A Note from Rose: For many of us, the fabric must inspire before we start sewing a single stitch. Today we welcome a guest post on from Vivika Hansen DeNegre, editor of Quilting Arts Magazine on creating incredible fabric using Jane Dávila's concept of renga--or collaborative surface design:
There's a long-standing tradition in the quilt world of making round robin quilts--projects that start with the work of one quilter and are passed on to a series of individuals who add a row of piecing, a border of appliqué, or a line of stitching.
 |
|
|
Jenn Mason, editor of Cloth Paper Scissors, started
with a white piece of muslin and added faux script
with fabric pens marker.
|
|
 |
|
After all of the artists had a chance to work on
Jenn's fabric, the resulting cloth is layered with
paint, printed with a simming pool noodle,
stamped with wooden blocks, and finished with
metallic foil. |
|
|
|
I've participated in several round robin groups in my years as a quilter, but none so innovative as the project proposed to me and five other fiber artists this spring by InStitches editor, Jane Dávila. Jane took the concept of a round robin and turned it on its head.
Her idea was to apply the collaborative concept to surface design rather than quilt making. She found a term from fifteenth century Japanese poetry--renga--that originally referred to a form of collaborative poetry. One poet would contribute the first stanza of a poem, and pass it on to the next participant.
The surface design renga collaboration was born, and resulted in six distinctive pieces of beautiful fabric. Artists Sue Bleiweiss, Jane Dávila, Jenn Mason, Jeannie Palmer Moore, Virginia Spiegel, and I all added a layer of dye, paint, tea, or Paintstik to each piece of fabric. We scribbled with ink, stained with tea bags, screen printed with paint, discharged with bleach, and made marks with every creative process we could imagine. And along the way, we had a ball. I hope more artists will jump on the renga bandwagon and start this new form of round robin in their own communities.
Here are Jane's tips for organizing a successful surface design renga of your own:
1. Limit the number of participants to four to six for each group.
2. Use a permanent marker to write your name on the fabric you start with so you get it back in the end.
3. Write notes in a journal that travels with the fabric. If a technique is particularly fragile or requires special care, it is a good idea to let future participants know.
4. Avoid repeating a technique that's already been done on the fabric.
5. Keep in mind the number of artists that follow you so you don't get carried away and "finish" the fabric. Leave some space for future layers.
I highly recommend you add the InStitches Vol. 8 eMag to your sewing library for further inspiration. It's available now for download at the SewDaily shop.
Happy stitching!
 |
|
|
Vivika Hansen DeNegre
Editor, Quilting Arts Magazine
|
|
P.S. Have you participated in any round robin projects that resulted in a beautiful quilt, gorgeous surface design, or innovative fabric? Let us know.