Lisa Call

Structures #48 in progress   ~50"x65"

There were some really interesting comments about this quilt as I was showing it’s progress last week and I’ve been meaning to comment on them.

This is by far my favorite by Paula:

I get the feeling of looking at little fences popping up…

Wow – I have no idea if Paula has read my artist statement but this is exactly what I see and think about when making these quilts. I put up all the blocks without any lines and then one by one I take them down and put the bars on them. Protecting them from the outside world.

From my artist statement:

The Structures series investigates the boundaries we use to divide our world. The work explores physical structures such as fences and stone walls. Lines of posts, negative space created between odd shaped stones, uniform rows of bricks are all of interest. The quilts also allude to the internal psychological boundaries we use to hide our true thoughts and feelings from others, and often from ourselves.

Paula – thank you much for that comment. It made my day. I know my work is very abstract and it’s rare for someone to see what I see but it’s pretty darn cool when it happens!

Shelia asked in one post:

is there a particular reason that you chose to make the upper portion more intense and clear while the lower section becomes muted? I’m thinking most people would have done it the other way around.

Yet as I study it, perhaps I see why. I see a bit of landscape here with that lower left shape looking like a sloping hillside and the upper right looking like sky.

Am I reading too much into this?

Shelia, that is exactly it. In fact I even wrote about it (the landscape and the shading) in this post in December of 2005:

I think it has an interesting landscapey feel that I’m hoping to mostly wipe out by the time I finish putting the lines all over the top of it.
…
I intend for many of the lines to disappear in the distance by using similar values for foreground and background. The upper right hand corner will have a much more pronounced grid over the top of it than the lower left, which I’m thinking will be pretty interesting

 
In another comment Diane wrote:

It is looking beautiful! I also liked the stage before – I saw land and sky and so much movement of another type. Lisa, have you ever considered leaving some of your quilts looking more like the last post? Not meaning better – but just different … each feel you create is so incredible!

Diane, I do think about leaving the quilts at different stages. Not covering the entire thing up with lines. But then I start working and it doesn’t feel right to me to stop. I have to put those fences up every where and block out everything or it’s just not me. I have worked some at leaving more open space in my work and not having to cross out everything but the end result is a bit different.

And actually Diane did go on and basically say the same thing in her comment about her work (about liking earlier stages but having to push through to her idea of completion for it to feel right) and retracted the question but I wanted to answer it anyway.

Sylvia asked in her comment:

Just wondering if that is going to be your next iteration in the series?

I’m never really sure. Right now I’m focusing back on my Markings series – mostly getting quilts I started last year completed.

But I do know that what ever comes next will stem from ideas I had in previous pieces. Generally I don’t talk about new directions with my work until I feel I’ve really come to terms with what I’m trying to do with the idea. Which really means I have ideas for where I want to go next but I’m not talking about it yet. I’ve always wanted to do a post about this (not talking about future directions) so maybe soon.

 
Thanks to everyone for the thoughtful comments recently. I tried to answer them all but if I missed something just ask again and I’ll try to remember. Things are a bit hectic right now as I’m planning another trip to Arizona to visit my dad over easter (I’m so looking forward to the 80 degree weather instead of the 60s we are having in Denver – I’m ready for summer!). I’m also incredibly busy at work so I haven’t had a huge amount of time for the blog.