Sunday 28 July 2013

Making a mount for On the Edge

I know! - here I am again ... I've been mounting pieces to go the Bramble Patch tomorrow for Steph and I's August exhibition and I'm now boiling. So I thought a bit of a blog (under the air-con unit) would be a good plan. And I thought you might like to see a few process shots of making the mount for On the Edge - which will be in  the Art Quilts competition at Festival of Quilts in LESS THAN TWO WEEKS NOW .... arghhhhhhh
Sorry - was overcome with pre-festival 'I've got massively too much to do' nerves ... back to the quilt now. You may (or may not) remember the piece 'On the Edge' which I made earlier this year. It was always destined to be mounted on a collaged board, and last week, after THE BOOK was sorted, it came to the top of my 'desperately needs doing NOW list'. I think all the capitals here are representative of my state of mind ... lots of IMPORATNT things to remember. So here we are, trying out materials on the board, with the quilt laid on top.


I want that red/orange there, to suggest that it may not be all as tranquil as it seems, but I don't want it in that big chunk. So I cut up the strips and re-arranged a bit - much better I think:


These fabrics had heat n bond on them, so they were ironed in place and then I started auditioning some paper elements to add detail and movement .. I don't want all the straight lines:

I like those first pieces, so I collage them done using matte medium


You do really need to see a piece this size  vertically to be able to fine tune the design. so I propped the board up with the quilt pinned on top and auditioned more papers, further up the sides and in the sky area - these are again collaged down with matte medium


I'm starting to really like this now, but felt the sky needed more elements to give it the same depth as the sea below - so yet more papers


Laid back done, I'm now trying out the positioning of a line of 'sticks' that I want to represent either a fence (safety) or a broken ladder(danger), depending on how you want to view the piece. You may remember my saying about this piece when I made the collage, that it can be viewed as a simple seaside pastiche of houses on the cliff, or as a more allegorical piece about security and safety. The sticks are in adhesive backed fabric so they will be ironed down.


I realise I need to see them vertically before I finally iron them down - so I get on my stool to see (those are my toes)


Happy with those, so they are ironed in place with some horizontal fence bars/ladder sides added, and another assessment made


And again - some balance and connection is needed in the sky - so I carry the birds out of the quilt into the surround. I've also added some high and low lights to the fence/ladder to give it more impact. At this stage I am happy, so I cover the whole mount with matte medium to seal and protect.


You can see how carrying elements of shape and colour from the quilt to the surround connects them  and lets this work as a whole piece

I can't use stitch to add line on the mount as it is collaged on to the board. In this situation I like to use fine lines of appliglue to mimic stitch and add dimensional line where I want it .. here on the fence posts/ladder rungs

and here on the birds
I've also added it in places on the quilt, again to tie the two together. The red here is stitch, the black, appliglue



Finished and stood up to check .. I'm happy (if you look hard in the background you can see other work stacked up ready to go to the Bramble Patch)

'On the Edge' 41" x 41"


fingers crossed the judges like it. Thank you for visiting - talk again soon .. Hilary x


20 comments:

  1. I've got my fingers crossed for you too Hilary. Thank you for sharing the details of your technique, especially when you've got so much going on. The best of luck at FOQ.

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    1. Julie - you are doing overtime finger crossing for me - thank you! Hope to see you at Festival x

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  2. It looks wonderful Hilary and it was really interesting to see your process for putting the background together :) Look forward to seeing it at FoQ!

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    1. Thanks Chloe - and lovely to see you the other day. I hope that wonderful doggy reappeared form the depths of the garden! xx

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    2. Lovely to see you too, and yes he did eventually! He thinks that patrolling the garden is a very important job, hehe x

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    3. He is of course, absolutely right .. who knows what dangers could be lurking?? and he has his girls to keep safe! I loved him - what a boy xx

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  3. Thank you so much for sharing the process. I think your work is incredible. Oh to have an nth of that talent! All the best for success.

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    1. Thank you Bonnie - I guess as ever - it will all come down to the judges on the day really .. but paws crossed! xx

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  4. Well done once again for getting it so right. It looks amazing. I do also wish I had some of your talent.
    D.

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    1. Thank you Denise - I think a lot of it is just doing things and getting a little smidge of confidence that allows you to make decisions and trust your instinct xx

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  5. WOW!!
    Thanks for sharing this Hilary - I love it!

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    1. Thanks Gill - I love the CAPS ... I do feel they COUNT!! xx

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  6. An absolutely stunning piece. It is fantastic. I love that it has layers of meaning.

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    1. Thank you Irene - stunning is good I think .. especially when added to absolutely. It's a new direction for me, layering meaning into the work - but I am enjoying it. I shall keep making things just because they are beautiful and the world needs that for my money - but I shall add in another strand of more personal work. Don't know how I think I will fit this in .. but I will. I think you and I have just joined a new group together? I'm looking forward to working with you .. everyone at Lincoln who came to your guild days tells me how wonderful and funny you are! - Hilary x

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  7. I really, really like this piece and hope I get to the FOQ to see it in detail. I find the safety/danger symbolism very meaningful and beautifully portrayed. There is the ladder/fence that you mentioned, but also the structure/straight lines of the houses (containing and safe or constricting?) compared to the flowing lines of the background (feedom or uncontained?).

    It was so interesting to see your thinking and working process. Thank you for that. I don't think I've seen a quilt mounted onto a board that is also part of the piece like that before. How do you attach the quilt to the board?

    Hilary Florence

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    1. I love that interpretation Hilary - I also see the houses giving a mixed message .. of stability, safety, your home and the quaintness and happiness we associate with the seaside .. but are they safe? Is that a huge gash in the cliff? Will they fall? And if they do, is that necessarily a bad ting? Might they represent the past ( as you say - constraining) and what is comfortable, but not necessarily what is good/best for you? Could the ladder lead you to both safety, the flowing beach and new beginnings? When I made this piece, all these issues were in my head and my life, and I didn't consciously put them in to the piece .. they just found their way in. This is a wonderful thing about art, it is a brilliant form of expression for feelings we cannot fully articulate, and can help us to identify and deal with issues that emerge. Symbols and imagery are particularly fascinating and very personal. I love that a ladder for some might mean bad luck, for others, fear, for others aspiration and for yet others safety, or escape ... and you could go on. This series of work (and Self 1: On Edge -the second piece in it), will aim to utilise this aspect of art - as both a therapy and a way of communicating with ourselves and others. I foresee it being very powerful and absorbing.

      In this piece, the quilt is attached to the board with Velcro spots .. so un-arty!!Sometimes I stick it down completely. I like this method of working, as it does make the work so much easier to hang, and I like having another layer to work with design and meaning. If you come to festival( and do try - it is simply fantastic) - do come to my stand and I'll get one off the wall for you to examine in detail!! - Hilary x

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  8. P.S. So absorbed by thoughts of your quilt that I forgot to add my best wishes to the others for a successful FOQ. I hope all goes well - with LOTS AND LOTS of book sales.

    Hilary Florence

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  9. Saw this quilt at the show - it was wonderful and deserved the accolades.

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    1. Thank you ... it is one of my favourites too - Hilary x

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