Tag Archives: problem-solving

Bike Boys Surge Ahead

The outer world has settled down and I find myself back in my studio for a long weekend of work on the Bike Boys.   I quickly discovered that time away has doubled the time it takes to get up and running. When working on a piece, there are routines that develop.  When the routines are broken, it takes time to re-establish them.  The second day back in the studio is so much more productive than the first.  I’ve heard other artists speak of the value of practicing one’s art daily.  Today I’m acutely aware of that wisdom.  It’s not so important to produce art, but to be in actively involved in in the process; to stay connected to one’s learning.  I’ve posted a picture of my progress, but the progress viewed is not equivalent to the effort expended.

As the bike boys surge forward, a couple of other problems are developing.  First,  in my process, I build the piece by putting together small sections, and then join them to make larger sections, and then put those together on the foundation fabric.  Nothing goes together perfectly and the small imperfections I’m working through at the beginning, compound into 1/8 or 1/4 inch gaps by the far end of the piece.

coming undone

It’s becoming a real challenge to fit everything together which leads to my second problem: the fusible isn’t holding tight.  I’m trying not to be heavy handed with the iron, but after heating, repositioning and re heating, the product is loosing it’s ability to hold.   As the piece becomes larger it’s also becoming more delicate to move around.   I’m hoping that I can get it all together and onto the long arm before it turns into a pile of scraps on the floor.

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Bike Boys Going Nowhere

Lea @ Rd 2 CA

It has been an exciting couple of weeks, but I’ve made precious little progress on the bike boys.  Last week I made a quick 5-day trip to London to drop off a couple of quilts and to reconnect with 2 good friends that I met 20 years ago in Turkey.  Of course the days before a trip like that are full of preparation=no quilt work. The trip included high tea at the Goring Hotel, a musical, “From Here to Eternity” at the Shaftsbury Theatre, a new hairdo at the salon in Selfridges, and a bit of shopping on Oxford St. Then, the next couple of days are all about recovery and getting the sleep schedule back in place=no quilt work.

On Tuesday, I received the exciting news that my quilt “Panning for Gold” had won the prize for “Best of Show from a First Time Entrant” at the Road to California Quilt Show.  I’ve never actually been to this show, so I thought this was a great excuse to check in out in person.  Working out travel details and preparing for a substitute teacher at school took up the next couple of days=no quilt work.

With a flight delay, I found myself home with a day to work in the studio.  However, with a deadline looming for the SAQA trunk show, I sprung into action on a different piece: “A Horse of Course”

Me, I’ve been all over the map these last 2 weeks, but the Bike Boys are going nowhere.

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Life in the Shadows and the Golden Mean

One line through many elements

With a week off work, my travels over, and all guests have gone home, I’ve been able to make great progress on the Bike Boys.  While traveling, I did pickup some new brown fabrics with deeper, darker shades.  I used them to replace some earlier choices, hoping to strengthen the color schemes for some of the bikers.  I think it worked.  My second bike boy really pops forward.  I also built the foreground with rich tones for the sidewalk and street (you were right, dad), and added the cooler grays for the background.

Originally, I had chosen to delete the figure standing in the large dark space, but when I saw it on the wall, I knew he needed to rejoin the party.  When I added him, I made his features vague and used a very narrow range of value.  This served to push him farther into the shadows and create a third plane within the composition: bikers in the foreground, onlookers on the sidewalk, and this guy in the background. I also raised him up just a bit so that he sits on a tangent in line with other figures in the piece. He will  become the top of a triangular shape within the piece. I pinned the string across the design wall to show this.

Next, I realized that the top of the piece has reached the approximate 2/3 mark.  This got me thinking about the golden mean and how it can be used to create a pleasing composition.  The golden mean refers to a ratio of  3/8 or 5/8, but many people use thirds, because its easier.  If you don’t know about it, it’s worth a google search.  I placed pins at the corners and at the 1/3 marks along the edges and then wrapped string around the pins to create lines joining each of the points.  Placing objects along these lines helps to create a pleasing composition and can be used to guide the eye around and through the piece.  Also, the places where these lines cross could be considered power points.  It was exciting for me to see how often these lines were working with my composition.

