Book Release Celebration! Introducing Chapter 9: Window & Kristin

Today is Day Nine of our giveaway to celebrate the publication of our book Twelve by Twelve: The International Art Quilt Challenge. As you undoubtedly know, each day, for twelve days, we are asking you a different question. For a chance to win a copy of our book, just leave us a comment on any of the Book Release Celebration posts with your answer to the relevant question. Feel free to play every day! At the end of the twelve days, one lucky winner will be randomly selected. (By the way, it is REALLY helpful if your comment is linked to a profile or blog that includes your e-mail address so that we can easily contact you if your comment is selected.) The book drawing is closed.  Stay tuned for the winner details.

Twelve by Twelve Theme Series by Kristin La Flamme

My (Kristin's) chapter is about about Window, a theme chosen by Gerrie. This challenge offered up an image to me right away, but other challenges were not always so clear. Much of our book is about our individual thought processes and how each of us approaches the same theme but in different ways. It is fascinating to see not just one way of approaching a design challenge, but twelve! The variety of approaches to this specific challenge was wonderful, and I write about each of our reactions, and how I went about making my own vision a reality in fabric.

Defenestration by Kristin La Flamme

This small quilt takes advantage of machine stitching, highlighted with paint, which was a new technique for me. But sometimes hand stitching is more appropriate, as with my zen-ish piece for our latest Colorplay challenge - Bonsai Tree of Life

So, which do you prefer, hand quilting or machine quilting?

Purple & Yellow at the Sydney Quilt Show

I've made dismal progress with my official piece for the purple and yellow colour challenge. I've been distracted with preparations for the Sydney Quilt Show 2010 which opens tomorrow. I've just put the finishing touches on the prize winners gallery which will go live in 12 hours or so (around noon Sydney time).

Rose Moderne, one of my alternative Window works is on display in the members' exhibition. I notice that it is mostly purple and yellow but I don't propose to recycle it !

I brought a bundle of Twelve by Twelve postcards with me to the show. I'll be on duty in the Guild area from Wednesday-Friday and again on Sunday so please come and say hello and let me know if you would like to buy a set. Meanwhile, the Twelve by Twelve exhibition continues at Gosford Regional Gallery until Wednesday, 23 June.

Window Gazing

The Twelve by Twelve website has now been updated to display our window-themed quilts. It's fascinating to see how the colours and the grid motif create a unified mosaic image:

The updated artist gallery pages also make interesting viewing as you can see the nine works completed by each individual member of the group so far.

Shibori Windows

I created these in my shibori class, yesterday. They will eventually be used in a larger version of what I might have done for this challenge. I just wanted to pop in and tell you all how excited I was to see each piece show up today. One person e-mailed me to say she thought this was our best group of pieces so far.

I have enjoyed reading all of the comments, but haven't had time to spend enough time with each piece to do my commenting as yet. I was away for 3 days and am up against a deadline for SDA conference work so have spent the day working on that. But, I wanted all of the twelves to know that you have turned out another fabulous group.

Dove in the Window

I had a heck of a time with this challenge. The "window" theme presented so many options, and while I had lists of ideas I just couldn't settle. I actually mapped out 3 different pieces, with full-size sketches and plans and all ... but couldn't seem to get myself into the fabric stage with any of them.

I kept coming back to the traditional quilt block called "Dove in the Window." During the weeks I was thinking about this project, Roger and I have been thinking about whether to remove our daughter from a traditional school setting, in favor of a non-traditional option. As we explored our feelings (and fear) of departing from a traditional path, I found myself drawn to this very traditional block. Probably not accidental, yes? I was craving the safety of something mapped out for me, and sewing these basic shapes was so comforting! My literal brain suggested setting doves on the window frame created by the block shapes, but as I was working on these, I started thinking about how one bird is resting comfortably in her nest, content to stay where she is, while the other is perched but ready to fly away.

So, all in all, this piece sums up the past two months of my life. And, just so you know, we have decided to leave the school and switch over to home-schooling to finish out the year. That perched bird has flown off into the unlimited blue sky!

The block is pieced. (Look, Gerrie! Points!) The doves, originally from photos, were painted and colored with colored pencils. I'm still not sure I'm thrilled with how the doves look -- but Terry, i have to say that when I was stuck I remembered how beautifully you use colored pencil to highlight your pieces, and I pulled mine out and was able to improve things considerably. The nest is dimensional -- fabric shreds -- as are the beady dove eyes (black seed beads).

