Thursday, January 15, 2015

Braquesin, Sara's Modern Quilt

I struggled with this theme for quite a while. modern is an often used word that describes many things. I remember listening to a Lecture at the first QuiltConn gathering in Texas on "what is modern". The speaker referenced art movements at the turn of the century - the nineteenth to twentieth century, when the traditional French art Salon was challenged. I mulled over the different art movements and fretted over what I was going to do for most of the time we had to do this quilt. Over the New Years Weekend, my husband I went to Little Rock, Arkansas to attend a wedding. while there we visited an art museum that had a collection set up in historical order. I was really entranced by an engraving by George's Braque. Braque and Picasso developed the cubist movement of Modern Art, 

I did an on-line Google Image search and found several examples of Braques' engravings. One that I find particularly captivating is "FOX" as seen at http://www.artvalue.com/photos/auction/0/54/54968/braque-georges-1882-1963-franc-fox-3596064.jpg . 

Rather than copy this piece, I created a sketch inspired by it. I used black and white cotton. The black lines and arcs were cut from black fabric fused to Steam A Seam. I secured all the pieces with straight stitches using black rayon thread through all 3 layers of the 11 by 14 inch quilt. I added lines using grey rayon that are reminiscent of the shading in Braques' etchings. I wanted to add text but not use the word "fox" so I quilted in my name. The background is quilted with random lines in white rayon.

I am not a cubist but I really enjoy compositions created with moving lines and it was a lot of fun to start with the inspiration of an image and take it in a different direction.

11 comments:

  1. This is an interesting look at Modern, thanks, Sara.

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  2. And I thought you were going to be late, Sara! (She had emailed me earlier, thinking this quilt was due next month!) Anyway, obviously you had already gotten started, or you'd not have been able to post so very early this morning! A clever quilt, great for this challenging theme!

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  3. I looked at the original engraving and you've done a great job capturing the essence of it very well. It does look very modern. Nice work.

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  4. I, too, looked at the original work. Fascinating! This is a great way to depict "modern" Sara. Love that you added YOUR name! Well done!

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  5. I like this! Thanks for the link to the inspiration piece. You did such a nice job with the composition and I love your name added in there.

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  6. I saw a Warhol exhibit in Little Rock once that made me a fan of his instantly. He made a few bold strokes on a sheet of white paper which told a story magnificently. You have made a similar less is more piece of art. I like this. But it scares me to try this. Congratulations on your piece!

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  7. What a great interpretation of Modern! I guess I always think of "Modern Art" including lots of cubism, abstractions, and stark images. You certainly captured those elements! And thanks for the "Modern Art" art lesson !

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  8. I really like your take on modern. It looks like it took lots of planning yet is spontaneous at the same time. Is that a type of simultaneous contrast?
    I like all of the elements that you included.

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  9. Terrific interpretation of both Braque's Fox and Modern. I'm always fascinated to know what inspires people to create what they create. How fortuitous that you went to the wedding, as you may not have visited the museum otherwise!

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  10. Wonderful job, Sara! I love the minimal color, but with pop off the screen design! A great interpretation of Modern.

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  11. Great and different interpretation- lovely workmanship

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