textile paintings
Virginia Greaves
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Home page: http://www.virginiagreaves.com
Posts by Virginia Greaves
First Things Last
216 years ago
When I make a portrait, I typically add the background last & do something unrelated to the original picture. Unfortunately, with my latest piece, I have used so much of my energy on the face, now that it is done, I have hit a creative block. I do not know what to do for the shirt and background.
Here is what it looks like now with a few fabrics auditioned against it:
I know that blue, green, and purple are far enough away on the color wheel from yellow to give me some good contrast, but I also know that the choices have to be fairly dark to offset the hair and the neck. Nothing in my closet is jumping out at me though.
This is frustrating because spring break is almost upon me — so I won’t get any work done next week — and then I only have a short period of time to finish it completely before school is out for summer — and I don’t have any studio time.
I can either use one big piece for the background, something patterned (but not too much — I don’t want it to look like bad wallpaper), or I can use strips — giving a more abstract feel. What to do, what to do . . . . .
Another Sneak Peek
016 years ago
by Virginia Greaves
in Design
This is what I have so far. The face is done — though I may still change the mouth — but I still have some work to do on the hair. I’m not sure about how the colors are working together — I may make some adjustments. But at this point, I’m going to finish it & then stand back from it & study it for a while. I knew that doing a blond would be challenging.
Always Up for a Challenge
116 years ago
by Virginia Greaves
in Design
Using commercial fabrics has added an interesting complexity to my work that I didn’t expect. Sometimes, a fabric works great in the auditioning — and then bombs in the piece — because of the tightness & regularity of the pattern relative to the size of the pieces cut out for the face. I have been building a new face in the last few days — and have been playing with her mouth quite a bit this morning. I thought the in-process pictures would be interesting. (Keep in mind that all of these are taken on a flat table — so there is some camera distortion in these pics.) I always love to see the life grow under my fingers when I work.
This is the base laid out:
This is the face with a little more detail added:
Here I’ve added detail to the eye on the left:
And here I’ve completed the 2nd eye on the right:
This was one of the mouths that I did. I wasn’t happy with how it came out from the original pattern I drew, so I grabbed my Sharpie and scissors and started working away:
This is the mouth as it is now. I’m fairly happy with it — although I may change it when I make final adjustments:
Now I’m off to work on her hair. She is a blond — so this is a new challenge for me. I think I have it all in my stash though — amazing what you can find in that closet if you just search hard enough through the bins.
Disappearing Act
416 years ago
by Virginia Greaves
in Quilting
I am guilty of a disappearing act. I have neglected writing on my blog because I have been working diligently on my latest piece, Shoshanna. I quilted it very closely, about 1/4 inch, and given its size and some problems with my machine (darn that Viking), it took me a long time to finish it. I do have a picture of it when the quilting was done:
It is incredibly wavy! I wasn’t worried — however, I knew that I would save myself a lot of headache if I added the binding after blocking it. It is always amazing to me how easily it flattens when wet.
Then when I went to add the binding, I decided to use the glue technique that I had seen Sharon Schamber use on her YouTube tutorial. Of course I forgot most of what I had seen and only used the glue to attach the binding to the back, but it is a HUGE timesaver and relief to my poor, noncallused fingers. Next time, I’ll try it all her way. When I was done, I did have to soak the quilt yet again to remove the glue (which is water soluble) — and block it AGAIN — but it is finally done — and I’m glad that I used this technique for the binding.
I have finished pictures on my website HERE.
By the way, I really struggled with a name for this piece. My work has changed from the style I had two years ago so I didn’t feel comfortable giving it the name Faces in Cloth with a number — that series has really developed into a body of work for me. I am also uncertain that using a person’s given name is wise — I wouldn’t want to provide too much access to a person’s personal life. The model’s husband suggested that I use the Hebrew intrepretation of her name — an idea which I really like and I think gives more insight into the feeling of the piece.
The other reason for my disappearing act is that I have many opinions about the economy — which perhaps spill over into politics — and I do not think this to be the right forum for that. I have friends — both conservative and liberal — and I find them all dear to me. This blog is not meant to be polarizing, and I do not personally like when I read the blog of an artist that allows her political views to take over. Artistry with political messages are fine — but I know that most read my blog for my art, not my political views. If I want to share those, I’ll start another blog — and then you can subscribe to that one separately or not. (I’m not to that point — yet.) Sometimes it’s important to know when to keep your mouth shut. IMHO
Color and Personality
116 years ago
by Virginia Greaves
in Admin
When I first started working on portraits, I asked the individual what their favorite color was — and then I would dye fabric in that colorway. It was easy to control the value changes this way — but I have since moved and do not have the facilities to dye. However, the interesting thing about working with color is the way it trains your eye — eventually, I could see that I had the commercial fabrics in my own stash to make a more realistic portrayal.
This is my 2nd piece using more realistic skin tones. In my last one, Sweet Dreams, her face pretty much encompassed the entire quilt — only a little of her coat showed. This quilt, however, required new colors for the shoulders and the space behind her head.
