Saturday, December 10, 2011

Print fabric update

I've been writing recently about how I can't figure out how to use my huge stash of commercial prints.

But wait! I had occasion last week to use one in a quilt! And not a throwaway quilt, not a baby quilt, not a placemat, but something that could become part of a new art series.  I'm not ready to share the full view with you, as it's not quilted yet, but it is sure DIFFERENT!

Interestingly, when I decided I needed a hunk of print, I knew exactly which fabric I wanted. It was a print left over from a dress, I think, probably dating back to the 80s or very early 90s. And to my delight, I was able to go to the right drawer and find it, and it was perfect for the quilt, just as I had thought it would be.

This a large-scale print -- what you see in this photo is about 15 inches across.  You might wonder at first glance how on earth it's going to fit into a quilt made by somebody whose art style might well be described as austere.  Or at least austere-wannabe.

I think one answer is that the print is so large and the shapes so unrecognizable that it appears in the quilt simply as a field of color rather than as flowers or fish. 

But it is DIFFERENT and that has given me a nice jolt of excitement.  I'll keep you posted on how this quilt turns out and whether any more prints will be allowed out of their drawers and into the art world. 







4 comments:

  1. I can't wait to see what you have done. I'm another austere-wannabe with shelves full of prints. I just let one (very austere) one creep into something I am doing. Not sure it will stay.

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  2. I am interested in seeing the results.

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  3. Welcome to the dark side. Do you know the Jonathan Edwards sermon about how we're held like a spider over the fires of hell? On the other hand, yesterday I looked at hundreds of shades of solid fabrics and thought, "Yep. Not buying any of those." However, if you are invigorated by the use of this print, then maybe some day I'll try using a solid, in search of that same invigoration. Love your posts, btw.

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  4. How utterly delightful coming from an austere solids person.

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