How does one go about creating a art quilt? I won’t get into the details about discovering your creative voice, love of fiber, personal symbolism and bizzare fabric fetishes for now. I just want to give you a idea of what goes through my mind.
First I had the creative urge. Then I fell in love with Jude Hills’s quilt, Hearts in the Wind. This quilt got me thinking about what I wanted my next quilt to be. Hearts have meaning for me. They don’t represent love for me, but emotions.
There is something very primal yet delicate about Jude’s work. Her work feels personal. What might be considered flaws for some quilters (tears, holes, loose threads, illregular shapes) are what give Jude’s work soul.
So when I started to create my quilt there where certain elements I wanted to keep in mind. I wanted to use the symbol of a heart. I wanted my quilt to scream handmade. And I wanted the stitches to provide texture and a kind of humanity.
Then I saw The Silly Bodilly’s Work Quilt. I just melted for the playful use of colors and shapes. I personally have trouble dealing with such a large compositions, so I decided to stick with a simple composition. Like the Hearts in the Wind quilt, this quilt has great texture provided by the quilting. Bodilly’s quilting is a bit more formal yet she is able to keep the humanity in her stitches.
The color’s Bodilly used are strong and natural. They convey a strengh that isn’t forced.
From Bodilly’s quilt I learned that I wanted a quilt that was strong and solid. I also wanted abstract shapes. And, like with Jude’s quilt, quilting stitches that add a zesty texture.
This is my Quilt. Quite simple. Not finished yet. It has a heart. It is hand quilted with texture in mind. It has a couple abstract elements. I believe the colors give a feeling of strength, even though the yellow applique has a softness about it. It looks very handmade. It’s small, about 30″ x 30″ since I find that I don’t enjoy doing large quilts. The fabric is soft to the touch. There is a small bit of embroidery (clck on quilt images to see the details better).
Sometime soon I will go into the actual steps of how my designs evolve into the finished design. Just so you know, it took four false starts to get to this design.
Also, did you notice that I was able to use the word zesty in this blog? I believe that I have never, ever used this word in any of my writing.
Jude Hill’s Blog: http://www.spiritcloth.typepad.com/
The Silly Bodilly’s Blog: http://thesillyboodilly.blogspot.com/
The Heart Quilt is finished. It’s final size turned out to be 30″ x 30″. It took 2 weeks to finish and that’s working on it mainly in the evening. I think I had one Saturday that I worked on it all day.
I can see why so many quilters like to have a white or off- white background fabric on their quilts. It shows off the quilting stitches.
This photo isn’t as interesting as the ones above, but it does show the entire quilt.
Here is what I have so far.