The personality of this particular individual screamed for some vibrant use of color. I tend more towards the cool colors — I tried green and blue — and blue green. But in the end, my husband agreed that this portrait called for hotter colors.
I will start covering the raw edges today or tomorrow — but I’ll have it on my design wall for a while. I can always change the background if I want to. The great thing about fusing is that you can always change your mind.
Working on Background
016 years ago
by Virginia Greaves
in Admin
I have made a lot of progress on my latest portrait quilt. I still have some work to do on the hair — but I am considering changing one of the fabrics. I am still not as good at seeing value change with my eyes as I would like — and I worry that there is not enough change between 2 of the browns in her hair. I am also beginning to think about what the background should be like. In the original photograph, she was wearing a sparkly silver sweater — but I don’t feel bound to stick with that. She and her husband lived several years in India, so I am considering a radical color scheme in fuschia, orange, & purple. We’ll just have to see how it goes. I’m going shopping this afternoon — I don’t have the right purple for something like that.
Making Progress
116 years ago
by Virginia Greaves
in Admin
I made more progress yesterday on my latest quilt. I added detail to the eyes and the ears. I still have her mouth (which will be hard — I picked out some fabrics today I think might work), the hair, and her sweater (which I will not recreate from the original photograph). I love to see the eyes come alive — one of the best parts.
This is a large piece & I had to take this picture standing on a chair — which is causing some distortion in the photograph — but I currently work with everything pinned down to a table. I don’t want to disturb that at this point in the process — it might throw off the alignment of remaining pieces. Just keep in mind that this is lying flat — and even though I am elevated, there is an angle from the camera’s perspective as I can’t get any higher without moving it.
The Zen of Cutting
016 years ago
by Virginia Greaves
in Admin
Cutting is by far my most favorite piece of creating — for me. Even before I touch my sewing machine, I have an idea of what the final product is going to look like. I love when you lay down all the pieces and it begins to look realistic — especially when using commercially printed fabrics — when you can disengage the brain enough to go beyond the prints.
This is what I have been working on — a portrait of a friend of mine. Just her naked face — I still have her hair — and a lot of detail in the ear, eyes, and mouth — but you can begin to see her peaking out at you through the fabric.
Working Along
016 years ago
by Virginia Greaves
in Admin
Last night, my Fiber Art Fusion group met & had a drawing workshop led by Mary Akers. She is such a talented teacher and was able to bring out the best work in all of her students. No tears — no mad dashes for the door. Using a still life & charcoal, these are the 2 pieces I did using different techniques:
I had so much fun that I may start drawing more. I have a sketchbook, but I don’t use it much. Most of what I do is on the computer.
I have been working on a new portrait of a friend of mine, Susan. When I first printed out the pattern, it was way too large, so I shortened it — and it still seems huge — but I’ve done a few in the 32 x 38 range. It is in the netherworld between 24″ and 40″ that will exclude it from many shows — but it is what is best for a portrait, IMHO.
This is a picture of the pattern traced onto vinyl on top of the base layer of muslin I fuse to.
I have picked out my face fabrics and will start my favorite part today — fusing & cutting!
Twelfth Night
216 years ago
by Virginia Greaves
in Inspiration
Twelfth Night — the night of the 12th day of Christmas — is the time that we celebrate the coming of the Magi to give gifts to the baby Jesus. It is the last night before the feast of Epiphany, and we use this time to — well, have a party!
As I prepare to have our annual Twelfth Night feast, I thought that I would take a little time to share what I have been doing lately.
I finally finished my latest quilt. I think I’m going to call it Sweet Dreams. You can read about it on my website here.
I also finished my felted teacup. I was asked to make a pincushion for a swap at my local guild. I never made it to the Christmas meeting — and only finished the teacup today. I spent quite some time trawling the net looking for a pincushion that didn’t look like everyone else’s pincushion. What was the point of spending time on something pedestrian? I finally found the felted teacup and fell in love with it — which of course led me to start searching through thrift shops for wool sweaters I could felt (which has led to some wonderful discoveries other than sweaters). I am amazed at what some thrift stores have — I bought several designer pieces with the original tags still on them.
I also had great fun with the I-cord maker. This wonderful idea is from Betz White who is known for her felted cupcake pincushions.
My second holiday inspiration came from my friend Rebecca Reasons. (By the way, she is the one that won the 5 x 7 of Solomon that I made for our Fiber Art Fusion Holiday gift exchange.) She is an awesome artist and just had an article published in the winter edition of Altered Couture. While I was sitting next to her at our artist’s party last month, she showed me the wonderful book cover that she had made. I loved it. Then when I went to the store to buy a new planner for the new year and couldn’t find one with a cover that I liked, I realized that I could make a cover for it. I hid away in my studio (family was home all last week) and pulled out scraps in purple hues — a little black & white — and then quilted it like crazy in yellow and orange circles. Then I added the inside tabs, a slot for a pen, and finished it in the way I make my coffee cuffs. I also added some threads for a bookmark — my only regret being that I wish that they were longer. I didn’t account enough for the ring in the binder — but I may yet tie more strings to the ends & add beads.
By the way, I am selling my Hinterberg stretch machine quilting frame. Please email me if you are interested.