To be honest, this result sort of surprises me. I mean, it just doesn't feel like me to me. But it pushed me a bit, to keep going on an idea when it was probably my life circumstances, and not the project, that were causing me to feel out-of-sorts with anything I tried. The deadline made me keep going even when I wasn't thrilled with it, and it came out better than I thought it would. So, it's not my favorite piece that I've done for these challenges, but given how well it fits my emotional life right now, I'm satisfied with it.

Windows to My Soul

Windows to My Soul

Windows to My Soul (detail)

I hadn't been thinking for too long about this new theme, when one day I was looking for something on the Internet and came across the saying "windows to my soul". I knew immediately what I would create for this theme.

My quilt is made with fabric, but details (eyes, mouth, shading and highlights) are stitched and/or painted. The frame around the face mimics the frame around a pane of glass, or window.

The eyes are the window to the soul

In the North of England there is a chain of bakeries called Greggs. It is a bit of a standing joke amongst colleagues who sit in court in my home town, but do not come from there, that the local populace have a bad habit of wandering around town eating Greggs' pasties from the paper bag. It is true and ( despite Dennis disapproving) I do it myself from time to time. It may not be elegant but they taste good and it is what people who live where I live do.

Now, there is a branch of that bakery in Blackburn. In fact their ventilation shaft empties into the air just outside court room number one in Blackburn County Court and it is nigh impossible to conduct a case there in the morning without having an overwhelming urge to purchase a pasty at lunchtime. But I particularly like queuing in this branch because Blackburn is a town with a significant Muslim population and it is possible to stand there, debating whether to choose potato and meat or cheese and onion and to be joined by ladies in all types of Islamic dress including those wearing the full face veil. (Although this may cease soon as there is much debate on line as to whether Greggs vegetarian food is in fact haram).

Personally I find this fascinating. I rejoice in the combination of the great difference in our dress and the shared heritage of going to Greggs. Others in my country however find it harder to see below the black fabric to find the humanity underneath. Difference for them relates to fear and overt religious practice is confused with terrorism. People ask, "why can't they be like us', the words, 'them' and 'us' speaking ( in my personal opinion) to a division based on ignorance and intolerance rather than an acceptance based on commonality and curiosity about diversity.

Even in the law there is debate. What if a woman wearing a full face veil is to give evidence for example? Is it possible to assess truthfulness if her facial expressions are masked? What if an advocate wanted to wear one? My experience as an advocate of talking to woman with full niqab is that with attention to the eyes and voice tone there is no difficulty interpreting meaning and demeanour. (For those interested the guidance given to Judges dealing with this issue is here).

Many complaints about the wearing of the veil focus on the 'hiding' of the face. The underlying assumption is that there is a lack of openness, a deception which is seen as incompatible with our (for which read White -Christian- British) culture. ( In fact it is more about modesty.) Ironically there is an old English Proverb The eyes are the window to the soul which is not dissimilar to the Biblical phrase The eyes are the light of the body is the eye. Is it not possible that by stripping away the (often incorrect) assumptions we make and the prejudices activated on seeing clothing choices, jewellery styles, body shape or art, and focusing on the eyes only, we come to the truest way of assessing personality?

Seeing Through

I really loved this theme. Thank you for picking such an inspiring image, Gerrie.

I wanted to explore layers, transparency and variety of texture. I've titled it "Seeing Through."

On a few of the daily pieces I've been doing for my Lent series, I've set small pieces on two layers wool felt. I like stitching through it and I like the additional border detail.

I did printing with paint using a Lego on the building on the left. The next building is some sheer-ish netting on which I did some hand embroidery. The next piece is hand painted and I cut all the windows out with an exacto knife. You can barely see the greenish building that is painted on the surface using a freezer paper stencil. The short navy building has a grid pattern that I printed with paint on plastic canvas. The wide purple building has lots of big cut out windows and the blue sheer building on the right is made with poly organza and stitched with more hand embroidery.
I machine quilted three building images in the background before I added all the buildings in the foreground.

Like Gerrie, I love the grid format of windows in big buildings. In fact, I love the grid in general. I really enjoyed exploring this design element for the windows theme.

Beijing

I saw many beautiful window screens last year in China. I loved the simpler ones, based on squares and rectangles. They inspired me with drawing this grid, which also makes me think a little bit of a log cabin block, courthouse steps style. 

I burned two thermal screens from my drawing. I found the marks on the first one a bit too thin, so I did a second one with thicker lines. I finally used them both for printing the central square panel, using red, gold and blue paint.
Once I was happy with the printing, I added red and gold borders, with a touch of blue and green, because these are the colours I remember of Beijing. The piece is machine and hand quilted.
I'll post a few more pictures on my blog.
Working on this quilt has given me many ideas for other pieces. 

