Elements

 

Last year, when I was still thinking of doing this in drawing, I made this quick sketch in ink.

The images come from the text of the "Windmills of your mind" song.

"keys that jingle in your pocket"

"words that jangle in your head"

"like an apple, turning silently in space"

"a clock whose hands are sweeping past the minutes of its face"

"leave their footprints in the sand"

"or a carnival balloon"

"pictures hanging in the hallway"

http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/thethomascrownaffair/windmillsofyourmind.htm

The additional element is of sheet music, I'll probably do something with the actual sheet music and then manipulate it in Corel PhotoPaint.

  

I played for a few hours with this drawing, trying for an overlapping effect. I am going to print multiple images on organza, then overlap them on the background. Probably.... 

I have done quite a few works based on something musical and find it a never ending source of inspiration..

Triskele is fused on!

After printing out the triskele for the 4th time, tiled over 12 pages ( or was that the 5th time?) I could finally get onto the next step.
My quilt sandwich was already made: 3 layers, 4 if you count Vliesofix: from the bottom up: iron-on Vilene, matilda's own wadding, vliesofix, ivory dupion silk.
Centring the triskele wasn't easy, I used Coreldraw to establish the correct position on the background and took my time.

Next steps: establishing elements and embellishments.
Next time I have to be in Toowoomba (probably to get the bikes serviced) I am going to order a hanger. My previous wrought iron supplier has closed shop, he recommended Forge Metalworks. When I rang, the lady said she was a quilter. Didn't ask if that means "mate-rates"!

36" x 34"

I discussed my dilemma about the size with husband Gerry. By that time, I had the size down to 24" so I could hang it from the wrought iron hanger I already have.
When I showed him the 30" triskele and discussed the impact I wanted to make, he suggested I go with that size and get a hanger to fit.
What he said was "You'll make it beautiful and it will be well worth getting a nice hanger for it"
Next I had to find the materials to make the base and a fabric to cover it:  I have the iron-on Vilene for the back, wadding for the middle layer and the only fabric I had enough of for the actual background was a piece of ivory Dupion silk. Considering how much of that is going to be covered by the triskele, it seems a waste of time and materials to cover it with embellishments. It is better to embellish once the triskele is on.
What I don't have is enough Vliesofix to fuse the silk to the wadding, hopefully I can get that at Twilight Craft today.
Meanwhile there is plenty I can do: get the triskele ready to fuse on, start working with the elements. Thank goodness I have enough printable cotton!
I am now at the stage where I am happy to let the piece design itself.
What it means is that I take it the way it wants to go. For example, the decision which fabric to use for the background is simply based on a choice between the fabrics I have enough of. No agonising, no racing to the shop to buy another fabric.
The hard decisions are made, now comes the fun part!

I've got to decide on the base now

I need a base on which to put a background first, then the triskele.
I've got Peltex, which is really firm, but I only bought enough to make the finished square 30".
Oooohhh....another decision made: it will be a square!
I would prefer a circle, but a circle is too difficult to hang well.
If the base is 30", the triskele has to be about 25" across. I've printed the tiled design out 3 times now!!!
But: if I don't use the Peltex, but a normal quilt sandwich, I have no restriction on the size.

The background

The base is the structure, the background is what you see behind the triskele, it is placed on top of the base.
I want it to look as if I had glued music fabrics on it, put white paint over it, then wiped the paint off, exposing the fabric in messy streaks.

 

These are the music fabrics. I am thinking....bleaching....covering with sheer fabrics.....fraying......

Triskele

Designing a colour scheme or palette isn't something I can do in an abstract way.
And even if I could, I wouldn't necessarily have fabrics in those colours. While a design such as Fandance needs to be worked out exactly, works such as this one can be created intuitively.
Remember how my patchwork fabrics are organised in boxes by colour?
Well, those are the cottons. I also have a couple of huge boxes with satins, laces, velvets, silks etc.
There was no other way to do this: all the fabric had to be pulled out of the boxes and I separated those colours and shades I thought would work. I had already decided to use soft colours to represent the dreamy quality of the piece.

 

The fabrics on the left have a gold cast, but are in fact a true grey.

The one in the left bottom corner is what is left of a fabulous beaded evening jacket I bought in an op shop for less than $15! I am so hoping I have enough to use that for the spiral that will become the focal point.

Close up: 

 This was the first Triskele (triple spiral) I considered. I printed it out tiled over 12 sheets of paper and stuck them together.

 

This one is simpler, but has as much or more impact. It will be placed on top of the background and then the other elements will be placed over that in such a way, that the triskele will still not only be visible, but pull everything together.

I decided to make it 30" and at this stage, I don't know yet what the base/background will be, but probably it won't be canvas.

What I like about the Triskele is that this design has been used throughout the history of mankind, with lots of meanings at different times and different civilizations.

I love to use symbols.

Get a move on.....

The Musical Gems exhibition will be at the end of March, I need to get a move on.
First: what colour scheme, colour palette will I use?

 

OK....look at a heap of luscious fabrics....mmmm....nothing there.

http://www.colourlovers.com/

This site has thousands if not millions of ready made palettes. So where to start.
Entered " mind" Remember, the project is Windmills of your mind. A few nice colour schemes, nothing that is very inspiring, but I'll keep looking.

Next, or rather, at the same time, I have to make decisions:

• Make this project like a quilt: the background is a firm quilt sandwich, the final work will be hung from a rod or some other hanging thingy.
• Put the fabric elements on canvas. Nice and firm, easy to hang.
• Make the work to be displayed behind glass: extra cost, extra weight, can't be photographed well once it is framed. But...the work will be protected and framing gives the work more presence.

This brings me to another decision: the size. Oh no...two decisions: square or portrait or landscape?
Aaahhhhh....this is just so hard....I wish I could actually start cutting and sewing and designing the elements....

Hey....my work is here!

If you go to the very first post of this blog, you'll see my entry to the Cyber Fyber project.
To see all postcards as well as the ATC*s, go to:

http://www.cyberfybervideos.blogspot.com/

*Artist Trading Cards: 2.5" x 3.5"