Tag Archives: fiber art

Malala shown walking forward wearing a golden kaftan with a red scarf.

Malala Does the Women’s Work of Educating Girls

Malala Yousafzai appears on the Women’s Work quilt for her efforts in educating girls.  Find her at the center front of the quilt, walking hand in had with a young Ruby Bridges. Together, they represent the long struggle to provide education to those denied based on race, gender, or ethnicity.

Educating Girls: a Family Priority

Malala Yousafzai was born on July 12, 1997, in Mingora, a town in the Swat Valley of northwest Pakistan.  Her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, and mother, Tor Pekai Yousafzai were Sunni Muslims. They named their first child, Malala, after a famous female, Afghan warrior. Malala’s parents vowed to provide their daughter with the same opportunities traditionally allowed only to sons. 

photo of the girls attending the Yousafzai school for girls. Her father, center back placed a high vale on educating girls.

Yousafzai school for girls

Malala’s  father and grandfather were educators, and her parents valued education for all children.  They owned and ran several private schools, some for boys, and others for girls.  Malala’s father recognized early on that his daughter had an exceptional mind.  He sought to grow her curiosity, and would allow her to stay up after her younger brothers went to bed.  They talked about politics and other important issues of the day.

Taliban Outlaws Educating Girls

The Taliban, an Islamic fundamentalist group, took control of the Swat Valley in 2007.  They

School destroyed by the Taliban

School destroyed by the Taliban

sought to impose Sharia law, a very strict interpretation of the religious principles put forth in the Quran, and they imposed harsh and extreme punishments. This included bans on many forms of entertainment, including radio and television. The Taliban forbade men to trim their beards, and they executed, or amputated the hands of barbers who performed this service.  The Taliban beheaded their opponents and put the bodies on public display. They also banned the education of women and girls.

In January 2008, the Taliban shut down schools for girls and destroyed many of the buildings.

Malala gave her first public speech asserting the importance of educating girls in September of 2008 when she was only 10 years old. Speaking before a regional gathering of newspaper and television journalists, she declared, “How dare the Taliban take away my basic right to education?” She was young, but her work as an activist had begun.

Fierce Educational Activists

Malala’s father was an activist with a strong belief in finding peaceful solutions. He encouraged her to become involved in organizations that promoted educational instruction, encouraged public debate, and journalistic freedom related to social issues.  She remained a vocal critic of the ban on education for girls. At age 11, she connected with the BBC and began a blog that described life for ordinary people under the harsh rule of the Taliban.  To protect her, this work was published under the pseudonym “Gul Makai,” the name of a heroine of a Pashtun folktale. She and her family could have been killed if her true identity was known.

Malala’s blog ended suddenly in March 2009 when her family was forced to flee the region. Her father spoke out against the Taliban, and in response, they broadcasted death threats to her father over the radio.  The family returned to their home later that year, after the Pakistani military was able to push the Taliban from the cities and regain some control of the region.

Attempted Murder

Malala continued to advocate for educating girls through her associations with a number of child advocacy, and female empowerment organizations, and gained international recognition for her work. Archbishop Desmond Tutu nominated her for the International Children’s Peace Prize.  Finally, in 2012, Taliban leaders, offended by her words and actions, decided that she needed to be silenced.  On October 9, 2012, a masked gunman boarded her school bus, shot Malala in the head, and then disappeared into a crowd.

International Outrage and Support

The event shocked the world and prompted international outrage. Protesters took to the streets in many

Malala with her Nobel Peace prize

Malala with her Nobel Peace prize

Pakistani cities.  Celebrities, government leaders,, human rights and women’s groups, from around the world issued scathing rebukes of the attackers.  Fifty Muslim clerics in Pakistan issued a fatwa against the men who had organized the attempted assassination. 

In response to this, the Taliban released a statement naming Malala a “symbol of the infidels and obscenity” and vowing that, if she survived, they would target her again.

Although seriously injured, Malala did not die. Doctors treated her locally, before transferring her to Germany, and then to the United Kingdom where she received treatment in Birmingham England. She underwent multiple surgeries and intensive physical therapy over the next two years. Eventually, her family also relocated to England for their safety. 

Malala Becomes the Educated Woman

 Malala could have recovered and faded into relative obscurity, but instead, she chose to continue her campaign for the education of girls. She co-founded the Malala Fund, an organization dedicated to ensuring that girls around the world have an opportunity to learn and become leaders.  For her work, she received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014. At age 17, she became the youngest recipient of this award.  Malala completed high school in England and went on to study at Oxford.  She completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics in June 2020.  It is not safe for her to return to her home country of Pakistan. There are still many Taliban supporters and sympathizers that would seek to harm her. Now, she has become a citizen of the world. 

