Ellen Lindner: Art & Creativity

My quilt designs come from anywhere and everywhere, but frequently from the nature around me.  Here’s a photo I took of a solitary maple tree in the winter.

I loved the strong contrast between the bare branches and the blue sky.  I photographed this tree from many angles, and I THINK the one below is the one I eventually selected as an inspiration source.

I don’t quite remember which portion of this image I selected, but I think it was something like this:

I had to do a lot of editing to get the number of twigs down to a manageable number.  I altered some, as well, and settled on this sketch.

Since I wanted to interpret this design for a White on White challenge, I did quite a bit of experimenting in order to decide on the best technique.

To make the white twigs show up, I decided to paint my purchased fabric with a thin wash.  See the before and after below.  Can you see how the white twigs will show up better on the painted fabric?

I was ready to start making a quilt.  I had a background fabric, a pattern, and a selected mixed-media technique.  Time to have fun!

Ellen Lindner