

A day late...

I'm often asked how to get started in art quilting.  There are many resources out there now for art quilting, not just books, but blogs (like this one!), workshops, retreats, online classes and more.  To me, the most important thing in an art quilt is that the finished piece is your own original design.  No patterns or kits, just your personal vision.  Too many people let themselves get intimidated by being original and creative.  Creating artwork in any media is no different than learning a language, playing a musical instrument, or any other skill.  Way back in our youth, we started to learn to read and write by first learning letters and their sounds.  The letters were put together in words, then sentences.  We learned grammar and punctuation, building to paragraphs.  Best-selling novels are not written by kindergartners!  Did you learn to sew in one hour? 

Two early projects that I made from The Art Quilt Workbook

Image and designs copyright RPS

Art has its own elements that need to be mastered a little at a time: color, design and composition.  Creativity can be learned or more appropriately, re-learned.  Too often , creativity is discouraged as we proceed in our education.  Yes, rules should be followed, but we also need to recognized when the rules must stick , and when we can stray from them. 

One of the exercises that I made from The Fiber Artist's Guide to Color and Design

Image and design copyright RPS

I have encountered three excellent books for anyone interested in art quilting and being more creative.  The first is Art Quilt Workbook by Jane Davila and Elin Waterston (C&T Publishing, 2007).  Another one is The Fiber Artist's Guide to Color and Design: The Basics and Beyond by Heather Thomas (Landauer Publishing, 2011).  One more is Art + Quilt by Lyric Kinard (Interweave Press, 2009).  All three do a great job of explaining the vocabulary of art design elements, and have a series of exercises to complete, highlighting the design concepts.  It is crucial to do the exercises - build your skill set.  Most importantly, make things!

Next time, a bit about getting ideas.

Word of the Day

The word of the day is bedight.  According to my trusty Webster's Dictionary, bedight (archaic) is a verb meaning to deck out; array.  Also, bedighted, bedighting.  The discovery of this obscure word came about from an enlightening conversation with my mother about a heavily embellished quilt that she is working on.  Of course, I have been known on occasion to open my dictionary at random and start browsing.  There is always some discovery to be made.  I feel the same way about libraries, museums, and traveling.  What will I discover next?  What have YOU discovered lately?

Image and design copyright RPS

I'm off now to bedight some artist trading cards...

Lessons from my Food

I recently purchased a new kitchen board for making my own bread.  The board was something I had custom made by a local wood crafter, duplicating a cheaply made one that came with a cheap kitchen cart years ago.  I liked the design of the original one, so it was worthwhile to me to have one made with better wood and finishing.  I cannot help but wonder why objects that are well designed still get made with subpar materials.  I am a firm believer in "you get what you pay for."

My intent in making my own bread is part of a continuing project to eat better.  Not only does the quality of the flour, yeast, butter, etc. affect the final product, I feel that the tools used make a difference too.  I know that I am more willing to devote the time in the kitchen when I have well designed, quality, beautiful utensils to work with.  The same goes for my textile art.  My sewing machines would get packed with lint from cheap thread, causing damage to parts that are difficult to replace.  The quality of the fabric that I use will not get hidden in the final product.

Whether it is making bread, making a craft or learning the skills for these pursuits, we need to remember to take the time for them.  Our society is tuned too much towards instant gratification.  As frustrating as it may be, most things in our lives just don't work that way.

The Gap Between Art and the Viewer

I'm not intentionally trying to stir up trouble here, but this is something that needs to be addressed by the art world.  There is a huge gap between the fine art world and the general public.  I have never been comfortable with art that has to be explained to the viewer, but in many examples, there has to be some sort of explanation given for the artwork.  As I have experienced not only at the most recent Quilt National and in numerous art galleries and museums, I often still fail to see what I am supposed to see.  Especially with contemporary art.

What am I missing? Is it just me that has this problem?

Is this art or just a busted-up piano?