Malala Fund for Educating Girls

For Malala, educating girls continues to be a priority.  The Malala Fund supports education advocates and activists who are challenging the policies and practices that prevent girls from going to school in their communities.  Some examples of their work:

-They are using technology to give Syrian refugee girls access to classrooms they are not allowed to physically attend.  They are also working to reduce child marriage. 

-In Nigeria they are helping girls living under the threat of Boko Haram complete their education. 

-In Brazil, they are ensuring schools reach the most marginalized girls.  And they are training young women to speak out for their rights. 

-In Pakistan, they continue to fight for education funding that will guarantee 12 years of school for girls.

My Personal Take Away…

Portrait of Malala wearing a red scarf. Negative space is created with a white background. A Islamic floral border of blue and red flowers with green leaves. The center text is a quote by Malala Yousafzai, "With guns you can kill terrorists, with education you can kill terrorism.

Malala, by Lea McComas, 30″ x 50″, 2019.

I’ve been a teacher for almost 40 years, and I know firsthand the power of education.  I love how the actions of the men who sought to silence Malala, actually, amplified her voice so that she could be heard around the world.  I celebrate Malala for standing up to her oppressors, and for the journey she has taken since that fateful day on the bus.  In 2019 I was invited to make a quilt for the Better World quilt exhibit celebrating heroes working for the greater good.  I chose Malala as the subject of my quilt and included one of my favorite Malala quotes, “With guns you kill terrorists, with education you kill terrorism.”

You can be a part of this important global movement for women’s equality. Please visit Malala.org to see how you can be involved.

See the Women’s Work Quilt

 The Women’s Work Quilt will debut as a featured work in the exhibit Women’s Voices, Women’s Votes, Women’s Rights, at the Clinton Presidential Library, in September 2021.  Look for more details on the Events page of this website.

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Suffragette Movement: Lucy Burns on Women’s Work

Lucy Burns (1879-1966)

Lucy Burns on the quilt Women's Work, stands in the foreground holding a sign in front of her that reads "Votes for Women". She wears a white dress with a blue stripe sailor collar.

Lucy Burns, voting rights activist.

Lucy Burns, a key figure in the Suffragette Movement, appears on the Women’s Work Quilt at the very front, holding a large protest sign that reads, “VOTES FOR WOMEN”.  She was a dynamic force in the National Women’s Party.  Her courage and sacrifice helped lead to the passage of the 19th amendment.

An Apt Scholar

 Lucy was born in Brooklyn, New York into an Irish Catholic family in 1879. She had a quick mind, an engaging spirit, and a gift for language.  After attending Packer Collegiate Institute where she received instruction in social graces and religion, Lucy went on to study at Columbia University, Vassar College, and Yale University.  She earned a teaching degree and taught English at Erasmus High School in Brooklyn for two years, but had a strong desire to continue her own studies. She was lucky to have a father who encouraged, and financed her education.  Lucy headed abroad to study at the University of Berlin in Germany, and Oxford University in England.  She used her linguistic skills to charm audiences with her spoken, and written words. 

Trading Education for Experience in the Suffragette Movement

In England, Lucy learned about the suffragette movement.  She abandoned her studies and took up the cause.  Lucy practiced her skills and became an eloquent “Street Speaker” who was arrested four times for being a public nuisance.  While in jail, she met and became good friends with another American, Alice Paul.

Together, they brought the militant tactics they had learned in England to the suffragette movement in the US. However, as members of the National Women’s Suffrage Association, they were impatient with progress and split to form a new group that eventually became the National Women’s Party (NWP).

The Suffragette Movement: Silent Sentinels at the White House

suffragette movement deploys women to line up in front of White House to pressure Pres. Wilson to support 19th amendment inspired the presentation of Lucy on the Women's Work quilt holding a picket sign.

Silent Sentinels picket the White House

Suffragette Movement Women hold large banner on display when dignitaries visit.

Large banners for special visits.

Lucy organized protests and edited The Suffragist, a weekly NWP journal.  A key player in organizing the “Silent Sentinels”, Lucy oversaw more than 1000 women who picketed in front of the White House during the Wilson administration.  When important dignitaries visited the President, Lucy made sure that extra large banners with messages such as, “America is not a free democracy as long as women were denied the right to vote.” we’re prominently on display.

