Klee Inspired Art Quilt is finished!
I finished working on the Klee inspired painted and stitched art work that I worked on for a recent commission. My client had indicated that she wanted to mat and frame this piece, which I think will look fabulous! Just to get an idea of what this might look like once it leaves my hands, I created a mat in Photoshop and placed the art work inside.
Meanwhile, it’s been a crazy week here in Denver! What have I been up to? I am the marketing and PR co-chairperson for a fund raising auction at my daughter’s school. Check out the blog that I put together…Steele Auction. Last year, the auction raised around $50,000 to help bridge the gap between the school budget and some of the activities and supplies that the teachers and parents would like to see the children have at school. The auction is coming up this Saturday, February 3. Needless to say, my attention has been turned away from my art work towards auction activities.
I have also been preparing for an interview for a substitute teaching position with Denver Public Schools. The interview is tomorrow AM.
As to my husband’s job interview in Steamboat Springs, we haven’t heard anything, despite assurances that he would be notified one way or the other. He did follow up with both an email and phone call, but no response. We’re pretty sure that means he didn’t get the job. I’m relieved, there really is a lot to Denver that I love that I would miss if we lived in a small town. The thought of moving doesn’t sound very appealing either.
Klee is painted…not yet stitched
I didn’t start out with a great photo of Mazzaro by Klee, and have had to improvise while painting this one to compensate for the poor copy that I have. But, all in all, I’m happy with how it turned out. I still need to iron, fuse the interfacing and stitch, but then it will be finished. It’s always a creative challenge for me to start on a new famous fabric painting. A little bit of discovery is involved each time I do one of these. It’s a chance to get into the mind of another artist, a different time period. So far, I’ve covered the Renaissance, 19th C and now a 20th C artist. It’s also a very meditative process for me that’s hard to describe.
When I think about it, I am really interpreting another artist’s vision. The image is recognizable, but I bring my own baggage with me when I make something. When I say baggage, I mean that I have my own way of working, my favorite color palette, biases etc. So, it never truly is an exact replica but my own take on a master’s work.
Quick Klee Update…
I thought I would give a step by step look at how I approach one of my famous painting reinterpretations since I recently signed up for a swap. It’s fairly straight-forward, but you do have to make some creative accomodations to make it work. I have already started painting this one, but will have to share it with you tomorrow. I am using acrylic paints on commercial fabric. Once I have finished painting the piece, I will heat set the paint with an iron and then add interfacing so that it is stiff enough to handle the machine stitching that I will subject this to tomorrow.
Dreaming of Spring
I finished stitching, quilting and binding this one yesterday afternoon. It always takes me longer to do than I think it will. The finished size is 17.75″ x 20.5″, paint, fabric, batting and thread. I have also have this listed in my Etsy Shop.
I won’t be working on any art today, I spend Wednesday mornings at my daughter’s school and this afternoon, I’m having lunch with my ceramics mentor from the Art Student’s League of Denver. I’m getting back into clay and ceramics and will be building my studio as soon as it warms up.
Have a great day!
