Another workshop with Paula Kovarik

Last summer, I did a five-day workshop with Paula Kovarik at Arrowmont, described here.  When some quilting friends saw the samples I made in the workshop, they raised the idea of bringing her to our annual retreat, for a shorter version of the class. And we did! Paula came for two days of our four-day retreat earlier this month. She asked us to spend time before the workshop looking for lines, and to bring photos or drawings with.  Here's one of the photos I took, of a yucca plant full of fine, curly tendrils.

Using Photoshop, I traced over the lines of the tendrils.

Take away the photograph, and there's a lovely mess of lines.

I had this on my table, and glanced at various parts of it as I did a small stitched version (about 6" square).

The other kind of line I developed an interest in was from a from a prompt from Paula (one of many) to draw a "jittery" line.  The design in the lower left (below) is one result; double-click on photo to see a larger version.  I've been feeling anxious about a couple of things, and make this line helped me identify that.  I cut a white paper frame with a 4.5" opening, the size I make coasters.  I think that's what I'll do with a few of these.  And maybe go on to make more. . .  

Workshop with Paula Kovarik

This summer, I had the good fortune to take a week-long workshop with Paula Kovarik at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts.  The workshop was called "Follow the Thread," and was aimed at teaching a process of generating quilting lines that are not just the standard repetitions, but that originate from an idea or inspiration, with the line developing from there, and then changing as the thread leads one on.  I deeply admire Paula's work, and leapt at the chance to do a workshop with her.  (You can see other posts of mine about Paula's work here.) Paula's own work is often "whole cloth"--that is, the cloth is one piece of fabric or simply pieced, and the focus of the work is in the stitching. I don't imagine myself ever doing whole-cloth pieces, but was confident I could still learn a lot from Paula. I had two goals for the workshop.  The first was simply to further develop my skills and confidence in machine quilting.  This is the aspect of quilting that I feel the least comfortable with.  I'd like to do it more confidently, and would like to build it more into the overall design of a work.  And I'd like to enjoy it more!  The second goal was to work further with floral motifs based on the line drawings I began doing a few years ago.  I wanted to work on simplifying the drawings further so that I could use them in repeated designs.  I had been thinking of using the designs as motifs in printing fabric, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to try them out as stitching designs along the way.  I made a great deal of progress towards both goals during the week, inspired not only by Paula, but by the awesome work of other students in the workshop.

The photo at the top is probably my favorite piece from the workshop, stitching based on a drawing of perennial salvia.  You can see the whole thing (about 15" square) in the bottom left below, along with other exercises.  (Double-click to enlarge.)

Here's another sample where three of the designs are worked off a drawing of a branch of ash leaves.  The upper right corner is a trial of the variegated black-to-white thread that Paula had us try.  It provides an easy way to build in serendipity, as the white disappears if sewing on white fabric, or the black if sewing on black (as in the set just below the white sampler).

And a final example, with the panel on the right a riff on early drawings of clover, a couple of other permutations of the ash leaves, and some simple squiggles just for fun.

I expect to spend some time developing one or more of these motifs in my workshop next week with Claire Benn.  But if they don't find a home on printed fabric, I may well incorporate them into some quilting. . .

Paula Kovarik and a drawing of Jeremy's

I mentioned several weeks ago that I had sent a number of Jeremy's drawings to Paula Kovarik, who was planning to develop further the work she had been doing with children's drawings.  She recently completed a quilt incorporating one of Jeremy's drawings, a quilt she has titled, "Don't Go In the Basement." You can read her post about it here.

Paula Kovarik, "Don't Go in the Basement"

And here's the drawing of Jeremy's that makes an appearance in the lower right corner of the quilt:

Jeremy's drawing, 1991 (age 5-1/2)

It is very difficult to express what this means to me--to see something from Jeremy's hand enter a new life in a beautiful creation by another person.  I think Paula has pulled off an amazing combination:  being true to Jeremy's drawing--capturing the child-like drift and energy of the lines--and yet also making something entirely new and wonderful by putting it in an abstract setting and with other figures.  

Kudos to Paula!  May you go from strength to strength.  You can see more of Paula's work on her website.

N.B. To those of you who read Paula's post.  Paula knows that Jeremy died ten years ago, but chose to address him directly in her post.  Her choice moves me--that she speaks to him herself, not reducing him to a lost voice. . .

Jeremy's drawings

I have long admired the work of Paula Kovarik, which features extraordinary, imaginative stitching on a variety of surfaces--sometimes abstract blocks of color, sometimes re-purposed linens.  A few months ago, Paula put out a request for people to send her children's drawings of robots, monsters, and beasts.  She had been using drawings from her own family in some of her quilting, and was looking for more images to work from.  I sent in a number of my son Jeremy's drawings, made when he was between four and six years old.  To my delight, Paula has posted one of Jeremy's drawings in the left side-bar of her blog, and another in a recent post about the project; you can see both drawings here.  It is lovely to have these glimpses of Jeremy out in the world.

Here are some of the other drawings I found as I went through the big envelopes of things I'd saved from Jeremy's childhood.  It was striking to see what a narrow window there is for drawings like this. Before age three or four, drawings were more scribbles, without recognizable figures.  After age six (first grade), the whimsical freedom was gone; Paula tells me this is typical.  

a butterfly

 I didn't make a note of the subject; I think it may have been a spider.

 a caterpillar

a grasshopper

This is perhaps my favorite.  I think it was done the first time we did drawings to make plates, something we continued for a number of years.  Such treasures. . .