Woodrow Wilson found the protests irritating.  In a letter to his daughter he wrote  that these women “seem bent on making their cause as obnoxious as possible.” He also encouraged the police to crack down on the demonstrators.  Police brutality increased, and they began arresting the women for charges such as “obstructing passage on the sidewalk.”

Lucy Burns was taken to this three story stone building, along with other suffragettes, in paddy wagons.

Suffragettes taken to prison for protesting at White House.

Officers took the women to the Occoquan Workhouse, outside of Washington, DC.  Conditions were dire.  There were maggots in the food, the water was dirty, and the bedding was filthy.   Arrested six times, Lucy never backed down.  She led a hunger strike within the jail.  For this, the warden put her in solitary confinement. She persisted, and he initiated forced feedings. This was a brutal practice that involved strapping the victim to a chair and shoving a tube down her throat.  As time passed, the sentences increased in length, and the brutality worsened.

 Suffragette Movement and The Night of Terror

The most brutal events occurred on November 14, 1917.  Thirty-three women, who had been

Lucy Burns sits before a jail cell door possibly holding newspaper containing published account of the Night of Terror.

Lucy Burns in Occoquan prison

peacefully protesting, were arrested and brought to Occoquan.  They demanded to be treated as political prisoners.  Exasperated, the Prison Superintendent instructed his guards to teach the women a lesson.  They drug the women down a hall and threw them into dark, dirty cells. Through the night, the women were beaten and tortured.  Guards threw them against iron beds and benches until some lost consciousness.  They cuffed Lucy’s hands to the top of her cell door so that she was forced to stand through the night.  One woman, witnessing the violence, had a heart attack, but was denied medical treatment until the following morning.  By that time, she had died.

Lucy kept a diary of her experiences in the jail, and others shared their stories.  Published accounts of what became known as “The Night of Terror”

Suffragette movement gains public support as Lucy Burns and others were finally released from Occoquan. One women helps another, wrapped in a blanket, as they walk away from Occoquan prison

Prisoners released from Occoquan.

prompted public outrage.  The Prison Superintendent, under pressure released the women. Eventually, the women received pardons on all charges  With public sentiment now on their side, this night became a turning point in the campaign for the 19th amendment.

After passage of the 19th amendment, Lucy withdrew from prominence in the suffrage movement, and she performed charity work for the Catholic Church until her death in 1966.

My Personal Take Away…

The courage and determination these women determined to gainthe right to vote astounds me.  Even more, the brutality of the opposition startles me.  In the present day, I know that my right to vote is now secure, but I’m also aware that the voting rights of other US citizens is at risk.  Just as others fought for me, I feel compelled to fight for equal treatment of all citizens.  However, we live in strange times where truth and fairness are under assault.  I’m left wondering:  What am I willing to endure? and,  When the time comes, will I make the necessary sacrifices in the name of justice? 

What about the Workhouse?

The Occoquan Workhouse has been converted into the Workhouse Arts Center. It now offers over 800 arts education classes and workshops in a broad spectrum of art disciplines.  Each year the Workhouse Arts Center provides more than 100 exhibitions, 300 performances, and it hosts multiple large-scale community events for the region. The Arts Center also houses The Lucy Burns Museum.

The Workhouse Arts Center is located at:  9518 Workhouse Way, Lorton, VA 22079.  If you can’t visit the museum in person, visit the website.  Hear the words of the suffragettes read aloud by museum staff from the original diaries and writings: 

See the Women’s Work Quilt

Lucy Burns appears on Women’s Work holding a picket sign as she might have done in front of the White House.  The Women’s Work Quilt will debut as a featured work in the exhibit Women’s Voices, Women’s Votes, Women’s Rights, at the Clinton Presidential Library, in September 2021.  Look for more details on the Events page of this website.

Learn More About Lucy Burns and Women’s Work…

Lucy Burns Museum.  https://www.workhousearts.org/lucyburnsmuseum/

Nappier,  Terri   (August 17, 2020). Of Prison Cells and Suffrage. The Source: Washington Magazine. University of Washington in St. Louis.  https://source.wustl.edu/2020/08/of-prison-cells-and-suffrage/

Pruitt, Sarah, (4/17/19). The Night of Terror: When Suffragists Were Imprisoned and Tortured in 1917.  https://www.history.com/news/night-terror-brutality-suffragists-19th-amendment

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Bamboo by Lea McComas, features echo images of bamboo in analogous color scheme of yellow-green, green-blue-green.

