Leni Wiener

Choosing fabric for an art quilt differs from choosing fabric for a traditional quilt.  In traditional quilts, attention must be paid to print scale, if too many prints are the same scale the quilt will lose impact.  This is not true of an art quilt, where overall surface design is more important than the creation of a design and secondary design. As in traditional quilts, however, where each fabric sits will have a major impact on the look of the final quilt. You want lighter values to sit next to darker values, and control of the placement of complimentary colors, so the eye is drawn around the surface of the quilt and there is contrast and visual excitement. Each fabric should support those around it so the finished quilt has that wow factor.

If you are working with a photo and think that the values in the photo are optimum, then you have a guide to the value placements in your art quilt.  If you feel the photo lacks sufficient contrast, you need to either make adjustments to the photo or think about your value changes when choosing fabrics.

In “Yellow Hat” the colors of the original photo were changed to have greater impact in the final quilt.  By using strong, saturated blue for the water in the pool, and a lighter value for the ground underneath the woman in the hat, the stage is set and a pleasing composition established.  By dressing her and the chair on which she sits in purple, the complimentary color of yellow, the visual excitement is in their fight for attention, drawing the eye directly to the part of the composition I felt was most important.  Because purple and blue do not fight with each other for attention, the purple works with the water color and the only fight for attention is with the yellow of the hat.  It is no accident that the band on the hat is orange–the compliment to blue.

The first thing to think about is which color will set the tone and mood of your art quilt.  This will help you determine what other colors will serve to create visual interest and draw the eye of the viewer.

This piece, “The Boy in the Banyan Tree” has been discussed in this blog before, but it illustrates the point about using just a hint of complimentary color in order to establish where I want the viewer to look.  The mood is set using gray blues, and the grandfather blends into the color tones in his blue/gray.  But the boy (who in reality was wearing a blue shirt and blue jeans in the original photo) now wears orange (the compliment to blue) which allows him to jump out as the most important part of the composition.

The complimentary color for pizzazz used in smaller amounts focuses in on the boy for maximum impact. Using equal amounts of complimentary colors would create visual chaos rather than sparkle. Evaluate the photo to determine what your focal point is, what the story is that you wish to tell, and let the complimentary color do that job for you. In art quilts, complimentary colors are often used in a single area, as a way of establishing a focal point in the composition, or as a way of pulling the eye through the composition.

In “The Void” the same principles apply, even though the colors used are not complimentary.  Here, I used only black and white fabrics for most of the quilt; the amount of black vs the amount of white in each fabric design setting the value of each; and used just a touch of orange in the bag that sits next to the woman.  There is no compliment to black and white; using the orange as the only color in the composition naturally draws attention.  Although in this case the bag is not the focal point, it serves two purposes:  the first is to draw the eye up to the color and then the woman sitting next to it; and the second is to assist is emphasizing the asymmetrical composition.

In “Lawn Chairs” (one of the patterns in my book, “Photo-inspired Art Quilts”) the house in the original photo was a taupe/gray color (not many people choose to paint their houses bright pink).  But as the green set the tone for the summer setting, using the pink creates a contrast that makes the entire composition more exciting and more interesting.  In this particular composition, the green and pink are in almost equal amounts, the resulting visual chaos adding to the mood of the quilt.

Many of the very same fabrics are used in “Tulips in a Green Vase” (another pattern from my book) but set against the lighter neutral background they appear slightly different.  The vase is made of the same fabrics used in the chairs; the same pink is used as the lighter value of the tulips.  Again, playing the red against the complimentary green makes the tulips and their leaves the most important element in the composition.  Isn’t nature smart?!?

Placement of fabrics in art quilts cannot usually be effectively determined before you begin work. As work progresses, decisions must be made about each fabric–how it works in this particular area and what it means to the surface as a whole. For this reason, it is easiest to work on art quilts from stash fabrics; auditioning candidates and comparing them before making final decisions. I have often gone to a fabric store knowing that I need something specific for an art quilt that is either in my mind or on my design wall, but have never been able to purchase all the fabrics I need at once before I begin. Creating an art quilt is much more of an evolving process, each decision laying the groundwork for those that follow.

Lying in bed at 2 AM (I get my most creative solutions in the middle of the night when my mind is clear of all the other stuff during the day) I decided not to try the swirly fabric positioned horizontally, but to go in a different direction.  The speckled fabric on the side of the face, which I think is very interesting, takes too much attention away from that gorgeous shape that I wanted to be center stage in the piece.  This is the graceful curving line that goes from behind the eye down the face and into the lips.  Doing it again in that fabric, however it is oriented, would not be as important as the speckled fabric around it, and therefore would be the wrong choice.  Solution?  Something the same value (because the value worked perfectly) but in that red violet I had rejected.  By using ONLY ONE of the red violet fabrics, it would take center stage and draw attention to the shape that I thought was the most important in the face.

Here is where I was yesterday.  I like where it is going, but that fabric behind the eye and down the face isn’t standing out as much as I would like.  The value, however, works just fine–darker than the face but lighter than the eye.  So it has to remain the same.

Of the red violet fabrics I tried in the beginning, this was the one that was the same value, so this is the one I tried first.  It is very strong and stops in the middle of the face, so it must be extended into the lips.

Now that strong colored line runs down farther into the face, ending almost at the bottom–so the shadow under the chin is next….

I am liking where this is going.  The strong color creates a line that runs from one side at the top in a curving interesting shape down to the bottom of the composition.  This takes away the attention from the speckled fabric of the face, and makes the whole face appear more graphic and less representational.

Adding the hair will help define the shape of the face and will help me decide if that highlight on the side of her face needs to be changed.  In the original photo, the value of the hair is the same as the value of the eyes, but I did not want to use the same fabric.  I did not want the two areas to blend together as if they were the same thing in different parts of the face.  This fabric, with the cross-hatch design on it is the same value, is also a blue with a purple under-color, and the perceived texture of the surface is reminiscent of hair.

As soon as the hair and the shadow under her ear and around her chin goes it, the face begins to take shape–literally.  The dark value next to the white on the highlighted side of the face defines the shape of her face.

Here I have added just a touch of a golden yellow at the side of her face in hopes of lightening that side and providing color compliment to the purple/blues.  I am not sure it works.  When I get to this stage, I often find that it helps to walk away for a while and then come back.  There is a saying about getting dressed up that you should look in the mirror and take off the first thing you notice.  The same is true here.  Walking away for a while and looking at it fresh, I need to take it all in with one glance.  If something is wrong, it will jump right out at me.   That is how I will know it needs to be changed.