more changes
Getting down to the knitty-gritty, I have made the small changes I identified yesterday and darkened the eyebrows, cleaned up the chin and added some dark to the lower corner of her face.
This is looking better, now I want to audition more backgrounds. I liked the way the white looked in terms of value, but did not want to repeat it. Although the back side of the golden fabric was ok, I didn’t want to settle for ok, so I decided to look at some light gray fabrics.
This is a fabric I love that looks like newspaper. I like the idea of this, as it gives the viewer something to think about, and it works, so it is a strong contenter.
As soon as I looked at this fabric, I knew it was the one. I love the graphic quality, the way it relates to the other fabrics in the face, the value (which is white but not so white), and the vertical lines which serve to draw the eye up and down–in the same way the magenta does. This is the one. Just like love, you may not know what you are looking for, but you know it when you see it!
Obviously, there is still the functional sewing and the quilting/finishing. But I wanted to talk here about naming your work. The title you give your artwork tells the viewer what you want them to focus on when looking at the piece. But if you give them all the answers, there is nothing left for them to interpret, which means they look at it, nod, and walk on. I like to encourage them to stand in front of the piece and decide for themselves what they are seeing. For that reason, I choose a title that is a bit ambiguous–and intriguing. Nothing makes me happier than to see people in front of my work discussing what is happening or what it is about. That means they are engaged, drawn into the artwork, and that it has touched them on a deeper level than “oh, that’s nice.”
I could call this piece something like “sadness” which is what I see in her face. But facial expressions are more complex than that, and I want the viewer to see in it their own life experience, so I don’t want a title that defines it for them. I thought about “blue lady” (a double entendre since she is blue) but that also means sadness, so the result is the same. Since I thought that shape that flows from the eye to the lips was the most intriguing shape in the face (and the reason I set it out in another color) I thought about calling the piece “magenta” but decided that means nothing, so rejected that one as well. Then I thought about “Jagged” which is how that shape looks to me. Jagged can also suggest raw emotion, allowing the viewers to decide for themselves what the jagged emotion is, so I like that. Looking up jagged on Thesaurus.com, I found some other words that might work, one of which is “broken”. I like the idea of broken, it can suggest a broken heart, something else in her life that seems “broken” and is ambiguous enough that it leaves lots of options for the viewer. So at least for now, that is the tentative title.
On another note, I am thrilled that Quilting Arts Magazine has included my article “Figures in Fabric” in their Feb/March 2010 issue. Please check it out!
Tags: detail changes, Figures in Fabric, naming a work, Quilting Arts Magazine, title
January 29th, 2010 at 1:27 am
It is amazing how realistic your figures are. I can almost see them moveing. The article makes me think I can do it.
January 29th, 2010 at 9:14 am
You CAN do it. A face is no different than any other “object” in an art quilt. Take it one step at a time and use your eyes, not your brain. That means you should use the photo as a guide and submit to the information it gives you even when your brain says it might be different. (There are some quick tips in my book about faces, how to easily create eyes and lips that look natural.)
Try it, and refer to this series of blog posts for encouragement. Remember how truly awful my first attempt at this face was? Jump in and challenge yourself, what do you have to lose?
Good luck, and if you run into trouble, email me!
January 31st, 2010 at 9:09 pm
It has been fascinating watching you work. I have at times been surprised by your decisions but when you make the change, I see that it was totally right. Thanks for letting us peek in on you.