Analogous Color Schemes Create Harmony

Analogous Color Schemes were one of topics discussed in my last

online Color & Composition class.  I hope the information presented here will inspire you to explore this color scheme. If you find this helpful, and want to join me for the next session, you will information at the bottom.  

Analogous color schemes include a run of colors next to each other on the color wheel.  These schemes can include 3, 5 or 7 colors. They work best when built around primary colors.  Like a monochromatic scheme, analogous schemes are great for conveying strong emotion. They also have

Analogous Scheme with mother Yellow.

Analogous Scheme with mother Yellow.

greater potential for energy and interest.  

 Analogous is a word that references a collection that has something similar, or a direct connection that applies to each element. The strong relationship among the colors in this scheme creates a sense of harmony.  There is a kind of kinship.

Analogous run with 7 colors

Analogous run with 7 colors

Analogous Colors Schemes are like Families.

One way to build analogous color schemes is to begin with a primary

Analogous scheme with red mother

Analogous scheme with red mother

color.  Think of this as the mother, and then expand to include the color, or child,  on each side.  Expand the scheme further to 5 colors by including the father of each child.   In this analogy, it is easy to understand that managing the harmonious effect of this scheme becomes more challenging, as the family gathering expands.

Analogous scheme with 2 primary parents

Analogous scheme with 2 primary parents

Another way to build analogous color schemes is to choose two primary colors.  Think of these as parents.  Then, include all of the children, or colors, in between.  Reduce the color scheme to 3 colors by eliminating the parents and using  just the siblings,. 

In either case, the scheme can be expanded further to include 7 colors. However, expanding this much requires incorporating a set of direct complements. Direct complements bring a lot of energy. That drama can disrupt the family harmony. Think of these as the mother-in-laws.

Analogous run with 7 colors

Analogous run with 7 colors

No Sleepy Schemes

With the colors being so close on the color wheel, analogous color schemes have the potential to be a bit boring, or sleepy.  Increase variety within the scheme to combat this.  One way to do this is through an expanded scheme.  The advantage of a 5-color scheme over a 3-color scheme is the ability to increase the color contrast.   Look at the examples below.

fabric swatches for 3-color scheme

fabric swatches for 3-color scheme

fabric swatches for 5-color scheme

fabric swatches for 5-color scheme

Another strategy is to emphasize one color within the scheme over the others.    Any color within the scheme can be the star of the show.  However, luminous colors, such as yellow, will naturally want to be the center of attention. Manage the scheme by using purer hues, and more intense versions of the color to be emphasized. Likewise, use more tints, tones, shades, and less intense version of the other colors.

3 Analogous Experiments

I spent a day experimenting with various analogous color schemes. Working with 5 colors, I chose a hue, tint, and shade of each color, and then mixed in  a collection of neutral gray fabrics.  In each experiment I created 48 half square triangle blocks and then arranged various compositions on the design wall.

Experiment 1: Mother Red

This analogous run stretched from violet to orange.  Here was my final composition. The grayscale image shows how value is also at play.

Analogous scheme built around red.

Analogous scheme built around red.

Grayscale view of Red analogous scheme.

Grayscale view of Red analogous scheme.

Experiment 2: Parents Blue and Yellow

Here is my analogous run with two primary parents and their children. The grayscale image is also included.

Analogous scheme with blue & yellow parents.

Analogous scheme with blue & yellow parents.

Grayscale view of Yellow-Blue scheme.

Grayscale view of Yellow-Blue scheme.

Breaking the Rules

What happens when the analogous color scheme is built around tertiary colors, instead of primaries? 

In my third experiment, I built a scheme with blue-violet as the central color, stretching from red-violet to blue green.  Using the family analogy, this is like loosing the parent red at one end of the run, and bring in the mother-in-law at the other end of the run. My results were less than ideal, but not a total disaster. Blue-green definitely feels like an outlier in this scheme.  It is the only color with a touch of yellow.  See my results below.

Scheme based on tertiary colors

Scheme based on tertiary colors

Grayscale view of tertiary scheme.

Grayscale view of tertiary scheme.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the next Color and Composition class we’ll delve deeper into the analogous color scheme and take a look at an Accented Analogous Scheme.  We meet on the 4th Saturday of every month 1:00-3:00 PM MDT. To join us, sign up through the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum.

Subscribe to this blog for future updates on topics covered in the Color & Composition class.