So many connections!

 Here are some things to note:

  • the first line crosses the eyes of the man in shadow, then the face of the man behind the bike, grazes the top hat of biker #2, runs along the hat shadow of biker #1, and then connects to the hands of the man inside the window and the man in the red vest.
  • biker #1 is centered within a triangle  created under the 1/3 point and his elbows fall at a power point
  • the face of biker #2 falls at a power point, and so will the face of #3.
  • The tangent that falls through the face of biker #2, hits both elbows of biker #1 before grazing the handlebar and the toe of the red vest guy.
  • The tangent that will cross the hat of biker #3, also flows along the leg of biker #1 and near the bend in the fork of the bike.

I’ve got to take the lines down now so that I can fuse more fabric, but I’ll put them up again when it all comes together.

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Bike Boys not ready for Road Trip

I’ve spent the last week on the road visiting family and friends.  It was my hope to take the bike boys with me and continue to make some small progress.  I spent a good bit of time in my studio selecting a section of the composition to take with me.  When I started making a pile of the fabrics and tools that I would need to carry, I realized that it was just too much.  

My plan B was to take the pattern with me and work on it.  The full size of the piece is about 3 x 6 feet.  I’ve had to make the pattern in two 3-foot sections.  It was taking ages to draw and mark, so I started putting fabric together before it was completed.  Now, I’ve progressed to the point that I have to finish the rest of the pattern and attach it to the first section.  I carried  the pieces with me, and my family is pretty understanding, but there aren’t many places where one can walk into someone else’s house and spread out to work on a big project.  In the end, I decided that it was more important to put my project away and just be present with people.

I’ve been back home for 2 days and have been trying to finish up the pattern.  Parts of it are quite intricate and cause me to question the wisdom of this project.  However, with each section that comes together in fabric, the volume of the nay-saying voices is diminished.  I think I’m reaching the point of no return.

Here is a look at the pattern.  I draw the sections and assign numbers to designate value, and then use red pencil to mark the edges that will tuck under.  I also outline the different figures with highlighters to help me know what set of fabrics to use.  It is a tedious and time-consuming step in the process.  I’ll be happy to have it done.

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Front Man

This week I’ve been able to add the front rider on the bicycle built for 6.  When I stepped back to view my progress, I was not as thrilled as I had hoped to be.  It doesn’t pop according to plan.  As I evaluate it, I realize that the colors are warmer than the background, but the chroma, or intensity, is not as rich as it should be, and I don’t have the value contrast that I need.  I may try to infuse and add, or over-fuse with bits of very dark and light fabrics to make some changes, but that is risky.  I run the chance of pulling the piece out of shape or fraying the raw edges.  I’ll have to give it some thoughtful consideration before I make that kind of move. 

I think a better plan, for now, is to move forward with the next 2 riders and create a bigger context for this front man.  Maybe I can compensate with those characters.  I also have the option of waiting until I’m in the thread-painting stage to try to make the needed adjustments.  That, however, is a long way off.  If I wait till that stage and it doesn’t work, I may be hard pressed to  find another option.

Another minor setback: I’ve lost a pattern piece for the toe of his shoe, and have spent a good amount of time sifting through all the little bits of paper in my trash to no avail.

On the up side: I do like the red bike.

You might have guessed that this is the time when the nay-saying voices are singing in my head. Stumbling and struggling in front of others is very humbling.

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New Progress on the Bike Boys

Building the background

This week I’ve managed to add more background.  You can see some buildings taking shape, along with another onlooker.  Even though

this piece is done in neutrals, I still want each element to be unique.  For me, that means giving each it’s own set of fabrics.  Thechallenge is to find a wide variety of fabrics from which to choose.  Although I just started cutting and fusing fabrics, I’ve been thinking about this project for over a year and have been collecting fabrics for at least that long. I was pleasantly surprised when I realized that I actually have all of what I think I will need to do this piece.

