Start with one small piece

I finished the invitations today, then went to the studio and designed a quilt.   I felt like doing something soft and gray- greens came to mind.  I began with one small square of fabric in the middle with the right color theme (light green, dark greens, peaches and white) and built around it.

Before I started making quilts and was doing sculpture, an artist once asked me if I was an additive sculptor or  subtractive.  I had never thought about it until she asked me.  I couldn’t even imagine starting with a block of a material, like clay or stone and carving it away until it became something recognizable.   I never even thought about it, I’ve just  always been an additive sculptor.  Starting with one small piece and adding on until it became a figure or object or whatever it was supposed to be.

It’s the same with the quilts.  I don’t always start in the middle or with a small piece, but I’m always adding on, one piece at a time.

5 thoughts on “Start with one small piece

  1. lovely – so different from your more recent works; cool and relaxing. it’s great how you can express modds with quilts.

  2. When I quilted, about 15 yrs ago, I had to start with an entire pattern, usually someone else’s. I did make some beautiful quilts following other people’s designs, but that artist’s mind’s eye always escaped me. Annie

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