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| Oyster Bay is finished except for the label! |
Today I am seeking your thoughts versus sharing one of mine. It seems all Calls for Entry for exhibitions of quilt art require one full view of the artwork and one detail of the artwork. The purpose of the detail image is to allow the curator or juror a better look at the techniques used in the artwork. It is recommended that the detail view also read like a stand alone artwork. My photographer aka my husband has provided me with 5 possible detail shots of Oyster Bay. Please let me know which of these details you feel best accomplishes the goals of a Call for Entry and why you chose this one. The contestants are:
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| #1 Detail of the two oyster shells resting on the sand |
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| #2 Detail of the two oyster shells cropped along the lower edge, but showing some ocean and sea foam |
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| #3 Detail of the single oyster shell showing sand and sea foam |
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| #4 Detail of the single oyster shell and sand |
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| #5 Detail of the sea foam and water |
You've probably surmised that despite it being a short work week in the USA I managed to focus on Oyster Bay. Here is what I accomplished this week.
1) “Oyster Bay” (deadline 8/20/2013)
a) Face the quilt. - Done!
b) Make and attach the sleeves. - Done!
c) Make and attach the label. - Step one has been accomplished. I always include a finished picture of my quilt on the label. I have the picture.
d) Add Oyster Bay to my website. - The pictures have been taken.
b) Make and attach the sleeves. - Done!
c) Make and attach the label. - Step one has been accomplished. I always include a finished picture of my quilt on the label. I have the picture.
d) Add Oyster Bay to my website. - The pictures have been taken.
2) Do whatever assignment Leah comes up with next.
The assignment from Leah was to practice Universe Spiral. This design is a tweak on McTavishing. The difference between McTavishing and Universe Spiral is that McTavishing begins with a gentle wiggly line that is echoed, as does Universe Spiral, but Universe Spiral adds a circle at the end of the line that is filled with an "*". Since I am on tear with my beach series, I further tweaked Universe Spiral by swapping out the "*" and inserting various sized circles within the circle to emulate sea foam. I chose to practice on some fabric that suggests the sea. I have chosen to call my variation Ocean Currents.
It has been a while since I shared the back side of any of my work. One thing that has become obvious from my focus on practicing free motion quilting is that the number of bird nests and hesitation spots on the back are greatly reduced.
The assignment from Leah was to practice Universe Spiral. This design is a tweak on McTavishing. The difference between McTavishing and Universe Spiral is that McTavishing begins with a gentle wiggly line that is echoed, as does Universe Spiral, but Universe Spiral adds a circle at the end of the line that is filled with an "*". Since I am on tear with my beach series, I further tweaked Universe Spiral by swapping out the "*" and inserting various sized circles within the circle to emulate sea foam. I chose to practice on some fabric that suggests the sea. I have chosen to call my variation Ocean Currents.
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| Ocean Currents Sample - Front Side |
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| Ocean Currents Sample - Back Side |
An advantage of sharing the flip side with you on the blog is that the actual pattern for Ocean Currents is much more easily seen.
3) Pictorial Painting
a) Watch the lesson that demos how to quilt the Canyon piece. - Done!
b) Quilt "Canyon." - Just contemplated.
4) Unplanned Bonus - I started designing my next artwork based on cropping a section of Oyster Bay using Photoshop Elements and changing it to grayscale and then rotating it 90 degrees.
4) Unplanned Bonus - I started designing my next artwork based on cropping a section of Oyster Bay using Photoshop Elements and changing it to grayscale and then rotating it 90 degrees.
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| The germ of an idea for my next Beach Series quilt |
There is nothing like starting a new quilt to fire me up. I can't wait to get to work on Monday and start creating. Here are my known plans for what I would like to accomplish:
1) “Oyster Bay” (deadline 8/20/2013)
1) “Oyster Bay” (deadline 8/20/2013)
a) Make and attach the label.
b) Add Oyster Bay to my website.
b) Add Oyster Bay to my website.
2) Do whatever assignment Leah comes up with next.
3) Companion Oysters (Deadline 9/01/2013)
a) Create the acetate overlay for aligning piecing
b) Cut and place the pieces
4) Pictorial Painting
a) Create the acetate overlay for aligning piecing
b) Cut and place the pieces
4) Pictorial Painting
a) Quilt "Canyon."
I am now linking up to two blogs on Friday's. The first is Leah Day's Free Motion Quilting Project and the second is Nina Marie's Off the Wall Fridays.
