The Process

One of the things we talked about sharing here on this blog was our inspiration and our processes so that we all learn from each other. I mentioned before that our current challenge has me working more like it's a research project than quilt art.

Usually, I start a challenge writing words, free-association like, in my sketchbook. Then I draw cryptic doodles, or gather appropriate supplies and see what happens.

This time, I felt like I needed to work not in vague or universal concepts, but real data. I've written a rather lengthy post on my blog of all the reading I've done and interesting facts I've gathered in the last week or two since I decided on a direction. It can be a laborious way to prepare for art-making, but I actually like the opportunity to learn more, and I think in the end, it helps me make better art. I don't do this much traditional research on all (or even most of) my quilts, but I do think that taking the time to think out what and why one is doing is valuable.

Now that the research is done, it's off to the fun part of sewing (with some technical help from my Excel savvy husband).