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| Masques Optional. art-quilt 36x36 |
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| Beachwalk, artquilt, 24"x36" |
In the last post I promised to
offer a bit about my process, so here are some of my 'found photo'
art-quilts and a bit about how I created the imagery. The first
art-quilt I created from a found photo was one I called Masques
Optional. A commentary on the option to explore the persona's we wear,
and instead live out of what lies behind them. An amateur photographer
since my high school days, I began to manipulate photos the moment I was
introduced to the dark room. Playing with double exposures and "trick"
photography captivated me. One of my first pieces was a photo of my
brother playing cards with himself as his opponent. Given this
fascination, you can imagine how my work was influenced once Photoshop
hit the market. I think that is why so much of my representational
textile art begins with a photo I can't resist. I always have a camera
with me, and my kids will tell you that around our house the word
"cheese" has little to do with food.
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| The Three Man Fish Band; Practicing Their Scales, art-quilt 30"x33" |
When digital
artists began to play with surrealism I was even more enthralled. But
with art-quilts, tiny little details within pictorial work can get
lost. So, while occasionally I create digital pieces that I know I'll
never quilt, my found photo art quilts tend to only share one or two
obviously altered images. The piece to the right entitled The Three Man
Fish Band; Practicing Their Scales is a perfect example. After
digitally altering the colors I replaced the violinists instrument with a
fish. Then I did a bit of work to the background and printed three
fabric pieces of the same image. After piecing these together I began
to paint them with fabric paint for added texture and depth. I then
added inner and outer borders of batik fabric before quilting and
embellishing. This piece remained in my collection until my son decided it was his! I still enjoy its whimsical nature.
