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Sculpture Inspiration

We have friends in Melbourne Australia who love to visit art installations and recently spent some time on Mornington Penninsula at the Pt. Leo Estate and Sculpture Park.

Vera posted photos on facebook and, naturally, I fell in love with one of them……

This is called “Mirri” and was created in 2018 by Reki Rennie. It is made from painted aluminum. I found the piece online and was interested to read the artist’s statement…..

The diamond or geometricized shield shape at the heart of Mirri’s composition is closely associated with the artist’s Kamilaroi heritage. Superimposed on the shield motif are two abstracted boomerang forms, whose opposing orientation recalls the pictorial formality of the Western tradition of heraldry.

Mirri’s fluorescent palette and pattern of broad chevrons – both are hallmarks of Rennie’s work – were created using vinyl stencils and automotive paints. They echo Rennie’s urban upbringing and formative years as a youthful creator of provocative and gaudy graffiti and street art.+

Having spent a number of hours this weekend looking at Modern Quilts on the QuiltCon website, I am even more inspired than I was!!!

Does this inspire you??? What inspires you?? Please share your thoughts!!

What can you do with a 6-inch square?

A while back I was at my guild’s charity bee and spied a large stack of 6 inch squares that had been donated. I was intrigued by these and asked if I could take them home and have a play.

I decided to use the design techniques that I had learned in Latifah’s QuiltCon lecture yesterday…..

…..starting with asking what the purpose was for the quilt and why I was making it!!

My first answer was that it is for a charitable use and will be used to keep someone warm and comfortable. But there was a second reason for this quilt. I am wanting to try my hand at designing and this stack of 6-inch blocks seemed the perfect catalyst.

Normally, a charity quilt is made as quickly as possible with the largest blocks available and the least amount of sewing. However, to fulfill the second purpose I knew that it was okay if it took a while to make.

Now I was into the “imagination” part of the design process…..

Since I made the pinwheel designs in the Morewood Mystery quilt…..

……I have been thinking more about that block design.

As I normally do, I turned to my computer for some initial inspiration, first opening a folder called pinwheel Quilts and starting to peruse the photos that I have saved. Then I googled pinwheel blocks and found lots more inspiration (some pinwheel and some not)……

With those images in my mind (and a few printed out on paper), I headed upstairs to start playing with the fabric.

When laid out by colors I could see that they were almost entirely dark and medium fabrics with very few true lights…..

So maybe I will think about two quilts…one where I will add lights and make it with high contrast. And another with low volume (value)….who knows.

So now I am contemplating where to head with these fabrics…..stay tuned!!!

QuiltCon 2021

It is QuiltCon weekend!!!

For those of you who don’t know the magic of those words….. QuiltCon is the international quilt show of “The Modern Quilt Guild”.

I had looked forward to attending my first QuiltCon this year as it was being hosted in Atlanta, GA….a mere 1 hour drive from home. Alas, COVID had different plans!!

However, MQG took the situation into their own hands and set up “QuiltCon Together”, an online quilt show!!

I have signed up for 4 classes and have enjoyed the first two immensely. The first was “Modern Scrappy Quilts with Value” by Blair Stocker of Wise Craft Handmade. Her focus was that “value” is relative…..it depends on what it is next to!!!

She showed numerous quilts but this was probably my favorite…..

My friend Sheila has made MANY Pyramid quilts and she assures me that they are easy to make…..maybe I will have to try one and see!!

The second class was “Design A Quilt in Five Easy Steps” by Latifah Saafir. She presented the process as a circular one…..

….starting with asking what the purpose of the quilt will be, then imagining the color combinations, design styles, etc. Then on to planning how the quilt will come together. followed by actually creating the quilt. Finally you look for ways to improve your ideas for the next time!!

Then she created a quilt while we watched and based it on suggestions from the participants. It was amazing to see her work and to create this wonderful pattern in just 20 minutes…..

She encouraged us to each think about “What is my personal design signature”….ie….can someone look at one of my quilts and KNOW that it is mine!! Interesting to think about!!!

So, two classes down and two more to go. I can’t wait!!!

Classes and lectures are closed but you can still get a Quilt Show Pass and enjoy the contest quilts. Check it out!!