Ritsurin Garden: Koi ©2018 Martha Wolfe I really enjoyed this challenge and struggled to narrow down the direction I was going to go with it. Thank you, Misik, for an interesting and inspiring prompt! On my recent trip to Japan, I visited the beautiful Ritsurin Garden in Takamatsu. A gentle rain fell on the water and rippled through it. That peaceful moment was my inspiration for this piece. The repetition of the raindrops and the circles they created was my original thought, but as the piece evolved, that was replaced by the many ways repetition creeps into my work....fish are a recurring theme, layered painted organza frequently appears, parallel lines of quilting create a meditative repet
Teasel, 36x18", 2018 silk dupioni, hand and machine stitching. detail this piece was actually inspired by the back of brocades. I love the way the images are reversed, and the way they take on unexpected patterns I began by scanning my drawing into the electric cutter software- original drawing is on the left, and the actual cut files on the right. After the components were cut from sticky vinyl, I composed them on silk dupioni, which I chose for its rich purple coloring. The images were made in sections for two reasons- to maximize the use of the vinyl, and to provide me with more options to create a pleasing arrangement. I decided to use a reverse collotype method of printing, with the
Even in repetitive daily life and repetitive tasks, a little difference makes me feel fun I like the repetitive work of images. If you look closely at the pieces you see in the same pattern, there is no identical thing. Thanks Martha. I am happy with you and VP9 friends. Mono printed, Machine pieced, Machine quilted Size : 35 (H) 18 (w)
Weaving 97cm long x 48cm wide (38in x 19in) On a trip to Laos I was introduced to weaving. Sending time on the weaving loom, with the repetitive action of the thread shuttle passing back and forth plus the up and down action of the foot treadle, I came to greatly admire those who sit and weave all day. Thanks for the last challenge Misik. It gave me a chance to try weaving a quilt top with torn strips. I like the soft frayed edges of the strips. Materials: cotton, batik fabric, batting, threads, fabric dye, fabric paint, stamps, fusible web Techniques: hand dyed, hand stamped, hand woven with raw edge strips, fused, machine quilted
Recently I’ve been thinking about my fabric scraps: wondering why I’ve kept them and how I’d ever use them (assuming I could even find what I wanted). The “Repetition” challenge gave me the perfect opportunity to haul them out and see what I had. Inspired by my mother-in-law’s mini log cabin and color study quilts I decided to piece something with small blocks. I have a strange aversion to mixing hand dyed fabrics with novelty commercial prints so I purposefully made myself work with fabrics of each type. That is one of the joys of Viewpoints 9: the opportunity to experiment and to stretch my boundaries - however odd they may be. 😉 To further the repetition theme, I decided on a finished bl
"Repetition" is taken literally, with the repeated squares. But this piece is also a look back on all the Viewpoints9 quilts I've done over the years. As I went through them, I looked for things that tend to reoccur in my work. I definitely favor a secondary-color palette (purple, green, orange) and neutral gray. The squares were made from scraps leftover from past challenges. I also noticed a tendency to use circles and spirals in my recent pieces. These loose, sketchy circles were a fun way to add color and energy to an otherwise static grid pattern. I enjoyed tossing them onto the quilt and then interlocking the spirals in some places. Technical details: 36 x 18 in finished size ma
Repetition! I love this challenge. Whether working in a series or using themes and/or techniques, I'm on board. Maggie was created employing several of my personal themes: birds, Australia, sashiko-ish stitching, and combining hand-dyed and commercial fabric. Thank you, Misik!! I can't wait for our big reveal!
When I read the word proposed by Misik, what first came to my mind was repetition as a principle of design. When working on my quilts I always keep in mind the importance of repetition, but never on its own: it has to be combined with other principles, such as balance, space, unity, rhythm, contrast. My second thought was about the endless repetitive speech of my husband who has advanced dementia. Things are quite difficult at the moment. But quilting helps me get away from sad thoughts and keeps me going. My piece for this challenge will be based on my first, positive thoughts, not on the second ones.
One early afternoon after visiting Luana and Sophie Rubin at EQuilter in Boulder, I spied a little grove of teasels along a drainage ditch next to a back road. Of course I had to immediately pull over and take some pictures- I was very familiar with the hard dried brown seed pods commonly used in flower arrangements, but seeing them in their wild fresh new growth was new to me. I'm going to use their basic forms for my repetition challenge, contrasting their harsh pokiness with a rhythmic overlaid pattern. as always, I start with drawing...... stay tuned!
This word challenge is a great way to end our Word cycle and as I write this blog post I am repeating a pattern that the group Viewpoints 9 has created over the past 6 years. Did we in 2012, when Martha got us together, think that we would still be going in 2018? I don't know the answer to that, but I'm so happy to be part of this talented, dedicated group of artists. So repeating the pattern of blog posts, I ask myself what can I say about this challenge? Repetition plays an important underlying part of my daily life. As the sun repeats its daily cycle, so my life takes on the patterns I have created, the building blocks for my daily routines. Sewing is a repetitive task that I love. Comple