 

 

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repetition and rhythm

Repetition and Rhythm Add Comfort and Excitement

Today I want to focus on the design concepts of repetition & rhythm, and how we can put these to work in our quilts. This content was covered in the last session of my Color & Composition class.  If you are interested in joining us for future sessions,  I’ll put a link at the bottom, but for now…

Repetition, Repetition, Repetition

Repetition is about using a design element over and over.    A repeated element gives a sense of familiarity and comfort. This could be a repeating line, shape, or pattern.

Repetition is something that we are naturally drawn to;  something we bring into our world. Here are some examples that I found in my own environment.

repetition of design in furniture drawers and hardware

multiple drawers with repeating hardware

example of repetition in design

Repetition in the stair railing.

repetition as design element in hand woven rug

repeating design in a rug

Many artists will repeat an element in every piece.

elements of my art extend beyond the edge.

Beyond the Edge: My Signature Move

It becomes their signature move, something that makes their work easily recognizable to viewers, and fans. My signature move is to take an element off the edge of my work. See more examples in my genre gallery.

Within a composition, repetition can be as simple as repeating a line, shape, color, texture.  

As I’ve been working in recent months to update the  online galleries for the Border Wall Quilt Project, I’ve found many wonderful examples of repetition.  Here are a few.

BWQP brick by LK

Repeating element-hearts. Brick by L K.

BWQP brick by Cynthia Catlin

Repeating element – woman. Brick by Cynthia Catlin.

BWQP brick by Cynthia Catlin

Repeating element – brick. Brick by Cynthia Catlin.

Pattern is created when more than one element is combined and repeated.

Here are examples from the BWQP where I think this idea of pattern is used effectively.

BWQP brick by Maude Wallace Haeger

Pattern of repeating vertical and diagonal lines. Brick by Maude Wallace Haeger.

Repeating pattern of stripes and coffins. Brick by Karen Sullivan

 

 

Rhythm,     Rhythm,          Rhythm,     Rhythm

Conversely,  Rhythm is about the space between repeating elements. It adds interest and excitement..Today, let’s look at 5 types of Rhythm:

  1.  Random Rhythm has no regular interval between repetitions. They can be all over the place.

    BWQP by Ramona Bates

    Random Rhythm. Brick by Ramona Bates.

2.  Regular Rhythm occurs when the interval between repetitions is the same.  For example, your heartbeat is a regular rhythm, or, at least it should be.  Here is a quilted example.

 BWQP brick by Price & Pampusch

Regular Rhythm. Brick by Price & Pampusch.

3.  Alternating Rhythm is the switching back and forth between 2 regular rhythms. Chess board is a simple example. However, these rhythms can be much more complex.

BWQP brick by Ramona Bates,

Alternating Rhythm. Brick by Ramona Bates,

4.  Flowing Rhythm exists when repeated elements follow a curved or undulating line. Here are some examples.

BWQP brick by Carol D Chewning

Flowing Rhythm. Brick Carol Chewning.

  5. Progressive Rhythm results from changing a characteristic of an element as it is repeated. These next examples show different ways that rhythm can progresses.

This sample shows an increase in size and color change.

BWQP brick by Lourdes Cruz

Progressive rhythm. Brick by Lourdes Cruz, Mexico.

This next brick shows multiple scenes of a story.  This is called simultaneous narrative.

BWQP brick by Sheryl D Rodda

example of progressive rhythm with simultaneous narrative. Brick by Sheryl D Rodda

Put Yourself to the Test

Look at the examples below and identify the type of rhythm in each.  The answer key is below.

1.

Brick by Sally Maxwell

2.

BWQP brick by Pat Hilderbrand

Brick by Pat Hilderbrand.

3.

Brick by Linda Laird

Monthly Color & Compositions Class

If you would like to join us, my Color & Composition class is sponsored by the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum on the 4th Saturday of every month through the end of 2021.  In each session we explore a color scheme, a color concept, and a concept related to composition.  

Sign up here.

Answer Key: 1. alternating, 2. Flowing  and progressive. 3, random 

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Women's Work by moonlight

Women’s Work: When Will It End?!?

Women’s Work, a masterwork that has consumed, and fed, my artistic spirit for the last year and half, may finally be coming to an end.  This journey started in September 2019, when I was approached by a representative from the Clinton Foundation about creating an art quilt for Women’s Voices, Women’s Votes, Women’s Rights.  This is an exhibit to celebrate the 100th anniversary of women getting the right to vote in the US.  Originally scheduled to open at the Clinton Presidential Library in September 2020, COVID-19 delayed the opening 1 year.  Not to diminish the devastating effects of this virus, but isolating at home gave me the opportunity to create the most ambitious project I’ve ever attempted.

