Monday, November 29, 2010

Somewhat Eccentric- My Charming Engflish Cottage!


I have actually completed a realistic piece!  This is my latest Interpret This! piece, and I'm pretty happy with it.  My perspective on part of it (the steps) is a bit off, but everything else looks like I wanted it to.  No question what this is!

I had a lot of time to think while I was making this.  I did enjoy the process, but kept wondering- is this really ME?  Is this the art that only I can make?  By the end of the month, I'd pretty much decided it isn't.  I'm glad I met the challenge of proving to myself that I can do a realistic piece reasonably well, and I'm sure it would improve with more practice and time.  But it's just that- a fun piece, not something pulled from my guts or psyche.  And that's really what I want to do.  I just am still figuring out how to get there.

Fun pieces have their place, and I'm sure this won't be my last one.  I have several UFO's I hope to finish next year that I'd put in that category, or the "traditional bed quilt" category.  But I'd also like to have a cohesive body of work that just says 'me.'

I do think there are some hints in this one.  I didn't realize how much saturated colors dominate my stash until I went for fabric for the red bricks.  I knew they were a pretty dulled red in the photo, and even eliminated my original choice because (even I) could tell it was way too saturated.  I thought I'd done a good job of toning it down- until I got the brick wall mostly constructed.  Bottom line, my stash of de-saturated fabrics is woefully lacking.  But apparently the use of saturated colors is part of my voice, since I got a couple of comments to that effect on the IT! blog.  It's a starting point!

I think I've learned that I need to pay attention to the details, even on an abstract piece.  I was thrilled to hear that I'd successfully portrayed sunlight and shadows on the big tree/bush.  I sure tried, and I'm glad it came off.  I loved making the smaller plants, using variegated and multiple thread colors.  How good are these??

So the journey continues, I keep doing the work.  At some point I hope to look back and be able to say "That's MY voice speaking."

And thanks for reading my musings and thoughts!  If you haven't already seen it, there's more photos of the piece on the IT! blog.

3 comments:

Nellie's Needles said...

Taking part in this year of "IT" photo challenges was good exercise. I spent more time thinking about each one than actually executing it in fiber. It was fun to play. And that's what I see in your piece ... playing with what you see presented with your unique vision and fabrics.
;-)

Judy Sall Fiber Art said...

Great job! Funny... I do more landscape quilts than abstract per se, but most of my landscape come out looking a little abstract! You have created a very realistic piece, but I see it as yours, based on the photo, not a strict rendition of the scene. I'll bet this isn't the last 'realistic' piece you create!

Karoda said...

Does every piece we make need to be a reflection of "our voice"? I don't think so, but it sounds like this wasn't painful for your to make and you had fun and made a discovery...so its a wonderful thing :)