A limited view

Every Single Day provoked much thought, with loads of ideas .... but how to showcase them was a worry.  A break-through occurred by a chance conversation with our local butcher.   It gave me the freedom I needed to create my art-quilt.

Here is a limited view of it.  You will be able to see the rest of the puzzle at the end of March when all our quilts are revealed.

Just a small detail

I've made something for this month's theme, this is a small detail of the piece. This time I didn't post it on my blog, so you can still come and visit me there !  :-)

Fractal tutorial

Fractals

By definition a fractal is an object or quantity that displays self-similarity, in a somewhat technical sense, on all scales. The object need not exhibit exactly the same structure at all scales, but the same "type" of structures must appear on all scales. 

Fractals are common in nature (clouds, plant structures, leaves on a tree, flowers, ripples on a pond are some examples)  Broccoli is an excellent example of a fractal image as each unit repeats the larger structure in a similar manner (not identical, but similar).

A number of years ago I was introduced to the idea of fractals and spent time exploring them.  Most of my products have been done using fractal generator software, printing out the image on fabric and then sewing and beading the fabric.  But..fractal images can be drawn on paper, either from imagination or from observations of nature.  

Several fabric artists use fractal images such as Carol Bryer Fallert, Rose Rushbrook and Gail Garber and have web sites to explore, especially Rose Rushbrook’s site.  Both Carol and Gail use expanding and contracting streams of triangles and Carol’s web site sells a method for creating these streams.

I was able to take a class at www.quiltuniversity.com from Lily Kerns where I learned how fractals can be developed on one’s own and had a brief introduction to software programs to generate fractals.  The class called:  Fractal Fragments is still available at Quilt University and theirofferings are available to anyone with access to a computer. 

Many fractal generating programs are available  for use on a PC.  Ultrafractal and an offshoot: Apothesis are my favorites.  There are fewer programs for IMac but I now am using XaoS which is a free download however previous fractal knowledge with a PC program will enable you to create more images with its use.

An online art academy :visual-arts-academy.com  offers classes in fractal generation and Rose Rushbrook’s blog offers information about how she works with fractals.  There are probably many other sites that can be Googled using the words “fractal images” , fractal generation, and other “fractal terms” 

Once the fractal image is finished it can be saved or printed on paper or fabric.  I like to manipulate the effects in Adobe PSE to get the best and brightest, sharpest image and then print on special paper or silk fabric.

Every Single Day

This is a good topic for our challenge since I've been wondering every single day what I was going to do for it but wasn't sure how to visually represent that. A calendar with pages falling to the ground in a heap? A clock with the hours ticking by? All maybe a bit too cliche so I've taken a completely different approach.

 
This is a detail of the image so far..

This is a new way of working for me but I really enjoyed the painting part. Now on to the rest!

The quilts will be revealed on March 31, GMT.
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Thinking.... but not

Our new theme is Every Single Day.  What can I say about every single day that will be unique to me and/or can be expressed uniquely by me? 

I've been thinking a lot about it.... but haven't figured it out yet.

And so, I'm not thinking about it anymore.  I'm doing other things so my subconscious will figure it all out while I'm busy entertaining myself.  For the last few days, I've been going through my photo archives.  I've been captivated by the wonderful shapes and texture of trees in pictures I've taken over the years.  Here are a few of my favorites images:

New Quilt Theme

The theme that immediately comes to mind is  "EVERY SINGLE DAY".
I will say no more. Let your imaginations run loose!
I so look forward to seeing where you have taken this thought.

Cheers,
Heidi

Ferris Wheels and Goldfish

When Sabine announced the Carnival theme,  I immediately thought of the local town fairs that pop up across the country in warm weather.  I turned to my journal and filled a page with different images and ideas: cotton candy, laughter, tickets for rides, roller coasters, sticky fingers.   It was clear that my biggest challenge was going to be settling on one idea.  At one point I did consider doing some sort of image collage to help represent the colorful and chaotic nature of these town fairs, but that didn't seem the right path for this piece. In the end, I pared down my ideas to create this: Ferris Wheels and Goldfish.

