Ellen Lindner: Art & Creativity

Yes, I said AWESOMENESS!  The students in my recent “Design Your Own Nature Quilt” rocked it, and here’s the proof.

Here’s Mel’s inspiration photo.

Click any image for a larger view

And here’s her quilt, well under way.

Isn’t it going to be fabulous?  She did an excellent job of editing the elements down, making it both easier to construct, and more dramatic.  Can you see how the tiny slivers of white make the berries look reflective?  An important detail.  (The tiny dots of pin heads.)

Jeff had a challenging photo, showing fields in a wide variety of distances.

It took a keen eye, and lots of trial and error to get the perspective right.  But, Jeff persevered and it was coming together nicely at the end of day two.

Pat combined two photos, of flowers and undergrowth, to create her composition.

She got a lot done in two days, and here it is, completely finished.

Isn’t it bright and happy?  She used the size and placement of her flowers to show depth, and a printed purple fabric to suggest undergrowth.  (Psst.  Did you know that yellow and purple are complementary/opposite colors?  Using them together always adds drama.)

Donna combined several photos to get the image she imagined.

Sorry for the glare in the photo above.  Click it to see the dark shadows in the lake beyond the trees.

Here’s her quilt in progress.  Don’t you love the way she’s added the skinny yellow edge to the plants’ leaves?

Later, Donna added black tulle in the tan (water) area behind the trees.  (Her idea.)  This worked extraordinarily well!  Suddenly, the darker area read exactly like water, with dark reflections.  She stopped the tulle before the far edge of the pond, feathering out several layers.  This gave the water two areas of reflection:  the tan bank and the dark green trees.  And the edge between them was rather fuzzy.  Perfect!

Lynn selected a very spiky flower as the subject for her quilt.  I suggested jagged cutting for the little pieces and it worked beautifully.

Didn’t she do a great job?  This photo was taken at the end of day two and Lynn had her quilt completely quilted and faced.  All she had left to do was to add a label and a sleeve.  Love that!

Whew!  We all worked hard for two days and it was exhilarating!

BTW, this class gets a gold star for use of tulle!  Three of the 11 students used it very effectively, for shadows, reflections, and streams of light. See what I mean about artistic courage?  They owned it!

My hosts and students were fabulous and I hope to work with them again.

Ellen Lindner
P.S.  Learn about the online version of this class.
P.P.S.  See more students’ results from this class.