This was a tricky palette for me - not a preferred colour scheme at all! But, as usual, with the passage of a little time and the constant mulling that happens inside the head of a Twelve, a plan presented itself.
Although I didn't plan to follow the source of this colour palette so closely, as a New Zealander (and a North Islander at that) I have a sense of connection to volcanoes and I was immediately able to relate the darkest colour to the volcanic scoria rock that is seen in so many New Zealand gardens. The little fern in Kristin's photos wasn't so familiar but there are plenty of other ferns in NZ...
My thoughts were very much about direction - the powerful vertical thrust of the eruptions and the gentle horizontal growth of the ferns.So the quilt has two distinct parts - the Volcano side which is expressed vertically, and the Fern part which sits more quietly to the side and has short horizontals. I pulled a great pile of fabrics from my collection and was ironing them and choosing colours when I realised that the gradated Nancy Crow print was all I needed for the Volcano background. I subscribe to the principle of twenty greens being better than one green, so this is a small departure for me from my usual fabric selection process. It's also as close as I will ever come to bargello. At first I planned lots of small handstitched sparks of bright orange but they would have been superfluous. Instead there are a few couched lines of hand-dyed perle cotton and, on the fern side, a few lines of couched polymide knitting yarn in that fabulous mucus green.
Now that this quilt is done, you know, I actually like it!
9 comments:
I love your quilt Kirsten! I also subscribe to the same color principle of more is better than one. And I love your referral to "mucus" green. I almost spewed my coffee on that one.
I love this. I am going to say that a lot today, but I do. I think the vertical lines and leafy background are vertical lines with the pops of color are wonderful. The right side gives a stability to the piece.
Wow, Kirsten...I actually gasped when this scrolled into view on my screen. I LOVE this. You have used the directional piecing to excellent effect -- and the horizontal lines provide the perfect contrast. The oranges and yellows and flashes of green against the beige and brown is so striking. I'm very impressed.
Very beautiful! That leafy pattern is so perfect. Despite the hot lava colors, this reminds me of the eruption of Mt. St. Helens here many years ago, The sky got black and the ash rained silently down covering everything in soft gray.
This is so great, I like the way you used mostly greys with the hot colors as accents.
I like it too! I definitely get the vertical thrust of the lava and then teh misty, ashy grey of the rest (even the soft edges of teh green yarn) evoke such a strong mood, much like I felt being at the top of the Kilauea Caldera. Well done! (And pretty amazing that both you and Brenda were able to put so much into this challenge given everything else going on with the 12x12 exhibitions in your neck of the woods -- thank you both!)
I see geological strata and shifting tectonic plates!
So interesting! I am really drawn to those slender, tall, stripey sections. The slight wavy edges are super cool, too. You really did hit the jackpot with that gradated leaf print. It's perfect!
I love the texture and colours Kirsti!
Great translation of the challenge!
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