Happy to announce that three art quilts have been accepted to the Laguna Beach Art Gallery website. Laguna Beach began as an art colony in the 1920s. Since then, its prominence as a forward thinking arts community has only grown. https://lagunaart.com/search?q=ann+may
Laguna Beach Art Gallery
https://lagunaart.com/search?q=Ann+Baldwin+May
Sunlit Boulders 31″ x 28″ 2016
Kaiser Permanente purchased Under the Shady Tree for their Watsonville, California facility. There are many other tree art quilts on my Etsy site.
https://annbmayartquilts.etsy.com/
https://annbaldwinmayartquilts.com/2021/02/visual-arts-network-santa-cruz-county/
Here is part of an article I wrote about Sunlit Boulders and being brave with fabric.
https://annbaldwinmayartquilts.com/2018/04/bring-your-bravery/
Sew As You Go
Show courage. Sew, cut and move fabric around the design wall. Keep cutting and sewing pieces together until it pleases you. The top doesn’t need to be totally finished to start to sew. Sew straight or curved line seams. Continue to sew pieces together into about 8” strips. Pin them to the design wall either in straight lines or on a diagonal. Allow time for this process. Trust yourself.
A “Painful” Time
This can be a “painful” time for an artist, if the piece isn’t coming together as one wishes it would. I find that if I don’t like a part, it gets more interesting after I cut it up and rearrange the pieces. Leave items on the design wall and return later to look at the piece with fresh eyes.
Complete sewing the top when you are happy with it. Prepare the quilt sandwich and quilt. Scribble Quilting is fun and adds movement to your piece. Whichever way you quilt your piece, you will have an artful abstract art quilt as testament to your bravery.
Directions for Curved Line Piecing-optional
Lay two pieces of 5” cotton squares on top of each other right sides up on the cutting mat. Cut a slightly curved line through both fabrics with a rotary cutter. There will be four pieces. The top of one fabric will fit the bottom of the other fabric like two puzzles pieces making the original square. Take those two pieces that fit together and sew right sides together with a ¼” seam. Only the part of the fabric going through the foot will line up to a ¼” seam due to the curve. Slightly adjust the top fabric as you move them both through the foot. Press open. This technique is very forgiving. You will be amazed at your curved line. Practice making curves of different widths.
Advice for Beginners
Let each person’s eye see the hues in their own way. Let go of controlling the way the colors mix together. The color of thread changes depending on the color of the fabric that it is sewn on. The color of the fabric is influenced by the color it is next to.
When I started making art quilts, I had a lot of experience sewing clothes and bed quilts. I would think of how a traditional quilter would do something and then I would choose to do it differently.
Consider expanding your stash to include a wider range of shades and hues.
Tips
It is imperative to be cautious with certain aspects of our lives, but cutting up fabric is not one of those times.
Create texture by including fabrics other than 100% cotton. While a variety of fabric adds interest, provide some solid fabrics as a needed resting spot for one’s eyes.
Include a bit of fabric that will pop. Shiny synthetics work well for this.
Supplies and Materials
Rotary blade, cutting matt, design wall(white flannel thumbtacked to the wall)
sewing machine, batiks, found threads(decorative threads, yarns, rickrack, colored string, synthetic raffia), a variety of small pieces of cotton fabrics(fat quarter or smaller), fabrics of different textures (optional), thread, batting, cotton backing fabric, scissors, walking foot for quilting.