I'm sorry to be arriving late to the party. The last few months have been difficult for us all and, like many people I'm sure, I haven't felt much creative enthusiasm. In the end I managed to get stuck in by giving myself permission to play for a bit, as people say in motivational books! This subject is very close to my heart as I grew up near the sea, and still live near to it albeit in another part of the country further down the coast. I find the colours and textures endlessly fascinating and it was these that I decided to think about to begin with, concentrating first of all on wave forms.
I started with the simplest wave quilting on calico. It's a very peaceful and meditative exercise.
Then I pieced some waves.
I love that this piece almost looks carved in stone.
After that I progressed to colour
and then combined piecing, quilting and colour.
I realised that I loved the unfinished edges of this piece and will have to find a way to use this in future.
I made a copy so I could play with some seagulls
but this was just a diversion because I wanted to concentrate on making abstract pieces.
Finally, I wrapped three finished pieces round canvases - separate works which are also supposed to work together. As things sometimes take on a life of their own, the pieced quilt became a kelp forest (and by the way, if you have not seen the film My Octopus Teacher, with its stunning photography, it is worth looking up as a lovely and gentle antidote to the state of the world.) The other two pieces reflect waves and ripples in sand. Unifying all the quilts is a fairly heavy natural (and seeded) calico which I used for its lovely sandy colour and texture.
Kelp Forest
Wave
Shore Line
The Sea
Although we have chosen our new theme - Memories - to work on in the coming quarter I think I will carry on working on sea-themed pieces as well. I don't think I've finished my exploration of this subject: getting these works finished has got me thinking again. It's lovely to be back at the sewing machine and I'm really looking forward to trying out some more ideas. As a subject it opens up fairly limitless possibilities!
As always, I'm very grateful to be part of such a lovely group of creative and supportive members.
Catherine