Jellyfish

Can't tell you how many times I tuned in to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Jelly Cam since Karen/@capitolaquiter shared her jellyfish prompt with Bee Sewcial earlier this month. Like A LOT.

The suggested palette for our improv block(s) was a pieced background in blues and greens. For the jellyfish component, we were to use a range of oranges/yellows with an optional but encouraged splash of lavendar and pinks for interest. Karen encouraged us to "focus on one or multiple parts rather than the whole," so I chose to focus on one of my favorite jellyfish details - what I think are the muscles along the rim of their bell or hood. They expand and release as the jellyfish moves, and I find them entrancing. My first block measured 10" x 14". 

The initial view of this next block is pretty much how I first envisioned it; the second is the actual completed block that I will leave untrimmed for Karen to use as she wishes. It currently measures roughly 11" x 13". For the jellyfish "tentacles," I used the Inset Pieced Strips on the Fly tutorial found on Hillary/@entropyalwayswins blog.

And finally, one last small (7" x 9") block. This is actually the first block I made, reimagined. I wasn't 100% happy with the background of the very first block (not shown), and once I had two new blocks I liked, I was able to go back and re-work that first block. It was inspired by the jellyfish bells and muscles. 

So that was a really fun prompt! Having been to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and actually seen the jellyfish there, I really appreciated having that real-life connection. The "tentacles" block is by far my favorite. It's clearly an abstract representation, but I can feel the movement I was after. Take a glance at the Jelly Cam, and you'll see what I mean.