And the Answer is…
Markings #12 - In Progress
Upside Down
Well yes, as Monica and several others correctly identified, Markings #12 is hanging upside down at my show, Markings: Repetition and Pattern. So all those folks that went to the opera last night and the thousands of other people that have been through the theater lobby get to enjoy it 180 degrees from my intended orientation. Pretty funny.
In the above, in progress, photo of the piece it’s clear which end is up as my electric plugs are near the floor not the ceiling. And really, it’s rather difficult to get a digital image upside down.
So at some point I forgot which end was up and I sewed the hanging mechanism (a sleeve of fabric that holds a board) to the bottom instead of the top. Impressive. What’s interesting, when I photographed it I knew which end was up and photographed it correct (I don’t use the hanging board/sleeve when I do my photography).
Correct:
Upside Down :
I definitely like it better as designed so when I get it home I’ll fix it. I’ll leave the signature at the top. It’s barely noticeable and sideways so it’ll look fine on the upper left instead of my normal lower right. I’ll just unsew and resew the sleeve and label.
In Good Company
I can’t say this is the first time I’ve ever gotten this backwards. Structures #13 hangs upside down from how it was designed because I signed it upside down and the signature is rather obvious and it would look more than odd having the signature upside down. So I flipped the piece 180 degrees and it still looks great.
I almost did the same thing with Markings #22 but caught the mistake before it was too late. It has 2 signatures - one at the top and one at the bottom. The top one is sideways and both are hard to see so I figured, what the heck - a bonus signature.
Do any of you ever do such silly things?
Posted by Lisa in: Making Abstract Contemporary Textile Art
Tagged: Markings Series
Monica said,
March 16, 2008 @ 12:03 pm
I often put a sleeve and rod on both ends to stabilize the bottom, so it’s easy for me to get mixed up. I have to make sure I put my signature in the right place because that’s often the only way I can tell which side is up.
Brenda said,
March 16, 2008 @ 1:08 pm
I’m just fascinated to see the evolution of this piece from the work-in-progress stage to the final exhibition work (whatever way it is oriented!)
Cynthia said,
March 17, 2008 @ 6:10 am
Interesting - I too prefer it as originally designed. Though, I suppose if I didn’t know better it wouldn’t bother me.
BTW, I’m just loving bloglines - thanks so much for the recommendation. It’s perfect for seeing who has a new post all in one place.
Kim Hambric said,
March 17, 2008 @ 8:12 am
I never make such mistakes. Ha Ha Ha.
I tend to make my mistakes while sewing the top. I sew my squares into groups, then sew those groups together. I often will turn one of the sewn groups around by accident, finish up the top, and don’t notice my mistake until the piece is ready to quilt, if then. Not much can be done about it then. I might sew on a couple of appliques or do additional stamping to even out the mistake.
I then either love the piece or stuff it into a drawer.
I once did this to a large comissioned piece. I never admitted to my mistake. I think it came out quite well. The client loved it.
By the way, your colors are stunning in this piece.
Mary said,
March 17, 2008 @ 1:32 pm
i love that you made this mistake and were willing to blog about it. and yes, i have certainly done some amazing things that i looked back at wondering what was i thinking–was i thinking? i think especially around putting our art up for display we are easily distracted. i have put the wrong labels on the wrong paintings (which was actually pretty funny because they were so obviously wrong and people were just very confused and too polite to say anything!) Anyway–beautiful work as always!