It’s been a while since I’ve sat down with the intention of creating some artwork. I was able to do so at a quilt retreat I attended recently. I went to the retreat with the intention of playing and trying something new. The result was this small minimal modern textile painting created with Oakshott Fabrics and one of my hand dyed linens.
It was so much fun to sit and create without expectations! The shot cottons have a beautiful sheen as does the linen. The fabrics add a lot of depth and the machine quilting provide texture. This piece doesn’t have a name yet. What would you call it?
This series of textile paintings are the first three I created and set on canvas. The canvas was originally painted medium blue. Once the pieces were attached, I found the background was too dark and the quilted artwork did not show well. So, I repainted the canvas white and I am much happier with how the quilted pieces look.
attended a quilt retreat with a very small amount of my hand dyed fabrics
used canvas to frame quilted pieces
The quilt retreat was the perfect time to play with the ideas of minimalism and experiment with the technique of inserting narrow strips. There was no pressure to create a finished piece. But, I was so happy with the works I created, that I did finish all three!
Inserting very narrow strips of colour into the pieces was very satisfying. Continuing my experiments with this technique, I created tiny pieces of quilted art: Fineline Brooches and recently made: Lipstick and Mascara. I am not finished with the Fineline Series of textile paintings, there is still so much more to explore.
These are the Vista textile paintings before the change of colour in the background. What do you think of the colour change?
Sight is part of my Fineline Series of textile paintings. In this series, I have been exploring abstract minimal design.
Each piece is refined to capture the essence of my idea.
Thin strips of fabric are inserted in various configurations to create linear designs.
Machine quilting adds a layer of texture.
The simplicity of the art piece belies the amount of work that goes into the design itself. As in a good recipe, the fewer the ingredients, the more important each one becomes to the successful outcome of the dish.
