I've recently started a new art quilt group. At our first meeting we decided that the group would be focussed on technique and process, and that a portion of our meeting would be dedicated to constructive critique. We decided to keep the group very small, limited to artists who would keep up with the monthly challenges and who would share their knowledge with us all.
With this painting by Klee?
The program for the meeting was resist dyeing. The resists had to dry before applying the dye, so Bethany had sent each of us instructions for preparing the fabric. I was assigned tapioca. Let me just say that using tapioca as a resist involves a great deal of fussing with a gloppy, glutinous mess. And it took days to dry.
Bethany prepared the thickened dyes:
And we started painting the dye over our resists. The resists used were flour paste, mashed potato flakes, corn syrup, baby rice cereal and tapioca.
At the first meeting, Michelle presented us with an interesting challenge. How would you marry this painting by Cezanne
In other words, we were to fuse the influences of the two painters into a quilted composition. An interesting challenge indeed.
I decided to go with the simplified geometrics of the Klee piece in the more organized landscape format of the Cezanne. Here is my piece, One Blue Roof:
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| One blue Roof, 34"w x 35"h, 2017 |
There were a number of really interesting "hybrids." We laid them out on the table. It was interesting how everyone had such different interpretations.
Bethany prepared the thickened dyes:
We each took some fabric home to batch and wash out. Results will be revealed at the next meeting.
Of course, I took my tapioca crusted dyed fabric home, packed in plastic bins, and thought I would set it out in the sun, under black plastic, to cook a bit. Heat always helps the dye react. And there is always plenty of sun in Texas, right? Well, apparently not:
We actually had a freak rain and hail storm. It wasn't even in the forecast. And today, still no sun. Sigh.
I'll end with this beautiful quilt by Wendy:
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