What do you want to do?

This question stopped me in my tracks.  Initially, I couldn’t decide on a single person or event to celebrate in my work; there are just too many options.  The more I researched, the more difficult the decision became. Finally, inspired by Raphael’s painting, School of Athens, I realized that I could create a piece celebrating the work of dozens of women whose voices and deeds have contributed to the fight for women’s votes, rights, and equality.

Inspiration for Women's Work

Raphael’s painting titled School of Athens.

My vision:

In my mind, I saw a gathering of women representing a variety of time periods and vocations, and gifts. I would group them by theme to demonstrate how women’s work has progressed through the centuries, with each generation building on the progress of the previous.

Now, this was a bold, big idea, and big ideas need big space, so I decided to make the piece 10 feet wide and 8 feet tall.  The unintended consequences of this decision are fodder for a  future blog post titled “Bloopers and Blunders”.

How Do You Eat an Elephant?

Having a vision for Women’s Work, and knowing how to bring that vision to fruition are two very different things.  My progress stalled as I just couldn’t decide what to do next. The project was enormous; something like eating an elephant.

One Bite at a Time.

Women's work: Lea drawing a life-size pattern of the quilt

Drawing the pattern

Finally, in November 2019, this vision took off in 2 directions. First, create an appropriate setting

for the composition. Second, choose the women to be represented in the quilt.  The project started to disaggregate into bite size pieces, and I found a way forward.  Hungry for progress, I began to devour the tasks.

On physically active days, I drew a life-sized pattern and built structures from fabric.  I discovered that organza made a great glass ceiling, as pillars morphed into caryatids. All the while, insufficient amounts of fabric prompted creative design decisions.

Women's Work: progress photo shows entry, steps, floor, wing walls, glass ceiling, pediment carving and distant sky

Distant sky is creative solution when there is not enough fabric.

Women's Work: shows first 2 phases of creating building setting of the pictorial quilt.

Glass ceiling and marble floor.

 

 

 

 

 

Women's Work in progress: working out statuary.

Working out statuary with paper versions.

On mentally active days, I researched women and their achievements. Going “old school”, I

Lea doing research for Women's Work

Lea, conducting research for Women’s Work

wrote information about each woman on a 3×5 notecards.  Over and over, I laid them out, rearranged,, stacked, and paper clipped them.

Now, with Women’s Work is nearly complete, I’m impatient to share what I have done. Please, subscribe to this blog to get the full story. (A pop up window will appear when you leave this page.)  In the months to come, I’ll share essays about the women who are depicted in the work, (there are more than 50) and tell you more stories about how the quilt was made. Later, when the conditions are right, I invite you will join me to see the quilt in person.

Women's Work by moonlight

Solo exhibit in the time of COVID

 

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Color Temperature

Color Temperature: Fabric Fever is Cause for Concern

Can color temperature indicate the health of your quilt? These days, having a fever is cause for concern. Staying home and

Does you fabric have a temperature?

away from others gives me more time with my fabric, where temperature has also been on my mind. It was a topic in my monthly Color & Composition class.  Read on for a summary of our discussion and learn how you can join us next month.

Color Temperature:  What is Warm? What is Cool?

The exact dividing line between warm & cool colors has been an open topic for centuries.

various versions of color temperature

What is your preference?

Your preference likely depends on your medium: a digital graphic artist lives in a different color world than a fiber art quilter.  Here is what I work with…

my take on color temperature

Here are my play groups for warm and cool colors.

I also think of red and green as temperature neutral.  They can function with either play group, but will be the coolest kids in the warm group, and the hottest kids in the cool group.

color temperature - warm

What’s cool in the warm group?

color temperature - cool

What is warm in this cool group?

How Color Temperature is a Tool?

It’s a fact that warm colors advance and cool colors recede!  In a composition, we can create a sense of depth using temperature.  Warm colors will seem closer to us and cool colors will fall to the background.  Or do they?  Do we know this because someone told us, or because we have experienced it?  I say, “You don’t really own that knowledge until you test it out.”  

So, I created a series of simple compositions of a box on a background.  These are only  8 x10 inches, easy to make, and keep on hand for future reference.

Color Temperature: Warm vs Cool – Round 1

First, here is a box in a warm color sitting on a cool color background. 

Does the box visually pop off the surface?

Now, here is the reverse: a cool color box on a warm color background.

What about this box?

If the concept holds true, the first version should appear to have more depth, and the background should fight for dominance in the second.  What do you think?

