15 January 2014

High Horizons - the first two

These quiltlets are 8" square, edged with satin stitch (all will have black edging). They have a line from one side to the other.
High Horizons: Beyond the Blue
(some of the big stitches might need to be unpicked)
High Horizons: Storm Warning
(background is a monoprint from a series about rain, turned 90 degrees)
These quiltlets seemed to come out of some subconscious well of images - stirred by the bits of found fabric, not just the base but little bits of offcuts of silk fused to fusible ("throw nothing away" - !).

The blue is a bit of indigo batik, with wax still in it - I like the stiffness and the way the stitches float on the surface (they go through to the back so are technically quilting, or are they?).

The grey is a monoprint made in a class, on fabric instead of paper but not with fabric printing ink; it's had about five years to dry properly. Most of the lines on it are couching, but there's "proper quilting" as well, big-stitch variety.

After doing them I vaguely remembered some paintings that had things at the edges - they must have fallen into that subsconscious well.
Klee's Bergeshöhe was in the Klee exhibition at Tate Modern - the image is from a defunct website - much more informative than my sketch below, don't you think? I like the way the neutrals and pastels have some midtones among them, and the irregular shapes of the triangles - this would look great on a larger quilt ... but what would you put in the middle?
Another possible source is the work of Sandra Blow, who often used bright little shapes among the big bold neutral ones. The main painting is in a book by Michael Bird, and the painting shown in the photo is from her obituary in the RA Magazine (2006)  and is also used on the cover of Bird's book, which is why it shows at the left of the photo.

This post is linked to Off The Wall Fridays.

6 comments:

Nina Marie said...

well you know I"m a Klee nut - I'm so thankful for the class I took that turned me on to him. Love the little use of the bits! My husband always says that its a shame to throw them out. Maybe we should do a bit- here - a bit there - challenge - LOL!

The Inside Stori said...

Utilizing all those bits and pieces is something we all should strive for.......I could only hope to have such a successful piece as you've made!

MulticoloredPieces said...

Hi, Margaret. Lovely pieces. I especially like "beyond the blue" for its depth. I use little bits of fabric a lot, but I usually end up making even more little bits...
best, nadia

MulticoloredPieces said...

Hi, Margaret. Lovely pieces. I especially like "beyond the blue" for its depth. I use little bits of fabric a lot, but I usually end up making even more little bits...
best, nadia

Sherrie Spangler said...

Your little quilts are beautifully evocative of atmosphere.

rothequilter said...

I love your High Horizons. the blue is very , can I say compelling?