During this year 2022 we made game proposals that were more experimental than the earlier ones.
How many can be the inspiration sources for an improv quilt? Infinite!
In the last game, Pop Improv Challenge, we asked you to use bright and strong colors, and to look at Pop Art aesthetics. Your mini quilts based on this prompt were great!
Let’s see how game participants viewed this challenge.
@auroraa1714 , before the challenge, didn’t like bright colors! She normally used colors that calm or convene nicely together. She said: “I had to search for scraps that were not nice for me, fabric or scraps that were there for a long time because they were too bright or with a strange design. I had a lot of fun looking at the fabrics in a different way!”
@amok18287 said: “I was nervous at first picking out such strong colors and tried not to think about the color wheel, complementary colors or rules. As the project developed I was pleasantly surprised to see how the colors bounced off each other instead of fighting against each other. At the same time, I limited the palette, there are no greens in my composition. I was worried too many colors would lessen the impact. I can definitely say that I am braver with color choices as a result of the Pop Improv game.”
Also for @aquilterstable the suggestion of a bright – even fluorescent palette – for the latest QIS challenge was a stretch. She explained: “I’d never used fluorescents before, and combining them with Rich Red felt unique, but was definitely fun to work with. The challenge was a good reminder to not be afraid of trying new things.”
@bettyoquilts, instead, had frequently used bits, or pops, of strong colors in her previous works. For her Nine Patch quilt made during the game, she proceeded in this way: “I stayed quite true to using equal amounts of all of the loud colors. I found that including a couple of shades of several fabrics provided a needed harmony: this would be lacking, if all nine individual fabrics were different hues.”
Also @teajurin confirmed that bright colors cannot be thrown there randomly. In case of strong contrast, there is still need for harmony, and the amount of hues shall be limited, otherwise you risk having chaos. In her quilt titled SuperPOWer, she adopted an explosion of colors, and she really had fun in joining absurd colors to give an exaggerated and humorous effect.
Very strong colors have always been a passion for @dove_ti_porta_il_filo, even if she typically used them together with some neutral, to get a balanced effect. The request of this game was more extreme: it was required to dare! Now, she felt free to use only brights without any negative space. Thus, she rather applied the rule of balance to the composition scheme.
So, what about composition choice?
@therollingcat_ had already investigated pop art when @quiltimprovstudio announced this new challenge. She came across Sister Corita Kent, who mainly used screen printing, where she paired splashes of color and words, usually in her own harsh, angular handwriting, to express religious or universal themes, such as the “Love is hard work” screen print: an airy set of slightly curved stripes in primary and secondary colors, with the writing in black. A cheerful, lively, thought-provoking poster so famous that around the 1970s the US Postal service made a stamp out of it. The challenge #qispopimprov became an occasion to celebrate it again.
Other inspiration sources?
@quiltcreation discovered David Hockney’s work. And fell in love with his creativity and colors!
@patchbri caught this occasion to make a screen print style portrait, as she wished for a long time.
@mari.quilt put her square block on her design wall and let it marinate, until the a-ha moment arrived: her stripe of squares became “Comics pop”!
@aquilterstable, while creating her piece, was looking for a design feature for her improv forks, a key element of her plan. Her friend, Louise @imfeelincrafty, suggested that including a shadow or an outline might improve things, and that definitely did!
@arttextiles decided to use purely color and shape and not to be so influenced by the pop artists of that era, in their interpretation of basic everyday objects, or the onomatopoeia of the Marvel Comics. She kept the embroidered words low key, so as not to distract from the overall impact of the design.
@densyendehimmel found that the last challenge was perfect for her, since she always uses bright colors. But she struggled a bit with the combination of pop art and improv. One is a repetition of pattern and the other one is no pattern! She found a solution at last… and had great fun doing it.
What remains, after this challenge? @kathycookquilts feels that it was a fun diversion for her. Such high impact! And she added: “I’ll definitely try some of this also in the future.”
We thank you for your participation in our games, and for sharing the results of your creative juices: good examples for all of us to learn!
We invite you to review all the work in progress at #qispopimprov Instagram page, and the improv quilts completed by the participants in the @quiltimprovstudio gallery.
We wish you a good end of the year 2022, see you in the new year 2023!