I love this idea from quilt artist Melody Johnson. Melody blogs so well about her quilting and her art is gorgeous. Her idea for an “answer book” collection of art examples for when you need inspiration is great.
Don’t you wish you had an answer book for your exclusive quiltmaking use? I have one. It is not for technique help, for that there are other books that anyone can buy. This one is for design help.
I was stuck last night and couldn’t figure out how to solve a design dilemma. I went to sleep knowing that my subconcious would work on it and voila! this morning I knew I could find the answer in my design scrapbook.
It is a book of pictures of art, culled from lots of different sources, but only pictures of art that appeals specifically to me. I eliminated anything that smacked of ‘art I should like’ and put in everything else. I glue-stuck the pictures and postcards and catalog parts in NO particular order. After having this book all these years, I can pretty much find whatever I need just like you know what the next song will be when listening to an entire cd.
There are oodles of different artists and styles, as well as differing media represented, and as I look at the design in the paintings or whatever they are, I see some good ideas that could maybe work in my quilt design. I am not lifting the exact design, but only the concept which is much easier than copying anyway.
I eliminated any names of artists or text of any kind as that shifts the brain’s perceptions and one can’t absorb ideas in the same way. Another helpful part is that these artworks are generally not quilts, and I think of my quilting as paintings anyway, just dry, so that helps me much more than looking at quilts for inspiration. Plus then there is no jealousy or envy to deal with on my part. You know how I am.
I keep this book handy for other uses too. When I think my work is going to be too outlandish, I see these paintings and think how really pedestrian my work is, and then I pump it up a bit more. Risk takers fill these pages. And when it comes to quilting, I like risk taking design.
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