Wednesday, December 12, 2012



Knowing this might be our last challenge, I wanted to make something that represented my thoughts on this wonderful group.  When Terri came up with Sweet, I had to think for a long time how to work that out.  Joann http://jsuley.blogspot.com came to the rescue when she mentioned referring to something she likes as "sweet", which is what my kids say too.
I like the symbolism of this piece.  I started with a large painted circle, which I made on three separate pieces of fabric, then pieced them together.  I added the hand stitched circle so it's hard to see the paint underneath.  After that the piece came together really quickly. The yellow strip on the right side was added after I finished and bound the piece and discovered it was 11 x 20.  I tried out the greys, and a dark red, but yellow seemed to work best.  Actually, not cutting it off in the first place would have worked best.
We are twelve women who have been able to join together to create a wonderful group experience yet maintain our individuality.  My art has improved considerably since joining this group. I've pushed myself way outside my original box and for that I'm eternally grateful.

12 comments:

Diane Perin said...

Ooh, Karen, this is elegant and striking. I feel like each of your pieces demonstrates your great sense of composition and balance and unusual color harmonies that wouldn't occur to me but work stunningly together. And this one does that as well. I love how this refers to our Twelve-ness in a gorgeously simple way. It is sweet, indeed. As always, I'm so so impressed by your art.

Kristin L said...

Ah, the sweetness of a circle. :-) I like the simplicity that you have been finding in recent works.

Karoda said...

This is a gorgeous piece!!!!

Marianne said...

Bel symbolique, magnifique

Del said...

I have enjoyed the "Twelve" experience and getting to know the players through the quilts and the "conversation" online. You, Karen, have indeed grown in your art and this elegant piece is the best yet. If you ever decide to part with it, just name your price. Love, Del

Unknown said...

Wow! Look at Del's comment!! I stopped scrolling and looked at this for a long while before reading your words and I had no idea how it related to the theme and I did not care one bit. I have had a really busy week and I am reading all the reveals in bed when really I need to sleep and this quilt was a pure oasis of calm and restfulness. Tranquil in its simplicty it was powerful in its peacefulness. I could get into a bidding war with Del for this one.
Oh and the extra strip..I think it actually adds a great deal as I like how you see the texture of the scirm at that edge as an extra. Serendipitous error!

Gerrie said...

This is beautiful and too elegant to be sweet. The proportions of the elements are perfection. I guess Del gets first dibs, but I would bid on this, too.

Françoise said...

What more can I say! It's beautiful, it's perfect. I love it Karen.

Terri Stegmiller said...

This is so lovely Karen. I really like how the yellow strip on the right pushes the circle off center and my most favorite part are the bright colored stitches in the lower left of the circle.

Terry Grant said...

Oh wow, Karen. I don't even know what to say, this is so beautiful. Just wow. I can't imagine it without the yellow strip on the right. It was meant to be there.

Whew. Wow.

Deborah Boschert said...

I've been studying this stunning piece of work and I am just dying to see more details! I guess I just need to come to California and see it (and YOU!) in person. I especially love the cheese cloth -- it is both rough and graceful. I love the arch you've created on the left and how it echos the other circles. I also LOVE the yellow hand stitched bits. Are there 12 stitches? If you had to add the yellow strip, how did you manage to adhere the cheese cloth on top?

Brenda said...

so elegant; so balanced; so serene; so sweet