On the left, Mary Ann's piece from last week, and then on the right the same piece is digitally cut up, rearranged, and multiplied. Now which is better? As far as the assignment goes, the second one more closely fits the assignment, but and this is a BIG BUT, the overall composition lacks focus. Which takes me back to her first piece which is much stronger in terms of readability. We see her intentions and they are clearly placed. There are many ways to arrange the motifs, and the second one would make a great bed quilt layout where it is not important to have a focus.
Both are great ways to learn about composition and they underscore the fact that the more you make, the more you learn.
On the left Kinga Soni's assignment, and on the right two of my pieces from days gone by. Notice the strong resemblance? Hmmm. Difficult as this is to deconstruct, she did complete the assignment by making three varied size blocks, in two colors/multiple values. And while I think her piece is very well executed, it is obviously derivative and in doing so we learn little about her design ideas.
Susan's piece is unfinished, but submitted at the last minute last night, so we will look at it. Her blocks are varied, and the values are wonderful. It fits the less is more category, for sure. If one can imagine this six feet tall, it would most certainly be a strong statement. No filly fallying here. However, it does feel divided in two. But if turned upside down the weight of the dark L seems to ground it more.
And it works even better this way. The very important big block has the most weight here.
At the very last minute Elly W. submitted her piece! Excellent repeated blocks, and the value and color changes are yummy. She uses the larger blocks for the focus, and repeats the idea in smaller versions. Well done assignment.
+++++++
For next week... This is a piece by Henri Matisse, done in 1953. It is a HUGE collage. It illustrates how important scale is. He is not worried about the quilt police one bit! Your assignment is to IMAGINE you are making a really large work for a museum exhibit. Make it small but think BIG.
For next week... This is a piece by Henri Matisse, done in 1953. It is a HUGE collage. It illustrates how important scale is. He is not worried about the quilt police one bit! Your assignment is to IMAGINE you are making a really large work for a museum exhibit. Make it small but think BIG. 
Thank you Melody, we are learning a lot!
ReplyDeleteI haven't been able to make anything in your class yet because I have been dealing with sciatica pain for 7 weeks now! So I hope to create some art quilts soon. So glad to have all your wonderful lessons here. Thanks Melody!
ReplyDeleteJust for the record I digitally cut up last weeks assignment for fun....not to resubmit it for the challenge. It just felt good to slice it up. I see what you're saying about it lacking focus and it being a better bed quilt design. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteWhat a difference a turn makes! This assignment was so hard for me. I think I took the "3 matching blocks" too literally. I will definitely add to this when I finish it. In fact the thought of adding a few more interesting parts is kind of exciting. Now I'll start thinking of this week's assignment and that really has me stumped! I look at the Matisse and my first thought is "You've got to be kidding. That's art"? I wish I had a more formal art background because I know many see value in a piece like that but it really baffles me. I actually feel anxiety creeping in when I think about trying to complete my homework. I'll try though!!
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ReplyDeleteI will be anxious to see what people did in response to this week's class challenge. I made several attempts to come up with something I thought was worthy to share....but every time it ended in what seemed like disaster and disappointment. My confidence is a bit rattled....so I'm going to sit this one out and learn from others. Can't wait so see how people "thought big...but worked small."
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