Color Temperature:  Warm vs Cool – Round 2

In my next experiment, I pitted warm and cool colors against each other in the same composition.  Using a temperature neutral color green for the back ground, I put a large and small box together in the composition.  Size will indicate to the viewer that the larger box is closer, but, how does color temperature amplify, or mute that message?  

 

Warm vs Cool in Pictorial Quilts

These examples are very dramatic, but the concept can be used in more subtle ways.  Color temperature is relative.  Even within the “Warm” or “Cool” color play groups, each color will appear warmer, or cooler depending on what color plays next to it.  For example, orange is cooler than yellow, but warmer than red.  Also, blue is cooler than green, but warmer than violet. 

I use this concept in all of my work.  Look through my genre and portrait galleries to see how warm tones advance from the cooler backgrounds.  When more than one person is included in a composition, I employ subtle temperature changes in flesh tones to make one figure more prominent, or appear closer than another. 

Which figure has the warmer complexion?

How does temperature amplify depth in this piece?

Experience is the Best Teacher

Now, if you really want to own knowledge of this concept, you need to conduct your own experiences.  It can be a simple as cutting out some circles of various sizes and colors, and then experiment with placing those circles on different backgrounds.  You don’t even need to fix them permanently.  Try one version, take a photo, rearrange, and take another photo.

If you try this, share a photo of your experiment with me:  Lea@leamccomas.com

Learn More About Color Concepts

Every month, I teach an online Color & Composition class through the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum.  We meet via Zoom on the 4th Saturday of every month from 1:00-3:00 (Mountain Time zone).  Each meeting is a chance to explore a color concept, a color scheme, and a composition concept.  Come every month, or participate when you can.  The cost is $20/ session. Click this link to join us.

Here is what we’ll be exploring at our next meeting on January 23:

Color Concept: Creating Depth

Color Scheme: Analogous

Composition Concept: Variety & Unity

Sign up for the next Color & Composition class with Lea McComas

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Quilt Stories: The Making of Crossing Over

In a Quilt Stories interview with Lisa Walton, I spoke extensively with her about the making of  my quilt Crossing Over.  It was great fun to talk with a friend, and sister quilter from Australia.
 
QUILT STORIES - See how LEA McCOMAS creates her THREAD PAINTED AWARD WINNING masterpieces
 
 
Here is a link to the interview 
 
Lisa is creating a series of these interviews with quilters from around the world. Subscribe to her channel because there is more to come
 
You can see this piece and more of my work in my Portfolio galleries.
 
I’ve not been posting much in recent months as I’m working on a major new artwork that is bigger and more ambitious than anything I’ve ever done before.  It is a commission for an exhibit being put together by the Clinton Foundation to celebrate Women’s Voices, Women’s Votes, and Women’s Rights.  I can’t wait until I can begin to share this journey with you.
 
Take care and be safe–wear a mask when you go out.
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New Work: Dogs & Cats

My last blog entry was last summer when I gave a teaser about my new work, and now, we’re fully in the winter holiday season. Has it really been that long?  The winter solstice, at our house, is a time to stop and reflect on the events & accomplishments of the closing year, and set goals and expectations for the approaching year.

Body Building

I set a goal last year to lose some weight and get in shape (sound familiar?). My body building efforts were really about  building up a body of new work.

Got Kibble? at CF Gallery opening,

Got Kibble? is just one of the new works that I completed this year.  It was a hands-down favorite at my show in the Creative Framing Gallery in Louisville, CO in Sep-Oct.  Pet compositions are fun to show in the Boulder area is because we are such an animal oriented community.

 

 

Cat Nap, 44″ x 24″, fabric & thread, © Lea McComas, 2018.

Not to be left out, that other favorite pet, the cat, is featured in my new piece, “Cat Nap”.  This work was inspired by a photo I took while traveling in Greece, back in the mid-1990’s.

Pet Portrait class sample

Previously, I completed a couple of small studies using this image.  Two versions were made for my online Pet Portrait class. Here is one with a tetrad color scheme. Prior to that,  a small work was donated to a charity event. Finally, after 20 years, the full up composition has come to fruition. Now, it’s subtle charm makes it one of my new favorites.

Cats VS Dogs?

At the show, a survey of viewers revealed that cats are more popular pets than dogs. Now, I’m getting a lot of pressure (and fun photos) for a series featuring cats.  What about you? Are you a dog person? or a cat person?

I’m thinking dogs rule.

    Cats rule, Dogs drool!

Stay tuned, there is more work to share in a future blog. In the meantime, if you’ve been inspired to attempt your own pet portrait in fabric, check out my online Pet Portrait Memory class with The Quilting Company.

