Observation.

When I’m walking I’m composing  images in my mind. I’m often caught, turning my head to get just the right composition of light and placement of the object.

Strange, but true, I  also draw and quilt in my mind.

What do I observe?

1. I look for light.
2. Complimentary colors.
3. Impact.
4. Story telling.

These images were taken over the past few days. This little girl is engaging me with her gaze, the brown of her garment blends with the background, and her face is a strong contrast to the rest of the image. In this instance I only had a few seconds to get the shot. So I compose and snap.

Is it an image I would use for a quilt, well in reality, not really. It doesn’t tell enough of a story, to be honest she could be a little girl anywhere. I didn’t manage to capture the fact that her costume was embroidered.

Her Mother on the other hand is totally engaged in her work and the light reflected from the light colored floor has lit the image beautifully.  It does tell as story, but it doesn’t fit the genre I needed to tell the story of the weavers.

Exercises.

These are images of old hats. I loved the colors and shapes and when I upload the images into the computer I wanted to test them to see if I liked the texture.

This is the image once I have auditioned it as a quilt. Do I like it, YES, its tells a story, I like the composition, I like the color and it captures my imagination.

These images tell a story and I’ve worked them to choose the image I will use for the quilt and I’m still uncertain which I will use.

The Lady is called Catherine, she worked for two months and made this embroidery from 4 panels woven on the backstop loom. I visited the family and bought her delightful piece. Thats the beginning of the story, part of the tory behind the quilt. The end will be when I finish and share the quilt.

In the house we met Catherine’s son, her Mother and her granddaughter. The house has a bare floor and cement walls, an open window shows off the amazing creations she has made for sale.

I love everything about this piece of textile. the colors, patterns and of course the fact that it was hand made and I bought it. I will share the enjoyment with a woman who lives in Guatemala.

However, after all the preparation , I think I’m going to use the image at the top. Its the portrait of Catherine’s Mother, who is also called Catherine.

When I decide on an image I place it as a screen saver on my computer, that way I study it for days, sometimes months, and almost know every angle of the image before I begin to create it.