Well, it's that time already - I can't believe how quickly this year went!
But January first means two things for me - that it's my third blog-aversary (and 360th post!), and I've been quilting for 3.5 years.
I said at the end of last year's "year in review" post
So expect to see more textile art pieces this year - maybe a lot more - and more quilts along the lines of Of The Moment, Zen Gardens, Passage and Once, I Was A Child. And that's pretty much what happened.
As the year progressed, it felt like I didn't produce very much, but it turned out, I produced a lot more - especially in the "quilt" category than I thought I did. I made ten quilts in 12 months! They were:
"Fractured" cotton velvet/satin, a quilt about the nature of our fractured lives.
"In The Pink" my very first quilt made with my hand-dyed fabric, but otherwise with no special meaning.
An un-named quilt - a gift for a friend's baby - made to her taste and specifications, not to mine!
"Spring" the result of a "play" session - not designed or planned, but thoughtlessly put together. I don't intend to ever make quilts of this kind again! (i.e. - thoughtlessly planned)
"Stepping Stones" my
mise en abyme quilt, made from the scraps of my first quilt, which was made from the textile scraps of thirty-five years of sewing. A simple quilt, but one of my favourites this year.
"Test Pattern" - inspired by a T.V. test pattern; this was another quilt I really liked, though it didn't inspire much excitement in anyone else. Oh well, not every quilt can be a winner. :)
And hey, speaking of, this quilt was a straggler left from 2008 that I finally finished quilting this year. I was glad to finally finish it, but wow, I didn't like it! None of you did either, as there wasn't a SINGLE comment on that post. If you can't say anything nice ... ;)
So, what a relief to make something like "Phases"! Back to my familiar stomping grounds of linen and silk, a limited palette, and a contemporary feel. The moon goes through phases as do I, apparently!
"Off To Oz". This quilt and "Fractured" were the two quilts of mine that got a LOT of attention this year - about equal amounts, I think, although they couldn't be more different. This particular quilt was a real departure for me. A fun one - but I'm curious to see whether I have something else that's similar inside me.
The tenth quilt was one I sent to Japan post-tsunami, and don't have pictures of.
And then the art.
The art makes me laugh as I look at what I produced over the year - it reminds me of the schizophrenic oeuvre I produced in 2008/2009 when I was trying out every kind of quilt in every kind of style, trying to figure out what worked for me, what I liked, "How the heck do I MAKE the quilts I see in my head?"
"Happy wife, happy life" - one of my "inspired by Charley Harper" pieces.
Having done that already, I at least knew what this year would look like as I tried out new-to-me techniques, in an attempt to find the best medium to express what I want to say.
Take A Winter Walk With Me
Early in the year - on January 7, I tried this. I was doing "fugitive media' before I even knew what it was - as I had painted this little piece with acrylic paints before quilting it. I loved this piece but resisted it - it was too different from what I had done before, too far from my comfort zone.
Back Seat Driver
I went back to what was comfortable to me - only this time trying it with needle felting - but it didn't feel right to me any more. I knew that I needed to get out of that comfort zone or I was never going to get where I needed to go.
Failure To Thrive
In March, I decided to try a different version of the painting - I only showed it to you recently as I initially disliked it so much I didn't want to show it to you - but I like it better now, although I still see the room for improvement!
By The Sea
More needlefelting, combined with hand-painted fabric, this time with a lighter hand - and I liked the results better - but it still didn't feel quite like "me'.
"Newlyweds" another inspired by Charley Harper piece.
By the time I was done this piece, I knew this wasn't for me either.
So I tried a different method of needle felting and hand painted fabric. I LOVED it - needle felting all those fabrics together, and then finding the face within; but that was the problem. It all just kind of came together - randomly painted fabrics, and finding the face - what were the chances that would happen again?
We Are Mermaids Too
So, I gave it another shot. Needlefelted some of my hand-painted fabric together and then tried to "find" something in it. I didn't in the way I did with "Wood Witch", but I found a nice background for a mermaid scene.
Taking Flight
I tried some more abstract sketches as well - the art I'm drawn to as a rule is non-representational - I like the intellectual exercise and the emotional power I feel in abstract art - I don't like it when the story is already there, waiting for me to "read" it - but it turns out I'm not really any good at non-representational art. Perhaps as I learn and grow I'll be able to do so - or perhaps, I'm already doing it in my quilts, rather than my art.
Arboreal Oasis
I also tried going back to repair prior mistakes - with some success - although I'm not sure I like the "corrected" version any better, I learned a lot about something I called "ghost quilting" and it's something I'll put to use in future work.
Transracial Adoption
Around this time, I was asked to be a contributor to a technique driven blog in which a number of fiber artists tried out different techniques for the edification of themselves and others called
And Then We Set It On Fire. It was to fill in for a couple of months, and since I was a follower and a tryer anyway - I decided to give it a go.
The first technique we were to try was fugitive media - techniques in which you apply things ordinarily applied to paper (water colour, pastels, acrylic paint, etc.) to fabric. Without knowing it, I'd already dabbled in it and I took to it like a duck to water, producing
Transracial Adoption above, and
Erosion
With "Erosion" I knew I was really onto something - I loved everything about the technique and the method, and was sure I'd found my medium. (And "surprise!" it looked
VERY much like the piece I produced the first of the year.)
In the meantime, I finished the last of my Charley Harper inspired series with
Cardinal, and
continued to try new techniques with
And Then We Set It On Fire, like the one I taught - transfer paints and disperse dyes.
And the unusual materials challenge through another group, in which I made quilts out of anything BUT fabric.
Towards the end of the year I re-visted some old favourites - shaving foam painting and needle felting to produce
November.
So, at the end of it all, what did I learn?
My main learning is "how" I'm going to make the art I want to make.
Fugitive media and painting on fabric is what I'm going to continue to explore in my personal work - my main goal for 2012 is to get better at it. And
the quilting continues as it should. Fractured, Phases, Stepping Stones, even Test Pattern are all the direction I intend to continue in - I have plans for lots of quilts in the future - they're even designed already, if only I could find the time to actually make them!
My biggest accomplishments this year were being featured on or at "big" websites and at Generation Q Magazine and for 2012 I hope to do more of the same, and I intend to start showing, throwing my hat into the ring for some of the juried festivals.
In addition, I've been asked to become a permanent member of
And Then We Set It On Fire so I'll continue to make sketches (or journal quilts) in different techniques throughout the year as I participate in the blog.
So that's my plan!
Thanks for being with me throughout the year - and I look forward to talking and sharing with you in the year ahead!
"I am seeking, I am striving. I am in it with all my heart."
Van Gogh