Ferris Wheels and Goldfish 

I think I got my first ferris wheel ride at a hometown carnival.  I do know that I got two of my pet goldfish by winning a carnival game.  A platform was covered with little water-filled fish bowls, but a few also had goldfish in them as well.  If you were lucky enough to throw your ping pong ball into a bowl with a fish, you got to take the little fish home.  And I did -- twice. 

I enjoyed thinking about the carnival theme and I hope to investigate it further on my own. 

Carnival del Mundo

Carnival del Mundo is a fantasy piece depicting what the earth would look like if there were carnivals  at the same time on Earth.  I love strong colors, free-motion stitching, beading and silk.

Katie's Artist Statement

“Carnival” is Latitude Quilts’ first challenge.  As I started my doodling, I realized that everyone has a different image of a Carnival.   For some, a Big Top circus tent filled with magic and surprises; for others, a time of indulgences before Lent in places like New Orleans or Rio.  My interpretation of the theme revolves around the beaded necklaces that are thrown amongst the crowds in New Orleans.  Having never been there, I didn’t want to show the actual parade, but the day before with the tacky necklaces ready to be taken and given away.  My piece is titled “New Orleans, here I come”.

Techniques:    hand appliqué and hand embroidery

Materials:       commercial batik fabric, tulle, beads, and hand-dyed pearl cotton

Date:               January 31, 2013

Size:                 15 inches x 15 inches

Russian winter carnival "MASLENITSA"

After the theme was announced my first thought was about carnival in Brasil and I've started to look for a photos on the web.
But one day I was reading about old Russian holidays and suddenly remember my childhood when we celebrated "Maslenitsa". This is a holiday of farewell of winter. People go to the fair at that day where there are a lot of fun, roundabout, jokes, games, dances and Russian traditional pancakes ("bliny").
So the idea of the quilt was born. I chose colors: white- for snow; red, blue-as traditional  for Russians. Circles symbolize roundabout, pancakes, women skirts,  when they  dance.

My first quilt for Latitude

An impression of Carnival: streamers and confetti and for a bit of colour three red noses, which represent the dressing up and the funny costumes people wear. I made a fabric collage with pieces of (mono)printed fabrics, stitched down with lines of machine stitching. As I had lots of fabric I made a series of three quilts. You can see the other two on my blog.

Greta's quilt - Behind the Mask

After some research on the history of Carnival, I ended on the Greek celebration of the Dionysia, a large festival in ancient Athens in honor of the god Dionysus.
I decided to use a whole-cloth, snow-dyed cotton as background. Then I printed an old stone-carving of Dionysus on a piece of organza, and appliqued some masks of silk and sheer-fabric. I used embroidery-seams on the masks. Then I machine-quilted the background. I finished with a traditional binding and some French knots  to better merge the face of Dionysus to the background.

Heidi Wulfraat - Carnival

I enjoyed this theme. It is a subject matter that I most likely would never have approached on my own. The first thoughts that came to mind when contemplating this challenge were monochromatic, photographic images of the "side show" carnival variety. In fact my perception was so photo oriented that I knew I would not be able to take this line of approach without copy-write access which became a deterrent.
I then began to explore the Venetian Carnival which, of course, is such a visual draw. I chose a relatively subdued palette in contrast to this very lively and colorful theme. The figure in this piece is meant to be somewhat ambiguous as Carnival is known to be a festival of disguise both in terms of gender and social strata. Fruit and vines were included to indicate a celebration of bounty and indulgence. Pears were added in reference to nature, curves and the feminine form, also a formative subject matter when considering the Venetian Carnival!
Finally, a little starling head appears in this piece to add a sense of  mischievous folly. This very particular bird appears in many of my pieces.

