I am making another turtle quilt, because when I thought about it, I have never had an exhibition where a lot of my work is shown without a turtle quilt, so i didn't want the exhibition at the European Centre of Patchwork to be the exception.Plus I love turtles and i can kill two birds with one stone as I have to write an article for the German magazine Patchwork Ideen so i will use this quilt. I sold the little one I made in November- this one is slightly bigger and will hang next to the sea urchin one on which I still have to finish hand stitching.
The next week is going to be a marathon of sewing to try and get all the new work I want done done so i can send it to France. I may be able to do a little sewing whilst I am in Egypt but I am not counting on it.
I must admit when I sit and sew for hours on end on the sewing machine all sorts of thoughts go through my head- so today the thing that went through my head is ;
What is the most singular experience that has effected your art making? and what piece of art has most influenced your art making?
It is a question to you as well!
The most singular things ( sorry can't leave it at one there really are three things) for me has been dyeing fabric, the ability to free motion quilt, and Vliesofix ( wunder under). The artist that has provided me with the most aha, and has helped me simplify my own work is Matisse- particularly his cut out work, but most of all his drawing for the period leading up to this period- his gestural lines are fantastic. I would love to get a book of his drawings one day. Studying his work has taught me a great deal about assymetrical balance- to look at the tension it creates in the work to look at line as emotion, and to somehow make more with less but not pare it down to minimalism. His work also made me realise it's ok to be organic in the forms I use- not everyone is attuned to linearity and geometry
6 comments:
Hi Dijanne,
I agree with you about the 3 most influential things - I would have answered the same. I find your work very appealing and have put a link to your blog on mine (still a baby blog awaiting formal joining of the Artful Quilters web). If you're happy to link, I'm at http://shirleygoodwin.blogspot.com/.
Shirley Goodwin
Dyeing2Design, NZ
How well you pinpointed all your reasons. After reading those I found it difficult to find any better. I do love your Turtles and this one on is really special.
Oh Dijanne....you shouldn't try to make me think so early in the morning! I am still on my second cup of coffee! I will have to wait and think on this later today. However, I don't need to think about the turtle. I love them too and this one is delicious!! Your colors just sing.
teri
I'm delighted to see a return of the turtles! There is a something in the ease of your quilting that suggests you are too!
The questions are good ones to ponder over - but I've a sneeky feeling the lovely Marion B. will find her way into the answer!
I LOVE the quilting on the turtle, Dijanne. That is just fabulous!
Things that have influenced me in fabric art, in particular - two of them would be the same as yours...learning to do free-motion quiting and the "discovery" of fusible web. I'm not a big fan of fabric dyeing, although I'll do it now and then, but I like to add drawing (with colored pencils) and/or painting to quilts sometimes, so I'd include those on my list too.
I'm not sure a could name any one artist who has been a major influence, but I'm very drawn to work that is about color and line.
Will you be going anywhere south-west-ish on your visit to France? If so, you must go to the Matisse museum in Nice. Wondrous place (near Roman ruins too, and the Chagal museum too) which has changing exhibitions of M's work often with lots of those astonishing drawings. (Watch out for the dog shit on the pavements of Nice, however.)
Interesting questions to mull. I've posted my immediate thoughts on my blog.
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