I love the background quilting on Oyster Bay -- it's really well done and perfect for the piece.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Karen. Once again I must sing Leah Day's praises. I have learned so much from studying with her and practicing her patterns, especially the way she will take one pattern and tweak it slightly to invent a whole new look. If it weren't for her I would still be stippling or creating vines.
DeleteI like shot number two. It captures a bit of many different techniques. You get the sparkle of the shells, the complex quilting of the each, and the lace of the seafoam. It gives the selectors a taste of each of your techniques.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Joan. One more point in Leah's favor. Patterns that used to feel complex now feel easy. I can't even remember the last time I felt boxed in a corner or lost in a pattern. However, since the pattern I used for the beach is of my creation, heavily influenced by several of Leah's patterns and techniques, it looks complex.
DeleteSorry, that should have been beach, not each!
ReplyDeleteWhat about a crop that is a combination of two and three? I think if the bottom was pulled down a bit and the right side bumped to the right a bit it in two it would be a very nice composition and certainly stand on it's own as an art piece. The horizontal lines in the top third with the oysters in the lower left quadrant would sing.
ReplyDeleteIt's lovely, Im totally impressed. :D
Excellent suggestion, Susan. I just played with cropping the detail from the full view according to your recommendation. It does fit the bill. Note how close it is to my next quilt. :)
DeleteI vote for #2. It is a very lovely quilt, but then yours always are.
ReplyDeleteSeems #2 is in the lead. Thank you, Joni.
DeleteI like #2 best as it gives a sample of stitching in significant areas of the quilt. I was surprised to read that the detail piece should be able to stand alone as an image as I had never heard that before. If that is the case, then #3 might be a better choice. However, I would not choose it as it does not allow the reviewer to get as much of a sense of the ocean portion of the quilt.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to hearing which you choose.
What a super job! I love this piece. I wish I could see it up close and personal.
DeleteAs for the detail shot, I think No.5. I like to see all that textured work.
I don't know where I got the tip about the detail shot should function as a stand alone art piece as well as showcasing technique. Perhaps it is a way of blending the disparate takes of an art quilt world from the need to honor the mastery of technique while adhering to design principles.
DeleteSuzanne, there is a reasonable chance that Oyster Bay will be in your vicinity. I am entering it into an exhibition that will take place in CT. I don't have the details yet, nor is it a guarantee that it will get in. However, if it does you can be sure I will post the event on my website and cross reference it with my blog.
Delete#3 is a better stand alone composition, but #4 shows the stitching better inside the oyster. Maybe a shot that pans out a little more from #4 but stills shows the stitching detail inside the oyster if that's possible. You've done a great job on the quilt.
ReplyDeleteExcellent point, Regina. #4 also shows my hand painting - something not seen on every quilt.
DeleteOK, Gwyned, I'm tempted. Which class are you taking with Leah? When I went to her site, I see several offered.
ReplyDeleteI am not taking one of Leah's formal classes. I believe she offers two different ones on Craftsy.com What I did was commit to following her request for people to watch her weekly and sometimes twice weekly video instructions on how FMQ and then write about their experience and link the writing to her website. That was her 2012 project. In 2013 she continued by providing everyone with a design called Express Your Love to be filled in with different FMQ motifs. What has been so phenomenal about following along with Leah is how she started with the basics - stippling - and built from there. I think we stippled for almost two months. However, each time we did it differently. Sometimes the scale was varied, sometimes the stipple pattern was non traditional and eventually we learned how move in any direction. After stippling there have been many opportunities to practice echo quilting and travel stitching. By the end of 2012 we were combining patterns. My recommendation would be to sign up for the quilting a sampler class. I believe this was based on many of the lessons she shared in 2012. You don't have to make the sampler. I did most of my practice pieces on solids I have kicking around in my stash.
DeleteHi Gwyned, I'm late to the party this week but want to tell you how much I like this piece. I would go with #3 because it shows most of your skills and techniques and materials used. I read recently that the detail should show some of the edge finishing if possible, too. So I'm not sure which is correct, or if there IS a correct way. I'm always impressed with how you can stick with your FMQ skills building!
ReplyDeleteThank you for weighing in, Janice. Seems just when you know what is required there is a new requirement thrown in the mix for entries. I do know that the full view image should NOT be cropped using a rectangular cropping tool, but instead should be cropped precisely along the perimeter of the quilt to show the edge.
Delete