Up for consideration today is Watt & Shand #9, with images from February 2009. I surprised myself with this one; I'm still not exactly sure where it came from. I had a different layout and color scheme planned originally. I started winging it when I made the themofax screen prints, using as background some fabrics I had just handpainted for a different project, and I kept going from there. Some of the fabrics seemed improbable when I first pulled them from the stash, but came together well when I started piecing them. I'm still using the orange and turquoise shades from the previous works here, but the buff tones have been downplayed and a cool minty green and brick red have been added, and there are silks and handwoven cottons that add textural interest. I'm especially pleased with the way the interplay of light and dark tones worked out.
The perspective is from the first block of South Queen St. Above is the front of the Montgomery House, seen previously from the rear in #4. You can see just a bit of the convention center framework on the right.
I was interested in the contrast of the window shapes and sizes in the old vs. the new construction.
Here's one of the photos I worked from.
And here's a photo that didn't make it into the quilt, but is still a pretty cool perspective:
I dropped off the work at the Arts Hotel Gallery this morning--very exciting! It's a good space and I think the nine works in the series will fit in it perfectly. I'm really looking forward to the reception Friday evening.
3 comments:
I like this one a lot, too!
Hi, Sue. I came here as a result of your comment on Elizabeth Barton's post on working in series. I have to say that this is a series that I really like. It shows great development in your way of seeing the building. As I look back over your posts, the initial quilts seem to be very busy, perhaps trying to say too much at once, but also catching the flurry of activity around the buildings. You seem to pare things down and focus as the series goes on. Quilt #8 is almost unsettling in its spareness (the colors help here), and the way the building looms over the small worker. And then your final piece warms things back up, makes the building more human somehow, and welcoming. I'm so glad I got to see this work, hope the show is very successful.
Karen, thanks so much for your spot-on analysis of my series, that's just how it went, and why it was such a rewarding way to work. I also appreciate the good wishes!
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