At a recent meeting of Contemporary Quilt London, I gave a demonstration of one of my techniques in exploring line. I had a solo exhibition in Thirsk in 2012, I produced a large body of monochromatic work, which can be found in Galleries with this link Monochrome series. I was inspired by a photograph of a hydro-electric dam under construction and my experiments led to many pieces of work.
For the demonstration I used a picture of viburnum branches. I felt that the image had a strong graphic element from which a design could develop.
For the demonstration I used a picture of viburnum branches. I felt that the image had a strong graphic element from which a design could develop.
I then took tracings, selecting the interesting areas and ignoring too much detail. I had in mind a wall hanging so made three tracings and glued them together, replicating potential stitch lines in green pen.
My first attempt was awful - I traced the tracing onto fabric, stitched it in black thread then painted it with acrylics. Needless to say it was untidy and uneven in tone, as can be seen with this picture - very disappointing.
However, I don't know why I didn't think of it from the outset - there was no alternative but to return to my trusty ScanNCut. I cut out an acetate stencil which enabled me to transfer the image onto fabric, cleanly and easily using Markel Paintstiks, as can be seen in the pictures below:
I experimented with stitching but wasn't entirely satisfied with the end results. Maybe more samples need to be investigated which leads me to ask myself: will I ever make a wall hanging based on these researches?