Sunday, October 02, 2011

ColorPlay Stats

At the end of the theme series, I did a statistical analysis of the techniques I used in the first 12 theme quilts. You can see it on my blog here.

I thought it would be interesting to use the same "categories" and track the results from my ColorPlay mosaic.



Original Categories
Hand embroidery: 11
Stamped Circles: 7
Sequin Waste as a stencil: 0
"Traditional binding" (meaning a separate piece of fabric somehow encasing the edge): 6
Words: (or handwriting) 5
Free motion quilting: 8
My beloved landscape compositions: 2
My beloved shrine compositions: 4ish
Beads or other three dimensional embellishments: 8
Surprisingly least used color: purple
Surprisingly most used color: yellow
Use of sheer fabrics: 5
Paint: 9

New Categories
Botanical shapes: 9
Square sequins: 5
The Arch: 8

I'm not sure if there is anything surprising here. I do like lists and statistics and comparisons, so maybe it's just for the fun of it.

Over the course of the 12x12 project (more than four years!), I have focused my personal style. So, it's expected that I would be using the same techniques and motifs in most of my work. Apparently hand embroidery is the strongest expression of my voice. I love sheer fabrics, so I am somewhat surprised that I only used them in 5 of my pieces. Though I used free motion quilting in 8 of my quilts, I don't think it offered anything really significant design-wise in very many of those pieces. That is something I would like to do better. I guess I got tired of sequin waste.

I've heard art experts suggest that you should just keep using techniques and images until they no longer inspire you. I'm sure to keep doing most of these things -- I've got lots more inspiration to follow!

1 comment:

Lucy said...

That's very interesting to consider, your categories. And I also think it's cool you can look at 4 years with the two snapshots of elements, etc. No matter the construction method, your work is beautiful and does inspire a lot of thought and appreciation in me!