Now that I have some time off from teaching, I've acted on my thought of making a group blog that we can all contribute to. I'll start with a post. I'm not sure I've set things up correctly for you to be able to comment, but let's see what happens. I hope some of you will comment on the post, so I can see if it's working. I also want to set this up so that all of us can be "blog authors" on the site--that is to write postings. To do this, you will need to set up an e-mail address for yourself on google mail; go to http://www.google.com and click on Gmail. Once you do that, send me your gmail address, and I'll add you in as a blog author. Send to my usual address: pgold@knox.edu.
So, here's a substantive posting: I think I'm not alone among us in having a difficult time getting to the quilts that are the "big idea" quilts. Why is it so hard? For me, I think it's that so much is at stake in these for me--things I want to express, and to do it effectively, to make the quilt worthy of the idea. I have to keep reminding myself that it's "just fabric," that things can be done and re-done. Hey, we've got it a lot easier than stone carvers! Last week my husband and I went to a quiet place in the countryside near here for a couple of nights. On the day in the middle, while David went to play golf, I pulled out the fabric I had brought with me--to make a maquette of a new quilt I've been thinking about. It really helped to be away from everything else, no distractions, no excuses for not doing it. So here it is. Rather than tell you the idea behind it, I'd love to hear from you as to what it "says" to you. Will be helpful for me to see if my intentions are evident in the object.
Thoughts? Comments? I'd love to hear how you think this might work better. Maquette is about 16" square. I'm imagining a quilt perhaps double that size.Penny
7 comments:
Dear Penny and Fellow Campers,
Much thanks to Penny for starting this blog. I'm sending along this post to help see if the blog setup thing is working. Re Penny's maquette I think to me it says something about harmony and strength - the colors seem intense but are not fighting with each other.
Dear Penny,
This is to respond to your test.
Thank you again for setting up the blog and dragging me into the world of technology. Your maquette seems to express growth... blooming to me.
Hi Penny,
Maybe this attempt will work since I am on the list below.
Again, I thought your maquette was lovely. To me it is an expansion sort of on top of some event--like ripples from a stone in water, or petals on top of previous petals unfolding--and the colors seemed so quietly emotional.
Marny
Penny,
Thanks again for setting up the blog. Your maquette has a feeling of renewal or growth. Your colorwork is intriguing as it combines warm and cool in a very organic manner that denotes depth. Looking forward to seeing the quilt.
Penny,
I keep coming back to your design, studying the shapes and color. The first thing I notice is the strong orange. I have an advantage in knowing a little about your BI,I wonder if a more horizontal line might fit your theme. I love the soft colors!
OK, now I'll disclose the idea behind the maquette! First let me say that your comments confirm for me what I felt what I ended up with the maquette--that it had strayed pretty far from the idea and ended up with something else. I still like it a lot as a design--and appreciate very much all your positive comments!--but I'll have to try again if I want to express the original idea. Which is this: I've found in the last few years that if I'm having trouble getting to sleep, I can settle my mind and drift off by thinking of an image that is soft pastels in curvy shapes. The image always starts with a curve of color in the bottom right, and then I build out in arrays of different values of pastels out and up from there. I think of the image as "Sweet Dreams." When I gathered the fabric to make a maquette of this idea, it occurred to me that I might need a darker value or two to lend some interest to it as a quilt composition (as opposed to a vaporous image in my mind). And although the image in my mind is totally piles of pastel curves, I liked how the bright, dark coral looked as a kind of background. But in all the comments, there is only one (Marny's) that mentions the word "quiet", which is closes to what I was originally aiming for. So what the heck, it's just fabric, I'll try another maquette with just the softer pastels, and without a dark background, and see what happens. Although I should say that it took me about 5 hours to do this. I had a little drawing that I was working from, trying to replicate it. Maybe next time I'll blow up the drawing (revised) and do rough templates from it. And this one stays in the line-up as possible to revise into another quilt, but I'll have to think of another name, more like "Bright Dreams". . .
Hi Penny,
Just testing.
Kathy D
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