Yes, it is just a busted-up piano, but I like the shapes that the parts create, and it could be an interesting abstract composition in an art quilt (or some other media).  However, if I translate this image into my own art, should I try to assign more meaning to the finished work?  Would the average person catch that it is a reference to a line in a Tom Waits song*?  Probably not.

What are your criteria for "good" art?  Why do you make art?  Is art a valid form of communication?  Should it be a form of communication?  What would it take to get more people into art museums, and to local art fairs to buy art?

*If you are curious, the song is Cold, Cold Ground ("The piano is firewood, Times Square is a dream /
I find we'll lay down together in the cold cold ground").  Then there is the quandary of figuring out what the song means...

Considering Children's Book Illustrators

I’ve mentioned before that I have been sporadically completing the exercises in the Art Quilt Workbook by Jane Davila and Elin Waterston (C&T Publishing, 2007).  One on the things that I appreciate about this book is the short list in each chapter of “artists to study” whose works relate to the lesson in the chapter.  The artists are mostly well-known and easily researched names.  No matter what art medium you are exploring, you cannot get away from looking at the work of other artists and learning from them.  Art history constantly builds on what came before.  College art students often get assignments to copy a painting hanging in a museum to learn multiple techniques.  One word of caution, it is always prudent to respect copyright, artists at any level need to be familiar with copyright laws.  Check your local library for a selection of good resources on copyright, and you could always try to wade through the essential source for copyright, the U.S. Copyright Office  

There are other artists to consider aside from the usual suspects of art history.  At my day job, I spent some time recently shelf reading the children’s books.  I have re-discovered some personal childhood favorite illustrators and found some new ones that are worth study for applying to my own art adventures.  Of course, I cannot insert images of these illustrators’ work here, but I encourage you to investigate them further. 

First, consider the collage illustrations of Lois Ehlert (Lots of Spots, Boo to You, etc.) and Eric Carle (Pancakes, Pancakes, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, etc.).  Ehlert creates images from layers of paper shapes accented with cut-outs and tiny paper bits.  Carle creates his collage illustrations from shapes cut out of painted papers, then adds detail with more paint and crayon lines.  If you want to create representational images from fabric using applique, take a look at these two.  The two small quilts below are what I created for the chapter two and three exercises in The Art Quilt Workbook.  These were done before I rediscovered Ehlert and Carle, but they make my point nicely; I certainly could have had the two illustrators in mind when I made the quilts.  The carrots and squash were created by fusing fabric cut into the desired shapes, then detailed with hand or machine stitching, similar to Ehlert’s and Carle’s techniques with paper.

Images copyright RPS, please do not copy or repost

On a bit of an aside, I highly recommend giving the children in your life a copy of Carle’s Pancakes, Pancakes for the message it contains about what it takes to make something. 

I’ll have something different on Thursday, next week I will look at another illustrator, hopefully with a quilted example that applies what I see in the art.  I’ve got to get busy!

End of Year Goals

Five art quilt goals I want to meet by the end of the year:

1. Get through workshop #4 in A Fiber Artist's Guide to Color and Design (Heather Thomas, Landauer Publishing, 2011).  A couple of years ago, I made three art quilts from workshop #1 in this book, and got sidetracked on moving forward with the other workshops.

2. Make at least four more pages for my sample fabric book from Fabric Embellishing: The Basics and Beyond (Chandler/Kettle/Thomas/Vleck; Landauer Publishing, 2009).  Another ongoing project that I set aside.

Image and design copyright RPS, please do not pin or post elsewhere

3. Find my copy of Art Quilt Workbook (Davila & Waterson, C & T Publishing, 2007), and do two more chapters/workshops.  Do you see a trend developing here?  Finish unfinished things!

