Perhaps you thought I wasn't focused on this 2015 challenge to myself?
You would be right.
I totally froze when I realized that I was illustrating someone else's ideas instead of generating a new way of focusing on my art.
So I studied a bit. And let it simmer. And focused on other projects instead (see blog posts on my journal pages.) Time passed, and suns set.
How to take the next step? Instead of stitching and mimicking I might be able to use the look of the drawings to create pattern instead. Of the images that were sent to me by my intrepid followers I received many drawings that included an image of the sun. It intrigued me that many of the suns were similar, whether from Poland or Minnesota, children tend to draw suns in the upper corner of their drawings with rays that extend into the middle of a rough circle.
The pattern exercise made me a little more familiar with that primary building block.
Lesson learned:
Lines are bold, imperfect and lively. And multiple suns in patterns look like yellow spiders
Working on patterns is an escape hatch for me. It takes me away from the fabric and let's me focus on style rather than construction. I rarely get one that makes me completely satisfied yet I learn at each step. A good thing.
But how do I translate that lesson to my own work? How does that spontaneity get translated into thread? Where does texture come in? If I use a child's drawing in a composition should it be the focus or the inspiration? Can I do both?
Combining the ideas I have pursued by piecing and stitching in a more spontaneous, less studied way I decided to use some scraps of pieced strips I had left over from my flag project to create an environment for the drawings. Sorry to say I did not take an in progress shot of this composition. Everything was moving too fast. Here are some shots of earlier projects to give you an idea of the piecing and stitching technique I am talking about. The stitching follows the seams of each randomly piece composition. It was cold that day I was working on the triangles.
Once an environment was created with the pieced strips I went back to MY drawing board. The detail below is from Do the Doodle. The drawings are in my DNA. They are unplanned and mysterious to me. They are of their own. Perhaps I could combine these drawings with the child drawings?
And this is what I ended up with after a few hours. Notice the fish at the lower right corner. It was given to me by Amelia. Her talent and creativity now shares some space in my head.
Think like a child, Paula Kovarik
Thanks Amelia.