Techniques and materials:
hand painted, appliqued, hand-painted fabrics and paper
photographic image transfer, inkjet (This pertains to the little starling who actually lives in our home and kindly poses for photo-shoots whenever necessary. He is a non-releasable rescued bird.)
Prisma coloured pencils, textile paints and textile medium.
free motion stitching throughout

Fasching

After looking for inspiration in the history of carnival and at the wonderful masks of the carnival of Venice, Italy I camne back to Germany. We have a lot of carnival guilds, many of them having shows, the biggest being shown on television. After seing a report called 60 years carnival show of Mayence on television I reviewed what overall impression was left: music and songs, happy people, lots of colours, both from the costums and from the room decoration with the colouzrs of the guild(s), as well as ballons, paper streamers and confettis, especially at the end of the show.

This are the elements I incorporated into the quilt, the colours representing both the happiness of the people and all the colours in the room. My quilt is called Fasching as this is how the people call carnival in the south of Germany.

Hidden Self

For me Carnival conjures up images of long ago Venice. While researching this I learnt of the Moretta masks patrician women wore. They were kept in place using a bite piece, so they could not talk, eat or drink while celebrating carnival. I sought to capture the isolation and discomfort that made me feel.
Does this still happen today?
That hidden self behind the mask.

My goal was to combine the use of new techniques and materials with familiar ones.
Fabrics used are cotton, man-made voile, and a silk/bamboo blend.
Techniques include tray dying with Procion dyes, melting, hand and machine applique, colouring with Markal paint, beading and free motion quilting.

Shrovetide/Fastelavn

Shrovetide – in Danish ’Fastelavn’ – is the original Danish carnival held in February which is wintertime in Denmark. Normally it is very cold and often we have snow at that time. Nowadays it is primarily a children’s feast which brings colours into cold and dark days. The children get some branches heavily decorated with sweets, coloured paper and small gifts.

Rio de Janeiro has inspired to carnivals in Denmark but these carnivals are postponed until winter is over.

The Quilt

The background is made of free hand cut fabrics in white and blue to mimic the Danish winter landscape.

The colourful Shrovetide/Fastelavn is mimicked by tree shapes, in the border and in some decorated branches.

Beads were added as branches on the trees and on the children’s decorated branches. 

Carnival

"Carnival Flavours" by Pamela Priday

To create the background using thickened procion dyes and a syringe I let my hands go where they wanted.   My mind reflected on the atmosphere of a carnival - thinking of my visit to the Dungog Annual Show with its carnival of animals parading, balloons and fairy floss, loud music, rides for the children, which added to the the merriment of conversing country folk with our locals.  It was like a range of flavours before our eyes, ears, and minds.

Hand stitching, tiny felt pieces, and painted fusible webbing, worked together to embellish this quilt.

'Avian Calypso' - Deborah Wirsu

'Avian Calypso'

 Detail 1

 Detail 2

Artist's Statement

Colour, movement, music and joy were my first thoughts when presented with the theme 'Carnival'.

With my background in music, the theme drew me to the strong rhythms and energy of calypso music, often heard in festival and carnival settings. I am also inspired by nature and to me, Australian Lorikeets  suggest the colour, movement and 'personality' of carnivals. Lorikeets are delightful, gaudy birds, extremely playful and love to listen to music and 'dance'. 

I think of my piece as suggesting a rhapsodic state, created by energy, beat, music, heat, perpetual movement, colour, ribbons...

The piece is worked in cotton, using turned, fused machine appliqué and dense quilting. 15"x15".

Mother and the Clowns

This quilt is based upon a photo I took at our local country town's New Year's  Eve Carnival.
Nearly everyone has had an encounter with these laughing clowns. You might of found them cheerful, magical or downright creepy! I could not resist representing this lovely moment with mother and child. There was a lot of reflected light bouncing around and I loved the way the shiny fake clowns contrasted with the softness of the mother and child.
I used a collage process, first colouring the fabric with crayons and pencils and then fusing all the pieces into place. It was then finished off with thread sketching and quilting.