Feeling Rusty

Twelve by Twelve Book Available for Pre-Order

Our 176 page book entitled Twelve by Twelve: The International Art Quilt Challenge is now AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER from suppliers such as Barnes & Noble, Amazon and the Book Depository.

Rusty Leaf

It's spring in Australia so there's no autumn leaves around but some leaves are still rusty.

Rusty Nails

I found some nails wrapped in a diagonal packet left over from the contractors.

I couldn't resist wrapping them in vinegar soaked fabrics.  I think now I will unwrap them and march them along vertically,  or maybe horizontally :)

Rusty Silk

I have been playing with wrapping vinegar soaked silk on a rusty pipe. I think this will make its way into my next piece. Have no idea where I am going from here!!

Rusty Flowers

With all the rain while I was in the North Island in New Zealand, it seemed ideal conditions for rust - even flowers...

Finished

I can hardly believe that I am finished with my "rust and Patina" piece. I was excited, had nothing pressing ahead of it, so I jumped right in. I was determined to do something different and really challenge myself to move outside my comfort zone with this piece. I think you will be surprised. Not that I think it is great. It may be just a little too, as Terri said, "matchy-matchy" but there are elements that I was happy with.

The big thing was that I did not use any commercial fabrics. I painted fabrics, trying to achieve the feeling of rust and patina and really, I think the fabric turned out beautiful. Knowing what to do with it at that point was the real challenge. I can hardly wait to share it and see what you all have done. Here is a tiny little bit, just to give you a taste.

First Steps

The first thing I do when starting a new project is to brainstorm in my sketchbook. It's not very pretty, usually done with whatever writing implement is within reach. This is just a conversation between me and myself. I tend to jot down word associations, references to photos or books I have, or I sketch a sort of shorthand of a composition. Sometimes I stick in images torn from magazines, or sticky notes written when inspiration stuck and my sketchbook was not around.



Sometimes I get as far as coloring in something, but that's rare since I do the bulk of the decision-making with actual fabrics and it's so difficult to replicate those kind of relationships in pencil or paint. This time it did work since the colors don't need to be specific at this point. We'll see where it goes from here...

Rusty in My Past

Here are a couple of examples of rusty quilts I've created in the past. The first one is a wall hanging I created for my bathroom after a bathroom makeover. There is no patina coloring in this one.

The next quilt was a small quilt, perhaps 6" x 6". I had made several of these for a give away.

I'm still thinking on this color theme and so far am undecided what I will do. But the wheels are turning and I'm hoping to start playing with these colors soon.

Twelve by Twelve @ Christchurch 17-19 September

Thanks to assistance from the very kind Julia, who not only met me at the airport but brought a spirit level with her!, the Twelve by Twelve exhibition was installed in good time ready for the opening of the inaugural Craft & Quilt Fair at Christchurch tomorrow.  Show hours are 10am-4.30pm, Friday 17 September - Sunday 19 September.  I'll be giving floor talks twice daily at 11am and 2pm.

Ideas from Home Depot

While wandering the isles of Home Depot, I saw these tiles and couldn't resist their rusty color. The dark blue is a little too blue, but others in the mosaic are a soft green. I really have no idea what, if anything, I'm going to do with them, but I couldn't resist bringing them home for inspiration.

Grand designs

Before the Twelve by Twelve exhibition opens at the Craft & Quilt Fair at Christchurch on Friday 17 September, I am catching up with university friends who live in New Zealand's national capital - Wellington.  I'm on the look out for inspiration for the next Colorplay challenge - Rusty - and found the new Supreme Court building has the copper tones well and truly covered with its amazing copper and beech panelled courtroom in the shape of a cone from the native kauri tree.

As Helen Frances from The Australian newspaper puts it in her article Guilty of Good Design:

The organic iconography of the new building sends a clear message that NZ's justice system is firmly rooted in home soil. There are no classical Greek columns, acanthus leaves or acorns. The exterior bronze screens depict windblown forms of rata and pohutukawa trees, representative of the country's North and South Islands, symbolising leadership, longevity and strength.

Whose bright idea?

The Australian sports team will soon be off to the Commonwealth Games in  India.  Whose bright idea were these uniforms? Maybe Terri is moonlighting on the design team.  They're lucky it wasn't me or they might have ended up with lorikeet colours!

New Zealand QUILTER: Magazine Issue 73 September 2010

As we celebrate our group's third anniversary, my favourite quilting magazine New Zealand QUILTER features an article highlighting a selection of quilts from the Passion theme.  See issue 73:

Published quarterly, New Zealand QUILTER showcases the best of New Zealand contemporary and traditional quilting. New Zealand QUILTER also presents the Made in New Zealand II exhibition which will be on display at the Craft & Quilt Fair at Christchurch (17-19 September).

Updated Lorikeet Mosaic

It's been another busy and exciting day at the Craft & Quilt Fair in Hamilton.  Thank you to everyone who stopped by the Twelve by Twelve exhibition for your thoughtful and enthusiastic comments.  I'm now warmly esconced in Kirsty's childhood home with access to the internet and have had an opportunity to update the Lorikeet mosaic. Kirsty's Bleep Bloop looks right at home too:


I've also updated Kirsty's Colourplay gallery page.