At the April LAFTA (Louisville Area Fiber & Textile Artists) meeting we had a presentation on multiple ways of finding inspiration in the art of well-known artists. Project ideas almost immediately came to mind as the presentation included images of art. I’m fortunate to very seldom find myself without some form of inspiration or another, and in fact, often I have too many ideas, so much so that I’m sure I’ll never be able to start or complete them. Still, it’s a good place to be in!
On a weekend subsequent to the LAFTA meeting, there was an article in the paper about Jackson Pollock in recognition of what would have been his 100th birthday. I’ve always liked Pollock’s work and frequently drew on his technique when I was painting, having been known to splash a bit of paint around here and there.
Since my focus has been on fiber/art quilting for several years, I wondered how I might mimic Pollack’s fluidity and overall surface design in fabric.
Obviously fabric isn’t as instant or unstructured as paint, so I set parameters to keep myself from over thinking and planning it out too much and to encourage a more free, improvisational approach. I ironed a randomly cut piece of red felt, approximately 7” x 10”, given a ragged, pointed edge here and a curved corner there. I set a timer for ten minutes and quickly grabbed fabric scraps from the bin where they accumulate beside my sewing table. I positioned the pieces, including overlapping, to generally cover the surface of the felt, then zip, zip, zip, sewed them down. Fortunately all the scraps in the bin generally go together since they are bits and snippets of earlier projects in my usual bright, color-saturated colorway. There wasn’t time and I wasn’t allowing myself to selectively choose and place colors. If they came out a certain way, it was due to intuition.
Two sparse bobbins (because I was using whatever leftover bobbins were on hand and they ran out!) and a couple of quick thread changes later for variety, the timer expired. I allowed myself another ten minutes of zigzagging to add fabric strips and embellish with yarn and other items.
Beading for embellishment isn’t a quick process, even with just a few beads, so no time limit was put on that. I created polymer clay embellishments and attached them along with seed beads and sequins. The next day, after a quick visit to the art store to find an interesting background, the whole thing was stitched to a piece of charcoal paper. Here are the results.
It came out well enough and works as a surface, but next time I think I’ll try for some larger elements to create an actual composition. This was a freeing experience and great way to jumpstart the creative process. I recommend it for anyone between projects, or maybe you’ll want to set your own parameters that don’t involve time limits, etc. The small size is great since it doesn’t require a major commitment…if it doesn’t work out, no big deal…but if it sparks an idea for something bigger and better, yea! Be inspired!
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