Week in Review 2017 - 09/02

Tips, Thoughts and Techniques:

Last week I spoke about a trend I see with some artists to simplify their work over time and how I find myself on the same trajectory. The thoughts I share on my blog tend to be about what captured me when I sit down to write and once on the page they are done and I am on to next idea. So, it was quite a surprise to check out what I had written and realize the thought had lingered when I started working on my next project three days later.

Equilateral Experiment
The left two columns are pieced.
Everything else is laid out ready
to piece next week.

My entry point to the piece was hexagons. I have been enamored with hexagons since my junior high days. I recall doodling linked hexagons in the margin of my notebooks. At some point I thought they could be used to build a modular playground. Of course at age 13 that thought went no further. I believe two of the bathrooms we remodeled in our last home included small hexagon shots between larger square tiles with their corners nipped off. I've done some English Paper Piecing, and although I enjoy the process, it is rarely suited to my design. I admit, I love, LOVE, precision piecing. It is when I am in my element. Unfortunately, hexagons and precision piecing are at opposite ends of the comfortable piecing spectrum. If you break the hexagon into equilateral triangles you have an easy to do compromise. 

My current work in progress uses equilateral triangles exclusively. The color scheme is monochromatic. The lines and shape are clear and dramatic. An excellent first step at working towards a simpler aesthetic.

I'm really appreciating my efforts to simplify my art and my life. I feel like a cat dozing in a ray of sunshine, only cracking open an eye wide enough to note a marauding chipmunk scurry across the lawn. My goal is to continue this way by limiting my plans to the following: 

1) Work on Equilateral Experiment

2) Finish Picking Up the Pieces #1 and #3, #4

3) Pot(s) made this week

4) Free motion quilting practice

I am now linking up to two blogs on Fridays. The first is Nina Marie's Off the Wall Fridays and the second is Free Motion Mavericks.