This photo shows the beginning of another one of my Meditation Garden series of art quilts. It was designed as a present for my mother. Her favorite color is green, so I lavished lots of different subtle shades of that color throughout the composition. The central orb motif that I’ve used for the other pieces in this series, has an aqua border, so I backed that area with a metallic gold and turquoise lace. There are some pale teal lace feathers on either side of the central portal or window that allows access to all of the parts of this garden. There are three golden yellow plumerias that make a triangle on the edges of the composition. In the upper left and bottom middle of the photo are some green, dyed shell circles that I’ve used in a lot of my pieces, as the central hole balances out the solid nature of the round buttons that I use. This piece, as you see it in this photo, is very early on in the construction, so there still a number of pins in place, holding down areas of fabric to keep them flat. I try to do most of the initial stitching in the middle of the piece, and work my way out to the edges. The pins can then be undone and repositioned as needed to allow for the piece to stretch or shrink as needed as more and more sewing and beading takes place.
I have spoken in the past about how when I’m working on an art quilt, I slip into the Creative Free Flow or The Zone and the piece and I are one with each other. This State of Being is even more true with these Meditation Garden pieces, as I am tapping into the person’s energy field to create a unique visual image for that person in which to play and meditate. However, when I was looking around for fabrics with large flowers before actually starting this piece for my mother, these were some of the fabrics and buttons I bought. I love the morning glories and the two toned yellow and magenta button in the middle is actually made out of pressed sawdust. (I love the idea of recycling materials.) The lavender flower motif on the left I also thought would be perfect for this piece, None of these colors or materials ended up in the final piece. As I was cutting out the fabrics, which is what I always start with first, I was “told” what was needed, and none of these became part of this piece. (I do have a future commission in the works for which the morning glories will be perfect!)
Being an artist, no matter what medium you use, involves making changes. Some people would call them compromises, but I prefer to see them as the piece telling me how it wants to look. For me, I learned a long time ago, to quit fighting with the materials at hand and let them tell me how they want to be arranged. When I do that surrender, that’s when I get my best pieces.
Have you ever started out on a piece of art work and have it turn out to be completely different than from how you had originally thought it would be? How did you feel about the “changes” that were made. Do you see those adjustments as a natural evolution from how the piece was originally supposed to be in the first place?
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You can see more of my art work on my web site at www.fiberfantasies.com (be patient as it loads; it’s worth it), my healing work at www.hearthealing.net and can find me on Google + , Facebook (for Transition Portals) Facebook (for Fiber Fantasies), and Twitter.
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