Tuesday, March 1, 2011

My Purple Process

Below is a picture of how my process begins. I don't have a large workspace. I work mostly in a small section of my kitchen that would be used for a dining table. So when I lay out fabric it's often on my bed or, in place of a design wall, I clear a space and lay blocks out on the floor. I didn't have a whole lot of purple fabric so I decided to blend purple and pink into a block. Even using the two,  both colors seemed scarce which worried me, but I really wanted another purplish block so I figured no matter what I have I'M GOING TO MAKE IT WORK. This is my outlook in general. I think that's why I don't seem to have a problem taking risks with color and pattern. I feel like there's nothing to lose so why not do it and see what happens. So here's how it started last night:


And here's how it turned out:
I'll tell you what, I was certain this would be a disaster. When I started playing with and combining these patterns my initial thought was, "Dan, are you seriously going to put these together? They'll never work." My fear was only partially true and only when I used one pattern. Once I added another pattern, and then another one, and then another one, it came together and looks, strangely and to my surprise, really beautiful, like those colors and patterns belong together. I could pick it apart and get down on a few of the choices, like the blue, which keeps drawing my eyes to it and making me wonder if it fits, but I'd rather enjoy it for what it is: an experiment and a process that I love. And it's what I love most about sewing and working with fabric, the process of creativity and not really knowing what's coming next, in a way being okay with feeling out of control, having an idea and following it wherever it takes me, and being okay with anything that happens, knowing it's right just as it is. MOSTLY I HAVE FUN. I couldn't be happier with how it turned out. Tonight I'll make the reverse block, dark center to light border.

5 comments:

  1. It's amazing..... I don't think you can plan this....there is such creative energy working this way, don't you think.

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  2. Agreed - such creativity only comes from no planning. Purple and pink with a bit of orange thrown in is my most favorite color combo.

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  3. Yes! It's the surprises that keep quilt-making interesting. Another great block.

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  4. Super! Isn't it great to know that you can utterly and totally trust your eye for colour and your feel for pattern? I love seeing what you create ...

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  5. Dan,

    You are so creative! I loved reading about your process. It is interesting how we all echo thoughts during the process.
    My belief is, unless I experiment I will not end up with surprises.. and they are the ones that lead to greater discoveries of our own creativity.
    Can't wait to see another block with darker center!

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Thanks for commenting!