4. Finish my ATC-a-day project that I started three years ago, or was it four years...

Image and design copyright RPS, please do not pin or post elsewhere

5. Start my entry for Quilt National 2019!

The Collecting - Creativity Conundrum

I am a collector of many things.  I've often wondered about a possible connection between the collecting mentality and creativity in people.  Is collecting linked to being more creative?  How many producing artists are collectors of... anything?  One could get a headache pondering this, but I'd love to investigate it someday. 

Off the top of my head, there are some art history heavyweights that were collectors: Joseph Cornell, Louise Nevelson, Claes Oldenburg, and Robert Rauschenberg had to have some quantity of cast off stuff for materials for their artwork.  In the case of Oldenburg, the objects were not used in his artwork, but were the inspiration for his large scale sculptures of everyday objects.  In Claes Oldenburg, An Anthology (Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, 1995), there are a couple photos of shelves in his studio, piled with all sorts of odd items.  I sometimes wonder how these artists acquired their collections.  Did they go to junk auctions like the ones I frequent?  Were they dumpster divers?  Did they claim whatever things people that they knew were discarding? 

What do you collect, either consciously or unconsciously?  Some collections grow without the collector realizing he or she is collecting.  One of the easiest and cheapest (make that free) collections would be the gathering of quotations.  I have a small sketchbook just for the purpose of recording quotes that I like.  Since I have much to do before the quilt show this weekend,  I will leave you with this until next time:

"Art is not to be awaited; it is to be chased down, cornered, and beaten into submission with a stick."
--Michael Perry, Population 485

Now, go make something!  Or start or add to a collection...

Book Review - Natural Dyeing

Book review time!  I thought I’d profile the sources I have on plant dyes, as I am eagerly anticipating the first hollyhock flowers soon.  I am also seeing yarrow flowers opening and the horsetail is proliferating in the roadside ditches.  I need to order some silk yardage!  Here are the books that I have on my shelf: 

Wild Color: The Complete Guide to Making and Using Natural Dyes.  Jenny Dean, with Karen Diadick Casselman, Octopus Publishing (Watson-Guptill/Crown Publishing/Random House), revised edition – 2010.

                This is the best single source I have found on plant dyes.  Easy-to-follow, concise step by step instructions, clear photographs and a section that profiles a good selection of dye plants with the colors that they yield.  Highly recommended for the beginning dyer and anyone who wants to grow their own dye plants. 

The Complete Guide to Natural Dyeing.  Eva Lambert and Tracy Kendall, Interweave Press, 2010.

                Another excellent source with step by step instructions and accompanying photographs.  The focus is almost strictly on prepared natural dyes mail ordered from supply companies.  It only briefly glosses over collecting dye plants.  The concept of growing your own plants is apparently completely ignored.  Suitable for those who can’t have or don’t want their own garden. 

A Dyer’s Garden. Rita Buchanan, Interweave Press, 1995.

                Very good source, smaller and shorter book than the others mentioned here.  Definitely for gardener artisans.  The dye process instructions are written in prose, so I would recommend this for those who have done some natural dyeing, or as an additional resource to supplement one of the first two books listed here.  Great descriptions of dye plants and their cultivation. 

Eco Color: Botanical Dyes for Beautiful Textiles.  India Flint, Interweave Publishing, 2008.

                Interesting idea source for the advanced dyer, in-depth processes, but not concise.  Lots of interesting science and history information, loaded with overwhelming artsy photographs.  Worth the cost for a thorough list of natural dye plants from around the world. 

The Handbook of Natural Plant Dyes.  Sasha Duerr, Timber Press, 2010.

Harvesting Color: How to Find Plants and Make Natural Dyes.  Rebecca Burgess, Artisan/Workman Publishing, 2011.

                I’ll discuss these two books together, since they are very similar.  Quite frankly, neither of these two books have been very useful for me.  The organization is rather haphazard, but there is some good information and instruction scattered throughout, the reader has to work a bit to glean it.  If one wants to take the time, I would recommend writing notes from these two into something to use in the dye work area.  The Burgess book is marred by frequently blurry and oddly cropped photographs (the headless torsos holding plants are just plain creepy), and I was horrified to see images of bare hands dipped in pokeberry juice, which is toxic (and it is stated so in the text of the book!)  Both books are targeted for single-project dyers who might embark on dyeing once or twice a year.

