mcar

As you study the work of any artist you will note that they return to an idea-rendition- to perfect it. Years ago at the National Gallery of Art there was an exhibit that demonstrated this method. It would be called growing, focus, thinking about the piece, thinking again what might be better. They really build in their own method of developing a "show piece". Some artists keep a painting around for years adjusting it. I for one an working on color theory. I just have to pound it in to my head by informed practice. One day I may be set free with this knowledge. I saw a quilt brought into my local shop that blew my mind it was so creative...however, I do believe that this was not the first time the quilter used the pattern, but this time she had her own brilliant inventive color concept added to a traditional block along with excellent quilting skill. My reaction to her was not to let it out of her sight-it was enviable.
A lot of the quilts on display are intimidating. I resolve to be happy developing my skills and enjoying the feel of my quilt when I wake up in the morning.....hate to get up out of the coziness. But I do. I feel my growth in quilting and am so pleased to feel the growth. That is my happiness.

Tartan

The next time you see a challange or a contest (usually sponsored by fabric line) sign yourself up. They usually have either a fabric line or idea to work from and you have to create to show it off. This will stretch your creativity and you might surprise yourself.

k3n

Great idea - also, work from a photo of the physical world or a piece of art in another genre (obviously respect copyright at all times). This gives you clues to line, perspective, scale etc - the design 'rules' and you can begin to see what works artistically speaking and then you can begin to explore the reasons why something works then translate it into your own work. :-D

dewie45

My daughter was a fine arts major in school and was told by one instructor that if a project was in any way useful, it was not art. So pretentious! Sometimes I think definitions are just meant to limit instead of clarify.

Barb44

That's what I want to do. I have an aerial photo of the farm my mom grew up on. I would like to make that picture in a quilt. The buildings are all gone now. I can't quite get my head around it yet, though. I guess I need to gather fabrics that will work, just start cutting them and placing on a background. This is a whole new thing for me and it is kind of scary. I usually just do scrappy quilts or a traditional pattern in traditional fabrics.

annesthreads

This is fascinating. I guess the move to art comes from finding something that inspires that need to create, to express something uniquely - or from curiosity or playfulness. I felt for years that my creativity was stifled by a job that didn't suit me - I had to spend so much time doing something I just wasn't comfortable with that I never felt completely "me". I retired 6 months ago, and as I've recovered, my urge to write is coming back. I'm also noticing a lack of enthusiasm for just finding the next quilt pattern to follow - there's a vague desire to do something different without quite knowing what or how! So thankyou for the suggestions that have been made as to how I might get started. If anyone knows of any other resources (online or UK-based) that might help me start to explore whether there's any creative spark waiting to be coaxed to life, I'd love to hear.

candi

Interesting thread.
Gostrider, a most interstiting comparison.

I don't have much to add, but just wanted to say that in a way I believe that tye art of quilting may come with experience. I have only been sewing for three years, never even owned a sewing machine before that, and I find that many of my ideas remain just that just because I don't have the skill to transform them into fabric and stitches. So right now, I am trying to improve my skills by learning many techniques and hoping that one day, I can have an aha movement when my hands can follow my mind in translating those ideas into work.

annesthreads

That's another issue I've been thinking about, Candi. I'm not that experienced a quilter and there are a lot of techniques I've never tried. Looking at all the art quilts, the level of skill demonstrated in, say, applique or free motion quilting, also really impressed me. To some extent, unless you're the sort of person who has an innate ability to see how to do something, surely you need a good grounding in the craft in order to create the art? For that reason, I'm not beating myself up for being a craft person, following patterns until now - it's all giving me a good basis to move on to more original work if and when the time is right.

DonnaFreak

I think even if we are following a pattern, what we do is art as much as craft. When you follow a pattern, don't you make little tweaks and changes here and there? I recently did a quilt for my daughter's teacher, and even though I followed a pattern for a paper-pieced apple block, I chose the colors of the apples (I used a different fabric for each one), I decided what to use as the blocks between the apples, and I chose the fabrics to use as the borders. I just finished the top of a "Gay Pride" quilt for my nephew, and even though I had a rainbow pattern, I changed the colors and the order of colors in the arch. I keep trying something new with every quilt I make, and I'm watching with much interest the "Quilting Arts" shows that come on every weekend. I don't know that I'll ever go THAT far with my quilts, but I'm just sayin'.....it's all art as long as we can make the choice as to what we're doing and how we want it to look! :c)

FroggyinTexas

Just jump right on in to the art water! Your ideas are as good as anyone else's. Want to make a log cabin out of grays and whites and then scatter red paint drops on it?
Mess up on an Ohio Star and rename it wonky-doodle?
Dip one end of ecru muslin into blue dye and the other end into green and and in the middle applique some flowers you fussy cut from something in your stash, make some creative sashays around it all with your sewing machine--or by hand--call it "Lawn and Sky" or ""My Backyard" or "Smog on a Sunny Day" and you will have a work of art.
froggyintexas