Friday, 14 November 2014

In my studio: creating a collection of small works

Work-in-progress by Gillian Cooper
Over the past month or so, I have been working concurrently on lots of small pieces.  Some have worked; others will remain samples (a polite term for failures!).  What is really exciting is that they are all coming together now and will be ready to take to Holmwood House for the Meet Your Maker event next Sunday (23rd November 11-4).
Work-in-progress by Gillian Cooper
The completed pieces will be hand-dyed then mono-printed using acrylic paint, followed by more colour added using Inktense pencils.  I’ve made stencils and used them with Shiva Paintstiks over the top.  Parts are then padded before they are machine quilted.
Work-in-progress by Gillian Cooper
I met my dear friend Marjory Mackinven for lunch today and showed her some of them, saying I was worried that these are too simple.  However, having listed out all the techniques involved, I think I am now agreeing with her that they are more complicated that I had realised!  It was lovely to see Marjory and catch up and we had a fabulous lunch at the new Three Sisters Bake Cafe in Killearn Village Hall.  Highly recommended if you are in the area.

Work-in-progress by Gillian Cooper
Finding the balance between strong design and suitable levels of detail is an interesting challenge.  I often find that as I add more and more detail, the composition becomes less clear and so the overall design is not as good.  The good news is, though, any overworked pieces can always be cut up and used in another piece.  Do you know when to stop?

Work-in-progress by Gillian Cooper
The back of one of the pieces, showing the padding

Work-in-progress by Gillian Cooper



2 comments:

Maggi said...

I don't think they are too simple either. There is a lot of detail anthem so plenty to engage with. Have just done my monthly JQ and didn't know when to stop!!

Gillian Cooper said...

Thanks Maggi. It is definitely one of the hardest things about creating knowing when to stop. It is my response when someone says 'but a child could do it' because from experience a child never stops and it ends up as brown mush!

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