Thank you Gerrie for choosing this theme!

Opportunity

As I discussed with my family the many associations that we each have with windows...
...nothing inspired me! Until one day, as I was driving, the phrase "Window of Opportunity" came to me.

My sister, her husband, my brother and my husband and I are all self-employed these days. As we run our businesses, uppermost in our thoughts is the need to identify and make the most of each opportunity. We have had many conversations about the concept. Some opportunities are seemingly small, but lead to bigger things. Some are hard to make out; easy to overlook. Some are bright, clear and obvious.

My quilt didn't become anything startling or overwhelmingly original. I was a bit disappointed that it looked, well, too familiar. It's fairly quiet, subdued even, but it expresses what I wanted to convey and so, in the end I am satisfied.

Ì Chaluim Cille Fuinneog

I carry images in my head that I remember over and over, like the chairs in our last challenge. This photo was taken on the Island of Iona in 2003, when Mr C and I went on a hiking trip in the Scottish Highlands. Iona is a small island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland that has an important place in the history of Christianity in Scotland and is renowned for its tranquility and natural beauty. Ì Chaluim Cille is the Gaelic name for Iona. Fuinneog is window in Gaelic.

This photo of the ruins with the beautiful stones and the opening, looking out on the sea has stayed with me and begged to become a piece of fiber art.

Because of my hectic life this past month, I had to simplify my process. The stone structure was printed on lutradur that was coated with Golden Digital Ground. I created the surrounding landscape from my hand-dyed fabrics and machine quilting. I love the shape of this structure so much - the wonky, off kilter shape and that gorgeous diagonal line.

Defenestration

Websters:

de-fen-es-tra-tion (de fen/i stra/shen), n. the act of throwing a person or thing out of a window: the defenestration of the commissioners at Prague. [DE- + L fenestr(a) a window + -ATION].

Defenestration is one of those words that just sounds interesting to me. Really, that's the reason I chose this interpretation of "Window." I like the word. Well, I like Prague too, and the word pretty much always refers to events in Prague in the 17th Century. 

Google defenestration and you will most likely find this engraving:

(via Wikipedia)

With this engraving as my inspiration, I opted not to try to reproduce it or anything period. But, I did want to reference it. So, I concentrated on the bull's eye glass windows. This was a great opportunity to try painting OVER my quilting. The technique was easy enough, but getting the right combination of colors proved more difficult. My first try was a dark brown over brick-ish fabric. Nice, but not very window like. My second try was bottle green over a milifiore-like brown fabric. It looked more like glass, but the bull's eye pattern was completely lost. So, I completed the quilt with the first fabric. However, once done, the brick-like fabric, warm yellow window and the arch shaped quilt looked less window and more furnace. I ended up with a scribbly looking brown and yellow fabric that gave both the dark needed for the window lead and a nice glow, painted a glowing yellow over it and ditched the furnace shape for the quilt itself. As a yellow window wouldn't work with a yellow quilt, I went for blue. It looks a little like the figure is falling into the building but not enough to make me change it, as i've pretty much run out of appropriate fabrics!

Introspection

It is said that the eyes are the window to the soul. Swedish researchers* have even found that iris patterns may give important clues about our personality, ranging from how warm and trusting we are to whether we are impulsive or neurotic. If this is true, then biometric data collected from iris recognition systems could potentially be used to generate personality profiles which is kind of spooky.

All I know is that, in the late stages of this challenge, I had occasion to visit my optometrist to remove the remains of a torn contact lense that was stuck under my eyelid. While I was there, the optometrist shone a bright light into my eyes and took some photos. The magnified images of the iris and blood vessels obviously made a big impression on me. Later I was looking through the painted backgrounds I had made for rose window quilts with new eyes and was compelled to make this quilt even though I had already completed two other window themed pieces that I will display on my blog.

Introspection © 2009 Brenda Gael Smith

*See Associations between iris characteristics and personality in adulthood by Mats Larsen and others in Science Direct.

Day Dreaming

Okay, I'm a homebody. I'm a stay-at-home mom. I homeschool. I'm a housewife. I spend most of my time at home. So I spend my time looking out the windows--admiring the awesome mountains, appreciating the beautiful flowers, or just day dreaming about adventure. So naturally when I think of windows I get a little lost in my thoughts. For this quilt, I wanted to capture the chaos and craziness of my house full of kids and the quiet, peaceful place I can go when I'm gazing out the window. For the background I used dyed wool felt. I then added colorful ribbons. The window frame is made from fabric paper and the panes are thin sheets of mica. The paint texture and wavy surface of the mica capture the look of an old window. (Which of course my husband would say needs to be refinished, but I love.)