72 fabrics from the stash

As I choose fabrics for the background, I’m thinking about how to give it life and make it interesting.  Some of my previous backgrounds have been just solid pieces of fabric; a kind of blank canvas from which characters pop forward.  I think that has been a weakness of my previous work and I want this to be so much more.  At the same time, I want it to stay in the background and play a supporting role, not compete for the viewer’s first attention.  To this end, I have chosen to narrow the value scale.  I won’t work from white to black, but, rather, from a very light to a very dark gray.  In this way, the contrast in my values will not be as dramatic as in the foreground.  Also, I’ve chosen cooler colors.  The grays that I have picked are on the bluish side.  They will take a back seat to the warmer neutrals that I will use in the foreground.

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New Project: The Bike Boys

After months of delays and distractions, I’m finally putting fusible to fabric to begin my next pictorial piece.  My original goal was to create this piece over the summer, but I still haven’t completed the pattern.  In my defense, it is a pretty complicated composition with several characters and lots of small pieces.  It is, by far, my most ambitious project to date.  The intimidation factor is high. There are lots of voices in my head asking if I can really do this, or suggesting that it will not be as grand as I hope and that I should give up now before wasting a lot of time and resources. 

 To counter those voices, I’m going public.  I’m putting it out there for all to see with weekly updates on my progress.  I’m hoping my readers will cheer me on and encourage me when times get tough.  I’m also going to use this as a forum to write about the design decisions that I will make along the way.  I’ll share my thought processes and tell how I do what I do.  I hope it is interesting and brings you back.

The ultimate goal is to have this piece finished in time to submit it for consideration in the pictorial quilt competition at Houston next year.  I’ve been in special exhibits in Houston, but have never entered one of the competitions before.  (Scary stuff that prompts more nay-saying voices in my head.) That deadline comes in June.  Given that I first conceived of this project over a year ago, I’m going to have to pick up the pace.

Here is a picture of my first character.  He stands in the background looking on, so he is a minor character.  This piece will be done in neutrals with some pops of red.  To that end, I’ve given this guy a red vest. Because he is in the background, I’ve used the coolest, or pinkish reds, that I could find in my stash.  When warmer, or orangey reds appear in other parts of the composition, that contrast will help to push this guy to the background.

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Trial and Error

As I make slow progress on “Material Girl”, I continue to be perplexed by the challenge of creating dollar sign striped wallpaper.  A few weeks ago I shared my multiple attempts to capture images from the pages of fashion magazines using gel medium, and then cut them into shapes that could be applied to my new art quilt.

too fragile for the blanket stitch

Having successfully cut out strings of dollar sings, the new challenge is how to apply them to the surface of the artwork.  My first attempt was to stitch them in place.  Knowing that the signs were essentially sheets of acrylic plastic, I assumed that close stitching would simply cut through the acrylic and shred it, so I used a blanket stitch that would only hop over into the acrylic surface every few stiches.  I also lengthened the stiches to increase the distance between perforations. Stitching along, just off the edge of my dollar signs it seemed that all was going well.  However. Once I had completed several inches of stitching, I stopped to examine the results.  I found that the acrylic was holding up well in paces where it was relatively thick, but was already beginning to tear in the thinner spots.  This would never hold up to time and travel.

tulle and filler stitching does the trick

Looking around the studio for ideas, I spotted my old friend tulle.  I chose a fine champagne color to lay over the background of the composition and was able to stitch around the dollar signs.  They are now held in place and protected.  The tulle has minimal effect on the overall appearance.  If anything, it helps to diminish the boldness of the background and put it in the supporting role that is was meant to play.

