attention must be paid

A large part of advancing one's artistic abilities is learning and trying new things. Ideas can come from anywhere, from any medium. Sometimes they come from fellow art quilters.

©2010 BJ Parady

Like this one from Frieda Anderson. I heard her discussing this technique with a couple of people before it sunk in enough that I filed it away in my brain. She marks a line of quilting with a watercolor pencil (sometimes a darker shade than the thread). Then she quilts along it. After that, wet it with a spray bottle and smudge it a little with your finger--if you want. Iron it dry to heat set it.

You end up with a more distinct line that, if the color is carefully chosen, adds more apparent depth to the surface. Cool, huh? She--and I--don't worry about the fastness of the watercolor pencil because our works--like most works of art--will never be washed.

Continuing on the same piece, I wanted some stronger lines on it. I pulled out some silk ribbon I had had for eons, and it needed ironing. Some of it ended up crinkly:

©2010 BJ Parady

After a few choice words wondering why it did that--and confirming that the package did indeed say silk--I realized I actually preferred the crinkles. So, you know where I'm going with this--of course I couldn't make it crinkle consistently.

But I ended up with enough to do what I wanted. Here's a quick shot of the almost finished piece:

©2010 BJ Parady

The morals of the story:
1. Pay attention.
2. Seize the moment.