Katherine Sands: The Creative Journey

The Creative Journey

by guest blogger Katherine Sands (originally published 21st April 2009)

For me, the creative life is a journey…and I learn and see so many interesting things along the way!

Some artists are able to plan ahead; I love their work and their process, but that doesn’t seem to be the way I work. I am a fly-by-the-seat-0f-your-pants serendipity kind of gal. Too much planning and I would probably be bored. A case in point…since a larger, new art quilt I had done didn’t fit the size requirements for an upcoming arts council exhibit, I decided to start a new piece of art. I was on a deadline, so I decided to keep it simple. I pieced and quilted it, using simple hand dyed fabrics and one black and white screen printed fabric. I didn’t quilt it all over, but left areas that were not quilted which “poufed” a bit.

At some point after the work was done, I decided I wasn’t happy with it. It was too one-dimensional; it needed more depth. I painted a diluted layer of black paint over it…but was still dissatisfied.

At this point, the adventure was still good, but getting a bit scary. I decided to “whitewash” it a bit with gesso. I like to use white artists’ gesso to tone down colors. The whitewashing effect is great for a background. In this case I was just going to (gulp) add the gesso sparingly. I rolled it on with a roller in a hit and miss style. My intention was not to completely cover the quilt, but to add highlights.

Hmmm…the gesso was interesting…I liked how it hit and accentuated the unquilted spaces. After considering it for awhile, I decided it still looked unfinished. I didn’t like all that white. This was a good time for panic..what could I do to change it? It had way too much white and it was too late to start another piece. This one would have to do, but it needed something…

I have been using paintstiks for a couple of years. Shiva oil paintstiks are oil paints in solid form. The paint doesn’t spread like a liquid paint does; it stays where you put it. This solid characteristic of oil paintstiks is good for hitting the raised areas of quilting. I decided to go with these, adding color to both the red and blue-green areas of the quilt. Now I’m pleased with it. I do feel this was a lesson that nothing is unredeemable and maybe one needs to just keep going and searching until the answer comes.

Weathered Places 32″ x 30″

About Katherine

Katherine has been quilting since 1994 and doing surface design on cloth since 2001, continually adding more techniques to her experience. Working from home, she maintains a website at www.mywildflowerdesigns.com and www.katherinesands.com. She blogs on her Art Journal at www.katherinesands.wordpress.com. She teaches dyeing, discharge dyeing, dye painting, machine quilting and other surface design techniques. She is an Illinois Artisan and arts council member and regularly displays work in the Illinois State Museum shop as well as arts council venues and other galleries. She is a member of the Surface Design Association (SDA), Professional Art Quilters (PAQA) and Studio Art Quilts Associates (SAQA).