September Art Quilt Group

We had a good meeting Monday with good show-n-tell and discussion.  There was great inspiration presented in the form of many small “sketch” pieces two members, Carrie and Darlene, made at a recent retreat with Gwen Marston.  Now they have me thinking about using solid color fabrics instead of so many prints.  That could be a challenge!

My piece in response to the “portrait finish” challenge was the piece below that I’ve entitled “Fractured.”  I’ve not been one to convey meaning with my art, but I’m trying new things lately, so I gave it a whirl.  It’s meant to depict the emotional aftermath of conflict, and I was going through my own process as I created it.  I’m not completely happy with the results, but that probably has more to do with the associated feelings.  At one point (or several points, really), I was ready to give up and throw it out the window.  It finally got to a stage that I sought professional help – assistance from Darlene, one of the owners of Forget-Me-Knot Quilt Shop where the Art Quilt Group meets.

She’s expert at finding just the right coordinating fabrics/colors, and she made suggestion after suggestion for the background portrait finish “frame.”  I lost track of how many bolts we auditioned, but we settled on this blue one which seemed just the right fit, and it made me feel better about the piece.

Besides her portrait finish piece (which was very well done…and the quilting was impeccable, of course!), Elaine showed this wonderful piece she made for me.  It’s my dog, Max, done in Elaine’s thread painting technique.  I love it.  And, she picked great fabrics for the frame and edge.  I’m so happy to have a piece of her art in this style.

 

Here’s a detail to show the stitching.

 

Marilyn showed a simple but elegant three-tone piece with wool fiber felted onto silk…now she has my interest piqued to try this technique!  That’s one of the things I really enjoy about this group – exposure to different materials and techniques.

We also started a discussion about just what an “art quilt” is, including differentiating between art and craft.  A number of thoughts were shared with no obvious conclusion reached since the whole “what is art?” question is a longstanding one and open for debate.  I think this discussion will be useful as we, the Art Quilt Group, move forward since it can help guide our activities and individual creative development.  I’m sure we’ll revisit it at the next and future gatherings.

For October, I’ve issued a challenge to create a mask and bring it to the next meeting, which will be a fabric dying party.  This should be fun.  I’m looking forward to seeing the results!