Ellen Lindner: Art & Creativity

After completing my last quilt, I didn’t have a strong idea about what I’d like to do next.  So, I pulled out my old sketch book, in search of inspiration.  I found it in this little sketch.  This stylized plant is pretty different my usual style, which I thought would make it fun.

Click any image for a larger view

I pulled out fabrics to decide on a color palette.  Although I wanted the sky area to be blue, I decided to add interest with some tiny slivers of yellow.

I wasn’t too sure about the ground, though.  Maybe green or rust?  Some thought was needed.

I selected black and white fabrics for the sprout.  I had an idea about an appropriate construction technique, but some experimenting would be needed.

The sky began to take shape quickly.  I set up a rotary cutting station and ironing station right next to my design wall.  I was able to iron a fabric, quickly cut it, and pin it in place.

Very early on I got the idea of adding little bits of red to the background.  Something to experiment with as things progressed.

After initially making the bottom section green, I just didn’t like it.  I switched it to dark blue and, this time, added little slivers of red.  Much better.

In the photo above, the background was nearly complete.  My goal was to make it interesting all by itself, and I think I succeeded.

Ellen Lindner

*