Saturday, November 27, 2010

Vibes

"When it rains I make my own sunshine"

Remember the mooshy rainy background I was working on for the High Fiber Diet "Northwest Vibes" show? I finished the piece today. Some pieces go together fairly uneventfully. This one did not. One of the requirements for this show was size. The outside measurement (all 4 sides added together) has to be at least 100". I knew that, and then I forgot that and made the background too small when I decided I wanted it to be a narrow horizontal. Fortunately I figured out a way to add to the width and it is not noticeable.

Then I made the forground elements, laid them on the background, and decided they too, were too small.

So I redid all of that. Doing that was actually good. It gave me an opportunity to rethink the color a bit and make it a little warmer and richer for more contrast to the rainy background. It also seemed like that white elipse that was the inside of the mug was where my eye kept going, so I changed that too. A relatively small change that, I think, made a big difference. I need to take a better photo to submit, I see. The photo is a little too dark and the sides of this piece are really straight. Really.

So, I still don't know for sure what the heck a "vibe" is, but if the Northwest has its own vibe I think rain must be part of it.
Posted by at

7 comments:

  1. Sara6:59 AM

    I like the contrast between the rainy background and the sewing materials.

    And thanks for talking about your "process". You help me think about what I am doing as I progress on a piece of work.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sandy8:35 AM

    Thanks for showing the changes. I think it is sort of like the difference between taking a photo where the flash makes the colours too washed out, and one where you stand back and so the front pieces are lit, but not flooded with light.
    If you know what I mean.

    I like how the sewing supplies draw you to them. Although the rainy background is there, you have really captured the concept of being able to forget it because of the allure of the sewing. Well done.

    When it is done in that show, you should send it to the Festival Of Quilts here in the UK. There would be plenty who would connect with the constant rain!
    http://www.twistedthread.com/pages/exhibitions/viewExhibition.aspx?id=31 there is a link for the competition form.

    Sandy in the UK

    ReplyDelete
  3. Gerrie8:54 AM

    Oooo! This turned out beautifully. The warm colors are exuding sunshine on my laptop screen.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Joanne S9:40 AM

    I believe we make "mistakes" because inside our critical side is saying "this could be better". And in this case the second attempt is SO MUCH richer , warmer and lovely. I love this piece. You did make your own sunshine.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous10:46 AM

    I like this work. The feeling I get is hard to describe, it is comforting. You depicted the rain very well, and the items you show are all one needs to be right with the atmosphere. Rhonda M.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Kristin L12:12 PM

    Nice. I definitely get the rainy day. And of course you needed the mooshy grey background -- to contrast with the sharp, warm foreground. I think one of teh most difficult things to achieve in fabric is that kind of depth of field and atmospherics.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Diane Perin1:17 PM

    What a delightful piece! The straight quilting lines for rain make that suggestion beautifully. Love the glow of the orangey gold!

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)