Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Fog Creeps In


I knew right away that I wanted to do a piece about fog when Kirsten announced that our newest challenge was going to be gray.  Growing up in the San Francisco bay area, I'm intimately acquainted with fog in all its forms -- from light and wispy to the solid wall of thick cottony fog I've encountered all my life driving into San Francisco on a summer day.

But how to illustrate fog?  I wanted to suggest that sense of seeing bits of color and form through dense fog ... the way fog moves and hints at something hidden in it.  I was considering different ways of going at that idea, when I decided to experiment and try the processes that led to this.  I'll detail the steps over on my blog, but suffice it to say this started with hand-dyed fabric, then was machine quilted, discharged, washed and dried (for more crinkles), then painted.

Thinking of fog brought to mind the Carl Sandburg poem we've always said to Caroline as we drove to San Francisco and encountered billows of fog blowing across the highway as we approached the Golden Gate Bridge:

The fog creeps in on little cat feet.
It sit on silent haunches,
Looking over harbor and city,
And then moves on.

Here's a detail of the creeping cat, which is overlaid with some tulle:

10 comments:

Karen said...

I really like the stitching on this Diane, those subtle little mountain peaks are wonderful. The techniques you used to highlight the stitching is very effective also.

teri said...

Love it. In grade 4 our teacher made us memorize poems. "Fog" was the first one I memorized. By the end of the school year I could recite "Eldorado." She was an ornery old bat but I am forever grateful to her for introducing me to poetry.

Gerrie said...

This is a very effective piece and after all those years in the bay area, I know the fog creep very well. Nicely done.

Terry Grant said...

I love the sense of swirling movement in the fog! I have a beautiful photo of the Golden Gate Bridge in swirling fog just above my desk. It has that same feeling that you have captured. And the cat is, of course, the perfect metaphor!

Kristin L said...

Just as Terri channeled Karen this time, it seems you've channeled Terri! The blue is brighter than I imagine when I think of a foggy day, but overall this piece is a wonderful embodiment of Sandburg's poem.

Renate said...

Diane you have managed to capture the feeling of mystery that comes from wandering through a fog. I especially like the creeping cat metaphor, because I also remember Carl Sandburg poetry but I'm more familiar with his poem "Chicago".

Diane Perin said...

Why am I not surprised that once again mine is the most colorful? Even with vary as a theme I can't seem to stay away from color.

Terri Stegmiller said...

This is wonderful. I have always loved the effect of paint over quilted fabrics. I would not have thought to portray fog in this way, but you have done it successfully.

Vicki Miller said...

I love the way you have quilted the fog and putting the cat on a sheer adds to the illusion. beautiful.

Deborah Boschert said...

All those crinkles and wrinkles are so wonderful! You've really emphasized them so well with the paint. The cat is so subtle... he barely makes a noise. Lovely!