Untitled
11" x 14"
stencil, screen printed, hand-dyed cotton, machine quilted
This quilt was inspired by a photo taken on a recent trip to France. We spent two nights in the very magical town of Colmar, with its cobblestone streets, half-timbered buildings and flowers still in bloom. No matter which way I turned, I couldn't help but smile.
Even before starting this quilt ( I had a completely different idea in mind ) I made a line drawing from the photo of what I thought would give a "feel" for the architecture, then made a Thermofax screen of the drawing. When preparing to do a "test" print of the screen on white fabric, there were small scraps of hand-dyed fabric on my print table and thought, hmmmmm...what would this look like if I place a few of these scraps randomly down and printed on top of them? Nothing to lose, so I did and really loved it, so decided that this would be the beginning of my Joy quilt instead of my other idea. Then the overthinking began: "I can't do this, it is just too simple". OK, what if I add something to the background? So decided to cut a freezer paper stencil of large run-on words of places and things that give me joy, to print on background which would add another layer.
This is version #3. #1 was my experiment, #2 was on a light grey linen but the color I stenciled
the background with was too dark and overpowered the other imagery. The use of the grey also gave a different "feeling" that I did not like, even though I did like the texture of the linen. I went back to look at version #1 that gave me so much creative "joy" and realized it was the black imagery on the white background with those few "blips" of color that I had lost by "overthinking"
Simplicity won!
inspiration photo
freezer paper stencil
Andrea, this is Alice! I have to post anonymously, as I'm having problem with Blogger allowing me to comment any other way. Anyway, you've gone to a lot of work, and all your efforts pay off with a striking quilt! I'm so happy for you that your travels bring you JOY!
ReplyDeleteOh Andrea … You know you had me at the mere mention of "Thermofax Screens" ! I still have all my screens, and that large roll of screen "fabric" but alas.... no Thermofax machine in sight :-\ I LOVE the stark simplicity of this piece, and can truly feel the JOY that you experienced during this trip to Paris. Great job !
ReplyDeleteLove the line drawing of the city and the contrast with the background of your other sources of joy!! Simple yet dramatic presence.
ReplyDeleteI love your piece. The simplicity is so striking. What fun to create apiece from your recent trip.
ReplyDeleteLove all of your experimentation Andrea - they rendered a beautiful piece! What a special and lovely tribute to your joyful trip to Paris!
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