Gradus ad Edinburgh

My extreme quilt was based on a photo of the Edinburgh skyline. It was inspired by a study of Paul Klee's Ad Parnassum in which he successfully abstracts the shape of the building and infuses it with detailed colour. This was combined with work done for a class with Lisa Call looking at repetition in rhythm and flow. The exercises were completed with a view to creating a design that could be used for this quilt. Two designs were created, one using extreme colour and the other using line and extreme lack of colour.

The background is the cap from a red/green bucket exchange dye, there is no way of telling what will be created with these caps. It was added to the bucket about half an hour after the first fabrics were immersed and is a silk noile. The colour shows subtle shifts from green to red, the perfect texture and colour for walls. The black lines are created using a variety of threads from a black Oliver Twist thread pack. Stitched with 50 weight thread and backed with hand dyed fabric from the same bucket. It is faced, a new technique for me and one which I like and may use for Edinburgh Sunset

Final challenge for the year - Reflection

As we come to the close of our 3rd year's journey together, we can reflect on how far we have come. I think we can see how much we have developed since some of us started with the Carnival challenge. We have played with new techniques, adopted some, rejected others, and narrowed our focus.

This challenge will be made up of two parts: a quilt in our chosen series and  a written reflection on how Latitude has helped us to develop as artists. This doesn't have to be a long essay, but this is a good time to summarise our thoughts.

For the final quilt in the series - and it may be the final quilt we do together, we need to talk about that - we should include something that involves the idea of  the essence of our theme. I am always impressed  by Picasso's works on The bull. It is amazing how he distills the essence from a tonal drawing to a few curved lines. 

Consider the essential elements of your theme and show them in your work. It could be like this Picasso series of drawings, going minimalist. But if you prefer to show more detail instead of less, that is OK too. This is your opportunity to draw on the previous 3 quilts in your series and work on an aspect that you particularly like about your subject.

Sometimes we are a little alarmed at a challenge theme and can't choose an idea. Maybe it will be easier with more freedom, but maybe not!