My one little window quilt quickly turned into a series. I experimented with using hand dyed shears for the window panes. I also added beads for a little extra sparkle or maybe just to capture the look of all the rain that has been dripping down our windows.

I also couldn't help trying different color combinations of windows. Each provides a different feel to the view outside or the mood of the viewer.

Man's Darkest Side through the Windows of Hope

We visited Hiroshima a few years ago, and it was a very moving experience. The Peace Park is full of tragic and hopeful scenes. One of the sites that struck me the most was this building, the former promotion hall, that was at ground zero of the bomb. As you walk around the area, you come to a shinto alter which contains the names of the victims. As you gaze through an opening in the alter, you see in the distance the peace flame and beyond that, the promotion hall. Peace Park is a place of rememberance and teaching, not just sorrow, although there is plenty of that. The plan there is to leave the peace flame burning until nuclear weapons have been eradicated, then it will be extinguished. We were there in winter and this tree was very stark and very fitting with feelings I had looking at the building.

Deborah just asked me to show the original image so I'm adding it in here.

This piece was made using a thermofax image, stitching, painting, then stitching again with gold thread.

Roses for Gerrie

When Gerrie first announced the window theme, I recalled the Gothic churches of Europe and their magnificent rose windows. I set about with some painting and, as shown on my blog, even progressed to quilting but then I went in another direction...

A little peek

(not peak, right?..)

I finished my quilt yesterday. Now I can enjoy this sunny day in my garden.

Looking forward to seeing the other quilts...

This and That

We've been a bit less chatty on our blog on this current theme. I've had ideas bubbling in my brain, but I hadn't actually cut into cloth until this week. Here is a peek. (Not to be confused with peak.)

I'm also thrilled to tell you that my Fractal Tree art quilt which I created for our Mathmatics theme won an Honorable Mention ribbon at the Dallas Quilt Show. I entered it in the "Other Techniques" category since the focus of the quilt is the hand embroidery. I was pleased to add the ribbon to the small collection on my inspiration board. It's the giant gray one.

One more interesting experience to share... The librarian at my kids' elementary school invited me to come talk with the fifth graders about fiber art. I brought several quilts including all the pieces I've creative for our 12x12 challenges. I asked them to try to guess the themes for each quilt. They loved that! They guessed the "chocolate" theme right away and I had to give them lots of hints for "community" and "mathematics." If you have an opportunity to share your 12 pieces with a group, I hope you'll try the same thing. It was really fun and it's an excellent, interactive way to introduce fiber art to kids (or grown ups)!

Window teaser

Fellow Twelves probably do not want to speak to me today. I am done. I too found the theme hard because my initial thoughts were so literal and consequently boring. But then, brainstorming phrases including the word windows I hit on an idea and I was off. All I am saying is that (a) I have not taken an obvious interpretation (b) that there is the usual social message to go with the quilt (c) that I am hoping that you look at theme over accurate portrayal of the subject matter and (d) that I might have taken a slightly liberal definition of 12 x 12!



Here is a teaser photo.



Hurry up April, I want to see what you all think of it!

I'm not having an easy time with this "windows" theme. The problem, I fear, is that I have a love affair with windows and tend to photograph them. I have too many ideas, most too detailed for what I can (or want to try to) do in a 12-inch format.

My husband, helpfully, suggested that I do the view from out of the front window of a car, with the road ahead, also containing the rear view mirror showing the road behind. Cool concept, indeed, but in 12 inches? I don't think so. I told him I'll look forward to seeing his quilt when it's done.

I have a bunch of photographs from various vacations in Nantucket some years ago. Talk about great windows! The pictures are sort of faded now, but I scanned a few anyway to see if I could use them. I'm not sure how it's going yet. So, you may see a bit of this one, or you may not. It's too soon to tell. :-)

By the way, as I think about windows, I find that I'm drawn to the idea of looking IN windows from the outside, more than I am the perspective of looking out from the inside. When I was a kid, we'd have Sunday dinners at my grandparents' house, and I remember how I'd always be looking at the windows of the houses on the way home, trying to see if I could catch a glimpse of a person or get any sort of sense of the life inside that house.

Hmmm. Are you guys having the same difficulty I am? Too many thoughts and too hard to settle on one?