Here is a short update on my January TIF Challenge piece. Since my last challenge post I started working on creating some thorny underbrush with acrylic paint on fusible. I ended up with what looked more like trees in winter, so I went with that. Below is a photo of one of the sets of the trees that I painted. I then ironed the painted fusible onto a piece of sheer fabric which will then be ironed onto the quilt top. I chose not to iron the fusible directly onto the quilt because I knew that I was going to want to layer things onto the quilt top and I figured this would be the easiest way for me to play around with the composition before nailing it all down permanently.
After placing the trees onto the quilt top I felt like something was still missing so I created another bird image, much larger than the others, to place in the foreground of the work. The photo below shows the new components placed onto the quilt top: trees to the right hand side, barbed wire across the bottom (a fine black cord that I'll sew on and embellished perhaps with black beads or something else to give the feeling of barbs along the wire) and to the left, a bird soaring up into the air.
I have sandwiched the batting and basted the quilt top but I won't have time to finish this quilt by the end of January. I don't wish to rush the quilting and I have a sense that I will want to do a relatively greater amount of hand quilting on it than I had originally planned.
Clearly, if I am going to keep up with this challenge each month, I will need to learn to scale down my pieces to a more manageable size and level of complexity. I am truly inspired my some of the finished work that is being posted by other challenge participants here. Many people have obviously already honed their skills in the area of designing a doable project within the allotted time. That, or they have a lot more free time on their hands than I do. You can check out the challenge 'goings on' at the Take it Further Design Challenge flickr Pool, or on the Take it Further Blog, or from the links on SharonB's January Take it Further blog post comments. Have a browse...
Related Posts: TIF January 2008 - Part I, TIF January 2008 - Part II
13 comments:
What an exquisite piece. It is cool the way you painted the trees on fusible web. The large bird is very dynamic.
Yes, I am with you completely. I started out with a huge grandiose idea and although I love it and want to continue to finish it, it will not be done in time. Now, February is just about here and a new topic is at hand.
I quickly realized that most people were working much smaller and less detailed than you and I are working. But, that's OK. Your piece is fabulous and if the concept produces this kind of work, then that's great!
beautiful work!!
I like your design very much. After you added thorny trees and the lines at the bottom it feels different, to me it is less dreamy, I suppose because of the thorns. They are somehow in a sharp contrast with the flying birds. I love the lines! They add such an interest to the piece! Nice work!
I love this! It is absolutely gorgeous. I too have had a bit of a problem getting my piece done although it isn't as much work as yours. However, if this is where the concept takes you, I think you should follow. You can always scale down next month's project.
I wouldn't worry about the size or finishing on time as you might find that your creativity is stifled. When I painted as a student( a long long time ago) I often had several pieces on the go as I needed to reflect on how it was progressing and if it was still retaining the feeling I was trying to capture in the beginning. Even now, I have to have a few projects going as my attention span isn't that great and reflection is my way forward.
This is truly a beautiful piece and at the end of 2008 I hope you gives us update on its progress.
What are the dimesions, by the way?
I love this piece. You have a very nice 3-D effect going on. Way to go!
Wow! This is fabulous.
I was over-ambitious too and scaled back - but have good intentions to finish one day. Or maybe my little piece will become a stand alone...
It will be wonderful to see the finished quilt.
So full of movement, such beautiful perspective. Scaling down might be a good thing or a bad thing. Even if the project isn't finished, making such a beautiful start has to be worth a lot! Thanks for sharing!
pdc
I really like the large bird element you added to the composition! the sense of depth and light that you are capturing is wonderful!
I would say that you accomplished your goals for this piece very well. It was a challenging(no pun intended!) concept that you set for yourself, and I think that your choice of fabrics and the techniques you used worked beautifully.
I love the colors, and the simple and beautiful way you have created something profound. It has great depth.
I look forward to seeing more of your work, I love what I have seen!
I love watching this piece grow and change. I hope you will keep updating the piece even though the month is over and we are off to start another challenge.
Thank you everyone for taking the time to comment. I have never really had an opportunity to receive this much feedback in my work before and I am enjoying it very much. It makes me realize that I often feel I am losing perspective when I am in the middle of a piece. As it evolves I start to wonder: Does it still speak to the original intent? Am I achieving my goals for the piece? Has anything been lost? Your comments have kept me fired up about what is developing and I really enjoy finding out what YOU see when you look at the piece. I will definitely post about it when I have finished. Jacqui, the dimensions are currently 22 x 30 inches. Best to everyone for February's challenge.
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