I wanted to talk a little bit about the process of this piece. I only had a vague idea in my head and no sketches when I started it. Below is what I started with. After moving the blue pieces around many times, something was bothering me. My husband, Frank, came in and I asked his opinion. I'm not sure exactly what he said, but he didn't like the blue.Getting feedback from people, even if they don't know much about art, is still helpful. I left it alone and thought about what he said. I thought maybe since I was using complimentary colors that they were fighting with each other too much. So I decided to work with the more neutral color, brown, and some muted green and went in a different direction.
I ended up with what you see in the first picture. When I finally finished the dense quilting and stepped back to look at it, I thought it was better. However, it really didn't do much for me. It was just o.k.
I brought Frank back in and he immediately said he liked it. What I interpreted that to mean was that it was better than with the blue. He also said, "trees." That was my intent, but didn't want it to be too literal.
As I looked at it more, I wanted to cut a section out and turn it sideways. I didn't want to do it physically, and I didn't want to spend several hours with it on the computer in Photoshop. So I printed out several pictures of the piece and got out my old fashioned scissors and glue. Much quicker for me and more fun to handle physical pieces of paper.
I tried several different arrangements and glued them in my sketchbook. Below are some of them.
You can see which one I decided to do. I cut it apart and sewed it back together again. Personally, I like it much better now. It has some more movement in it which makes it a little more exciting. What do you think? 
10 comments:
Lisa, I think you did a great job redoing this piece. I liked the first picture ok, but it seemed to me that the top section was too high up. What you ended up with was MUCH more interesting than any of the earlier pieces. I really admire you for having the courage to cut the quilt up! I have one I want to do this with, but I haven't worked up the courage yet.
I agree. I think there is much more movement in the revised piece. Excellent job!
I like the final piece better, too. I think that brown line near the top on the first one looked too heavy. Now it looks just right. And I really like all the quilting.
I don't think I would have thought about using the printer for mock ups in this case...Good job! While I use my digital camera a lot...trying it out with different paper prints was a great idea!
And yes...I like the finished version best.
Another Lisa whose mom was a Ross, but she's a Broberg de Quintana.
This one went from OK to WOW! I learned about cutting up a piece that isn't working years ago from a friend who is the most creative person I know. Thanks to her, I sometimes ask myself if I have anything to lose by getting out my scissors. If the answer is "no, " chop, chop. LOL. I love your solution of cutting up a printout. That opens the door to lots more options!
Ah the power of a design wall, a digital camera, a printer, a sense of adventure! Thank you for sharing your process. A great result.
You changed it hopefully not just because of what your husband said, but because you had misgivings too. But did you ask what exactly what it was bothering you? Was it colour, or design issues, or a bit of both? Knowing the answers to these questions may have led first time round to what is now a well resolved design - what an agonising way to go! SAQA has a lot of online resources for members, including critique groups for those unable to get to anything local. www.saqa.com
I think the final result is more interesting, too! The quilting is beautiful!
The final result is wonderful. You've really improved the design, and I, too, like the way you used the camera and scissors to help you redesign.
Dear Lisa,
Thanks for sharing the process with us. I like your method of cutting up the printed pictures first--very good idea!
The horizontal bands read to me like the progression of sunlight throughout the day--was this your intent, or is it just me?
Keep up the good work,
Linda Laird
QuIlyLaDy aT sAn dOt rR doT cOm
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