No time for that?!?  I do commission work.  Contact me and let’s talk about capturing a favorite image of your pet in fabric and thread.

Border Wall Quilt Project

Can’t write a blog without mentioning the Border Wall Quilt Project.  We’re still accepting bricks and the wall continues to grow.  

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Time for a New Pet Portrait: Got Kibble?

Upcoming Exhibition

Yes, I’ve actually found time to create new original artwork this summer.  The last several

Lea at the Creative Framing Art Gallery

I’ll be in good company

months have been packed with travel, teaching, and the Border Wall Quilt Project, but I’ve still carved out some time to focus on several new works of art, including a new pet portrait.  I’ll be a featured artist at the Creative Framing Art Gallery in Louisville, CO in the months of September-October, and these new pieces will be fully revealed at that time. If your in the area, please save the date: Sep. 7, 2018 for the opening reception, 6-9 PM.  

New Pet Portrait in the Dog’s Life Series

For now, let me share a sneak preview of what’s to come. . . .

Background detail of Got Kibble?

Some of my hand dyed fabric in the background

Face detail of Got Kibble?

Detail of dog

I often find inspiration from my students as I travel and teach.  In Ft. Collins, CO a student shared a photo of her, “Crazy dog!”  I had to agree, he looked pretty crazy, but also endearing.  With her permission, I’ve done a new, larger than life, pet portrait.

I find that animal portraits don’t demand the same level of precision as portraits of people. This is just one more way that animals are more forgiving than humans.  In this piece, the fabric does a lot of the work.  The edges are raw and fuzzy and add a bit of dimension.  I’ve done less thread-painting to keep those edges visible. It’s more like thread-sketching, and it’s great fun when you have to balance a new work with another new project that has a steep learning curve and lots of moving parts.

Plan to come and see this piece in person.  Come to the reception and see me in person, too.

Border Wall Quilt Project: Section 3 Under Construction

OH, and that other new project is the Border Wall Quilt Project.  Follow the link or follow me on Facebook and Instagram to see photos of the individual bricks and the process.  There is still time to register and submit your own bricks.  

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Vigil is Finished. See This Endearing New Work

It is exciting when a new work is completed. Vigil is finished and I’m thrilled with the results. It’s been photographed and added to the Genre gallery on my website. However, in this week’s blog, I want to share some of the details.

The lonely dog, a faithful companion, lies, waiting, and ever hopeful of the return of a loved one.

Vigil: Stitching the Dog

One challenge I faced in stitching the dog was to get the direction of the hair just right.  Stella, the dog in this composition, is similar to my own dog, Bosco.  So, anytime I was uncertain about the direction I should be stitching, I would sneak up on Bosco as he napped and use him as my reference.  Of course, he would wake up and expect to be held and petted in return for his services.

Lea McComas Fiber Art - Vigil detail

Detail of dog hair

Lea McComas Fiber Art - In the Studio

When you ask Bosco for help on a project, he is all in.

 

Vigil: Creating Depth

Lea McComas Fiber Art-Vigil

subtle value changes create feeling of depth

Another challenge was to give a sense of foreground and background.  For this, I rely, as I often do, on value changes. It is very subtle, but the black fabric used at the lower edge is slightly lighter than the dark fabric used for the upper part of the composition.  This subtle contrast was  enhanced with the thread choices in the stitching phase.  As a viewer, you may never consciously notice the changes, but the image will register in your mind as having depth.  Also, creating a broader field of gray below the white band brings that area forward.

 

Vigil: Stitching the Background

Lea McComas Fiber Art-Vigil detail

Subtle changes in thread and stitch design hint at what’s behind.

A final challenge was to add variation and subtle detail to the very large dark background area. I wanted to give the impression of a floor with a wall in the distance, but didn’t want to get too specific on where one transitioned to the other, and also wanted to maintain the feeling of a dark abyss.  For this, I employed a circular stitch design for the carpet, and an elongated vertical stitch pattern to represent the wall and then varied where I transitioned from one pattern to the other.  I also used two threads in this area: a solid black in the area around the dog, and a variegated thread of very dark values as I stitched further away from the figure.

In the end, I think this resulted in a very sweet piece that will be hard to part with. However, plans are already being made to exhibit this piece. When things finalize, I’ll let you know.  For now, visit the Genre Gallery of my website to see some of my other works.  You may notice another new work, Cruisin’.  I’ll be sharing the story of this piece in the weeks to come.

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