Active in Quilt Design a Day QDAD, Michelle says the design process is her favorite part of quilting, and she gave us alot to think about in creating our own designs.
Even so, I found it a bit of a struggle, but did my best to work through the prompts Michelle gave us, based on photos of her choice, as well as ones we'd each brought with us. Then later in the afternoon, there was a different kind of promp.... Michelle had a collection of art books set out on a table, and we were invited up in small groups, each getting just 30 seconds to flip through a book or two until a design caught our eye. Then we went back to our seats and came up with a design inspired by what we had seen. For some reason, this exercise came easier, and I had a design in no time, inspired by a work by Lucienne Day.
As I was drawing, Michelle happened to mention that we should consider paring down our design. One way was to create a 'window' in a sheet of paper and move the window over different areas, seeing what spoke to us. Compare my drawings above and below and you'll see the portion of my design that I chose to create in fabric.
This is where I slid into my groove. I'm pretty sure I'll quilt this mini up just for the fun of it, and at some point, explore the design a bit more.
So going forward, I hope to sketch a bit more, even though it doesn't come easily. I find it so much more natural to just 'design' with my fabric, rotary cutter, and design wall. But the truth is, inspiration in the every day is as real for me as for many of you, and I'd really like to incorporate more of that into my work. Baby steps....
I really like the tip to pare down the design, and seeing how it translated in your own design is powerful. I really enjoy getting insight into how others work and stretching to try something new can be hard and therefore intimidating. It sounds like Michelle helped navigate those waters smoothly.
ReplyDeleteI'll bet that was an awesome workshop! love what you came up with
ReplyDeleteJust starting to think about this process. I still pretty much stick with patterns and prompts from designers. Maybe next year!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good workshop to jump start creativity. Love the idea of the window to isolate a section of the design.
ReplyDeleteSounds and looks like an awesome class! Love the paper window trick.
ReplyDeleteI really like the pared down-window trick. and your design came out great!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like an awesome workshop. I really like the idea of the window to pare down the design. And your little piece came out great!!
ReplyDeleteUntil I saw your design process I was convinced the quilt was inspired by waiting at a rail crossing.
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