Thursday, November 27, 2008

Well...

I made some great progress on my 12x12 quilt over the past two days. The theme for this round is Mathematics. I've been pondering ideas for several weeks, but I put off working on it until the last minute due to other projects and my general lack of ability to say "no." (That's another post.)


The reveal is December 1. Monday! But, I'm taking the highly unusual tactic of posting my in-progress piece here today. Generally all the Twelves keep our work super secret until the reveal date.


I started off thinking I was going to do a quilt about the number 108. I was inspired by some things in the book Eat Pray Love and further study of the number provided additional inspiration about its complex meanings and metaphors. I started cutting and fusing little circles, thinking I was going to get to 108. Yuck. Totally didn't work.


Then I began browsing images and got really inspired by snowflakes. Impressive math structures going on there. I didn't have the patience to draft a pattern nor did I have any fabric that seemed appropriate to do a snowflake. So that took me to fractals -- on which many things in nature are based. A fractal is generally a rough or fragmented geometric shape that can be split into parts, each of which is (at least approximately) a reduced-size copy of the whole (according to wikipedia). I looked at some images of fractal trees and felt like I was going in the right direction. Trees appear regularly in my work, so that brought me closer to my comfort zone. Math is not anywhere near my comfort zone.


So here is what I have so far.


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The background fabric makes me think of a crisp cold winter day. I did some surface design on the green fabric and added some painted leaf shapes then free motion quilted more leaf shapes -- as if they had all fallen to the ground in autumn. I quilted swirly white windy motifs in the blue background and fused the basic tree shape. Then I started stitching, repeating the pattern of repeating lines. It's not exact. I took some creative license. As I stitched, I was amazed by how the pattern just fans out so nicely simply based on the repetitive pattern. That's math, right?


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So my question is: is it done? I think I'll do a fused binding with left over blue and green so it matches the interior of the quilt. But it seems plain. More stitching? More design elements? If so, what? Sheer fabric layered on top?


Sometimes it's risky to ask for opinions about art. I'll slip into my thick skin and look forward to your thoughts. Hurry though... deadline fast approaching!



12 comments:

Jules said...

I teach fractals to my geometry classes after their end of course test. I love this quilt.

Kristin L said...

I think it IS done. Some times more just isn't more and I think this has beauty in it's simplicity. I'm amazed at how gorgeous this tree is -- just made up of a bunch of Ys.

It's probably too late, but if anything, it might have been nice to make the leaf pattern somehow fractal too. No matter, the tree stands up on it's own.

Gerrie said...

I love that tree! Did you watch top Chef last night? Maybe it needs a bit of acid!!

Terry Grant said...

I would like to see one tiny thing added, then I would consider it done. Maybe a bird in the air, or sitting on a branch, or one single leaf--the last one left on the tree, or a single snowflake spiraling down out of the sky, or . . .

Anonymous said...

I love the quilt and especially the tree! My initial thought was to add a bird, plane, something in the air but not Superman of course. How about text or a mathematical formula of some sort. If it was me, it'd be appropriate to add something simple with a wrong answer like 12x12=24. It's appropriate because I extremely dislike math and I'm not good at it. Perhaps something that reflects your view of math would add the finishing touch? I look forward to seeing your finished quilt. D~~~~

Pam said...

it's done - once you bind it! Less is more... I love it PP

Wendy said...

Beautiful!!!
I love it as is.

Joanne S said...

I like Terry's suggestion of just one little something. A leaf.

I was going to suggest smaller y's in a finer thread but I also believe less is more.

It's fractal and it's you.

kathy said...

It's lovely and if you leave it as it is, it's done. Let those y branches stand out and speak loudly as they are now.

Anonymous said...

Terry and I are on the same wavelength. I was thinking a single bird on a branch in a bright colour; red, yellow or orange....just needs that focal point. Other than that, I think it's perfect!!

teri

Jeri is said...

I love it this tree. The sky fabric and the quilting are just perfect.

I do agree that a small pop of color might be nice. One more thing, maybe a sparkly little bead here and there on the tree or blowing in the wind, like an ice crystal???

Shelina (formerly known as Shasta) said...

I think it is beautiful. I too would add a little something, maybe in the lower left hand corner in the blue. A little cat, dog, mitten, fire hydrant, don't know what exactly.