3.13.2010

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.




2 comments:

Dale Anne said...

THANKS for posting the Freida tip....I'm going to HAVE to try it.

bj parady said...

Look at the leaves on some of her pieces, she tends to do it along the veins. Good luck trying it.