Quilts, tanks and B-29s

I just got back from the Cleveland edition of the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo.  If you're a regular reader here, you are probably realizing that I like to unearth an unexpected story or connection to my textile art travels.

Here is this trip's history bit.  The event was held at what is now the International Exposition Center, next to the Cleveland airport.  The building was originally the General Motors B-29 bomber factory during World War II.  During the Korean War, it was the Cadillac Tank factory.  A proving ground was developed around the building for test the tanks.  Of course, now it is home to various trade shows throughout the year.  (I-X Center website) 

Much as I should be trying to sell my own fabric, I made a few purchases:

A small bagful of overdyed kimono silk scraps
Three small bags (three yards each) of assorted rayon ribbons
One Shiva oil paintstick
Two spools of WonderFil Eleganza perle cotton #8
Nearly two yards of a gorgeous flower trim, two different flowers in it.  The little orange ones are made from wooden beads!  No wonder it was $7.99 a yard.
Some thin ribbons in specific colors I need for a project
Three packs of Painter's Threads
A Ruffler - not a sewing machine attachment, the long wooden contraption in the center of the photo.  It makes a frilly strip out of thin fabric scraps for embellishing.  Suggested uses were garlands, flowers, garment edges.  Obviously, I am playing with it already, and I have some ideas of my own for using the ruffles.

I spent most of the day at the SAQA table, selling memberships.  Next year, I hope to be a vendor at this show.



A B-17, not the B-29s that were made in Cleveland.

 

Embroidery Stitches

Whenever I get together with other art quilters, talk often turns to techniques and where one gets their ideas or where they learned a certain way of doing something.  I have been wanting to talk about textile art resources for a while now, so here is the first of a periodic series on what I have been using to learn.  NOTE:  I do not receive any compensation for mentioning any book, product or individual on this blog!

 

I have been working on a (somewhat) weekly project, making a fabric postcard sampler of hand embroidery stitches.  The amazing array of textures created by hand stitching in crazy quilts and ribbon embroidery was probably the biggest factor in my finally learning to sew and jumping into art quilting.  Over the past few years, I have amassed a stack of books on fancy stitches.  I keep coming back to four of them more than any of the others.

For my weekly stitch samples, I have slowly been working my way through the Embroidery and Crazy Quilt Stitch Tool by Judith Baker Montano (C&T Publishing, 2008).  You really can’t go wrong with any of her books, but I feel that this is the best of her stitching books if you want to learn stitches.  No images of her stunning stitch work here, just clear instructions on creating some 180 thread and ribbon stitches, very easy from which to teach oneself.  My little project consists of making one postcard per stitch, and I use as many different threads as I can, resulting in my own visual stitch journal/”dictionary.”  It is a great reference for choosing a thread and stitch for a certain look that I want to achieve, and sometimes it is a reminder that some stitches don’t look so great in some threads.  If something doesn’t work out, I leave it as a reminder. 

Another stitch guide that I refer to frequently is Creative Stitching by Sue Spargo (self-published, 2012).  This source covers only about 50 stitches, and there is some duplication with the Montano book, but there are enough other stitches not in Montano to make it worthwhile.  Spargo also gives helpful recommendations on what needles to use for each stitch.  

Once I’ve mastered the basics of some new stitches, I look to Montano’s Free-Form Embroidery (C&T Publishing, 2012) and The Magic of Crazy Quilting by J. Marsh Michler (Krause Publications, 2003) for endless inspiration on combining and altering stitches by stretching and overlapping. 

As I mentioned, I have other books on embroidery stitching, and there are more than that out there, these are simply then ones I use most often.