I hope to enter this piece in the Au Naturel: the Nude in the 21st Century exhibit, but the deadline for entry is fast approaching, and my next challenge is the foreground.  A short description of this finished piece will be:  “ Material Girl:  Surrounded by luxury, buried in debt, and still looking for the next shiny object.”  Can you guess what I’m going to do?  Here is another clue:  Unfortunately, I, like this girl, am running out of time. 

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Show Me the Money

This first attempt didn’t work so well.

 

2nd attempt with smaller images and 2 coats

I needed money wallpaper for my latest piece, “Material Girl” and had to find a way to make it myself.  It turns out that all of those unrelated workshops where I learn seemingly useless trivia has come in handy.  I had a vague memory of being told that images on paper could be captured by painting over them with gel medium.  Once dry, the paper can be wetted and washed away, leaving the image on the plastic layer.   I asked about this at the art supply store, but no one there had a clue.  It didn’t stop me from trying.

Since “Material Girl” is about materialism and greed I bought some fashion magazines and found pictures of expensive clothes and accessories.  My first attempts didn’t work out well.  The images that I chose were so large that they were lost when I cut them into smaller shapes.  I put a thick layer of gel medium over the images, but the brush strokes left grooves in the surface that tore easily when I rubbed away the paper.  Also, I used a high gloss gel and the end results were just too shiny.

using a cloth is faster


Rub away paper with fingers

Back to the drawing board, I acquired a jar of matte gel and applied 2 coats to the magazine pages.  With the first coat, I brushed top to bottom, and in the second coat I brushed side to side.  The thicker layer held up better when removing the paper, but it also made the images less clear.  

Once the gel medium dries, it’s time to plunge it into water.  Let it soak for a short period of time, maybe 30 seconds.  Then lay it out on a flat surface with the gel side down, smooth it out as best you can and begin rubbing until the paper starts to roll up and off of the surface. I used my fingers at first as it allows you to feel the process and adjust pressure.  This was really important in my first attempts as the gel layer was thin and tore easily.  However, with a second layer of gel, the surface is more stable and can hold up to more pressure.  I found that I could use a wash cloth to rub off the paper.  This was much quicker.  I do caution that it is through trial and error that one finds the best pressure for working quickly without being destructive.

Dry, smooth and ready to cut

With the paper removed, lay the pages on a smooth surface one more time to dry.  It is important to smooth

money stripes

out each page and gently shape it.  Once dry, it is also important to gently lift the pages as they will have a tendancy to stick to the surface, especially around the edges.

I cut my shapes into dollar signs strung together.  I’m hoping they will look like wallpaper stripes.  In my second attempt, I chose several pages that had smaller images and looked similar overall.  Even though I cut my shapes from several pages, they all have a similar look.  In this way, I achieve some continuity of design.    My next challenge it to figure out how to attach these plastic stripes to the fabric surface.  Check back for more on that

Does it look like wallpaper?

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On the Other Hand

Not quite right?

Back home and unpacked, my attention returns to the artwork.  I want to update you and the Gold Miner’s hand.  I’ve done a bit more work and thank that they are finally right–just right!!

To review, a few weeks ago I finished a new piece, with the exception of the figure’s hand.   Here is how it looked then:

 I’m striving to better understand the use of value, temperature.  Initially, I used cooler threads for the hand in the background and warmer threads for the hand in the foreground.  The contrast was too great and the back hand looked necrotic.

Much better!

Realizing that I needed to blend  threads from each hand into the other, I searched for more information.  Jim, my husband and live-in art teacher, gave some instruction and guided me through observations of my own hands.  I studied hands painted by old masters such as Titian, and Raphael. Then, it was time to re-attack. 

Keeping  in mind the direction of the light source, and reflected light from the water, as well as the tissues under the skin such as bone, muscle, or veins, I went back to work.  I think these new hands are a big improvement and I’m declaring this piece finished!

Now, it’s time to turn my thoughts and energy to the next new piece:  six guys on a bike.  Check back and I’ll keep you posted on the progress.

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