Redefined

Resurfacing

I know it's been a while since I posted. I've done a lot of thinking about where I'm headed with my art. This started recently when a fiber art group invited me to join them. After about a week, I realized that I wasn't actually creating my artwork anymore. The group was the final straw that took up the last of my "arting" time. I made the decision that I would withdraw from most of the activities that were keeping me from the work I really should be doing, so I sent my "thank you, but I'm not staying" email to the group a few days ago. I also plan to withdraw from a couple of other commitments that are either taking too much of my time or making me feel guilty because I'm not doing them. They are all related to art quilting, which also goes along with my plan to move more into the general art world.

I must be rebelling against my responsibilities, because I've spent the past few days sewing the seams on my latest artwork. I've been sewing the color run together and I know what I'm going to do with it, but I'm not telling yet.

Last week, I bought a new sewing machine, which is something I thought I'd never do because I have such a good one already. However, after struggling to quilt several of my last projects, I realized my Bernina 1260 wasn't sufficient for all my needs. I intend to keep the Bernina for sewing seams and use the Janome 6600 for machine quilting. Of course, this means I need to rearrange my studio to accomodate another sewing table. If everything goes normally for me, there'll be a cascade effect throughout the entire house and nothing will remain untouched by the time I'm done. The Organizator strikes again.

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In loving memory of Preston Wesley Werner
May 8, 1990 - November 7, 2005
Happy 18th birthday, bud!

Correction

I apologize, but I sent out an incorrect link in my last post. By mistake, I added a "www" in the URL. I have corrected the original blog post, but here's the correct link for any subscribers who tried to get there and couldn't.

http://wernerstudio.typepad.com/color

I know that many of you are experienced quilters and the information I am presenting now might be rather elementary, but I hope you will stick with me. Right now, I'm just laying the groundwork for the information I'll present later.

For those of you who have already visited my new blog and even subscribed, thank you!

Announcing my second blog

I invite you to visit my new blog, called Amazing Stuff about Color and Fabric. It is written more like a book than a blog, so please read the introduction that will explain it better. I still have some cosmetic changes to make, like a more interesting banner at the top of the page and a link back to my main blog (this one), but that will come with time.

http://wernerstudio.typepad.com/color

Once you get to the new blog, you can subscribe by using the Feedblitz icon in the righthand column. As I publish each new entry, the entire contents of that entry will be sent to your email, so you don't need to visit the blog all the time.

I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I am enjoying writing it!

My favorite quotes

I keep several quotes posted on the wall above my closet doorway in my studio, so I see them whenever I look up from my worktable.

The first quote is from Grandma, in the Family Circus cartoon.
"If you're afraid of making a mistake, you won't make anything."
I like this quote because it reminds me that it is easy to freeze up, thinking that evrything I make has to be absolutely perfect. I often learn a lot from my mistakes and sometimes the lack of perfection is what makes the artwork extra special.

The second quote is from Jean Cocteau, the writer and filmmaker. "How do you become a successful artist? Amaze me!" When I read this, it reminds me that it's difficult to gain recognition as an artist and my artwork needs to have the "wow factor" in order to make my work stand out.

The third quote, which is my favorite, comes from Jerry Garcia, the guitarist from The Grateful Dead rock band. I changed the quote a bit because the original was written from the standpoint of a band with multiple members. Here's my version. "You do not want to be considered just the best of the best. You want to be considered the only one who does what you do." I do not make art quilts the same way that everyone else does and this reaffirms that I am on the right track.

What's your favorite art-related quote?

Creating a color run

I got tired of working on Evolved and put it away for the moment. It's such a time-consuming project that I have to stop working on it periodically and do something else for a while. Here's what I did this weekend.

Many of my projects are composed of long, skinny quilts that use color gradations along the length and I thought you might be interested in how I create them. This time, I cut 4-1/2" widths and 2" widths from each fabric. The narrower strips are typically used in my bindings.

This is what I call a color run. I usually begin by pulling hand dyed fabrics from my stash and placing them in the order I want them. I don't always use all the colors. If you notice, there is no purple represented here. Once I have created the "first draft" using hand dyes, I go into my stash of commercial fabrics and use them to fill in the gaps. The prints add a lot of interest and helps me to use up the ton of commercial fabric I own. I have to admit that I bought a few fabrics this weekend and it's been so long since I went into the local quilt shops that they barely remember me anymore. The face is familiar, but...

You might notice that I start and end with a black-background fabric. A closer inspection shows that the leftmost fabric is actually an extremely dark green and the one at the right is an extremely dark red. By taking the color run from dark to light and back to dark again, I can still make the colors flow into one another if I want to make the piece twice as long by joining the ends. I also make sure there is at least on white fabric somewhere in the run for sparkle, which can be seen here between the greens and blues. If I had wanted to, I could have taken the middle of the yellow section all the way to white, but chose not to

What do I plan to make with this? I'm not quite sure yet, but I have a couple of ideas. I just needed to get back to bright fabrics for a little while to feed my color addiction. No matter what I make, I know that it will look good, because if they look right on the design wall when displayed this way, then they look good if they are mixed up, too.