Living This Creative Life

I have two favorite quotes. The first one is by Emile Zola, "If you asked me what I came into this world to do, I would tell you that I came to live out loud". I don't know who the second one is by, but it goes like this, "If you're not living on the edge then you might as well jump". Both of these sentiments sum up my personal philosophy of this experience we call life on earth. Enjoy!

Saturday, April 6, 2013

Art Every Day, Saturday, April 6, 2013

Good Afternoon,

For all it's worth, here is today's new piece. Though I do believe that practicing creativity every day is a good idea, I think that doing it when you're in a negative space will always show.   

I really didn't have the desire to make a piece this afternoon (I've got to get back into making these babies in the early morning before the world gets in the way!) so I just grabbed a group of hand painted fabrics and threw the whole thing together then spent the next 30 minutes fighting with metallic thread - I stand by my opinion that none of it works well when free motioning.  So I just sort of gave up and quilted the foregrounds of each of the black pieces very minimally.  I switched to a cotton thread, breathed a sigh of relief and stitched the hell out of the negative space and called it a day.

Wish I could offer you more, but that's all I've got.
Till tomorrow,
Heather

1 comment:

me said...

I'm sorry, but I had to laugh a little at your comment "wish I could offer you more..." Don't you realize how much you are giving all of us??? Your commitment- not only to yourself with the making of art every day, but your generosity in sharing your journey, is enormous.

I know you look at your work (as do we all) with a critical eye, and we all have a right to like or dislike something we produce. But you have taught me well- and I strive to really SEE art now, not just look at it.

I come here every day to learn, and I do. I learn to see better, I learn about color and design, and Iappreciate the work you do. Even in the pieces you don't like, I see the beauty you create. It comes through because you have put the time and effort in over these years.

I hope you will forgive me if I am not naming the colors right; my computer dims in the evening and I think it affects how things look on my screen. Onto the work :)

This is a well balanced piece in a lovely neutral palette. The shaded orange batting seems to accentuate the metallic in the painted leaves and circles. It seems almost to take on a metallic sheen itself, looking more like bronze than orange.

The lined quilting in the orange nicely echoes the line in the square and keeps the orange back where it needs to be, supporting the fabrics. The fabrics are well-spaced to provide rest for the eye.

Having the black on the left and across the bottom feels right, the weight carries my eye across to the focal point. The orange wavy quilting in the thin black border emulates the undulating lines in the leaves and their background, and brings the color right out to the edge of the piece.

I enjoy the variation of the metallics in the focal point and the movement it provides. The bottom rectangle also portrays some movement, just in how the leaves are sitting on the fabric.

Doing this every day is a challenge I look forward to. This was the best thing that could have happened for me; everything I learned in the color and design classes is here, in use every day. What I used to think of as insurmountable- remembering all the principals and elements of design- they are IN MY HEAD. Thank you!