I know I've talked about the way I work before, and in the current series I'm working on I have a really good example of that. This first piece is in the early stages, where I've decided what I want to do, but haven't finished deciding how I want to do it. I've dyed the fabric black, then bleached out what I want. If I leave large black areas in the piece, such as this one, I usually go back in and overdye the black, because it often looks dark green or navy after the first dye. This will sit on my design wall for a few days while I think about the next step.
Sometimes I will add in color before I stitch it, sometimes I wait until it has shrunk up a bit after washing to add the color. It depends if I want a more solid look or not. On the piece below, I am stitching first, then I'll wash it and thick about what I want to do next.
This is a piece I'm in the middle of stitching. My design wall is over to the right and I spend a lot of time glancing at it during the day. Mindless row stitching gives me time to think about what I want to do with the other pieces I'm working on.
The piece below is done with the machine stitching, and after washing it a few times to shrink it, I added some color with fabric paint. Now I'm doing some hand stitching, and thinking about how I want to finish it. The top two pieces and this piece are part of a series within a series, from the body parts http://aviewwithin.wordpress.com, I'm working on a mini series about in vitro fertilization.
This last piece is done, and I'm applying the backing and sleeve. I never used to do the back and sleeve until something was accepted into an exhibit, but I really find it boring and hate doing several at once.
So there you have it. Five pieces in various stages of making. I don't always have this many pieces going at one time, but I rarely have less than three. I think I make better art when my mind can shift around from process to process.
http://aviewwithin.wordpress.com
2 comments:
Thank you for showing how you work. I love seeing up close view of your stitches...I, too, dislike putting backing and sleeves on my art but it's necessary.
Do you stitch the long lines with a batting?
I find your work very interesting. More painterly than most art quilts.
PS I am in the midst of season 2 of the Americans. I had no way to watch the first season so I went ahed and started on the second season. I like it. My husband does not.
Post a Comment