Inspiration 12-12-12

Some artists are posting 12 things that inspire them in honor of 12-12-12. Unfortunately, I should be finishing up writing an article right now, so I don't quite have time to find 12 things. However, I would like to show a few things that continue to inspire me.

Nature:

A blue whale tail that we saw during our great, unblogged California vacation this summer

A spiderweb in my carport

Nature is quite simply a constant source of inspiration, joy, and awe to me.

Surface Design:

Pole wrapped shibori using paints instead of dyes

Some of you might not know it, but I have a passion for surface design even though it's not usually the focus of my quilts. I usually use fabric I've dyed for the back of my quilts, as well as borders and bindings (if I use them). I also frequently use hand dyed fabrics in the samples I make for various articles I write. Most summers I dye quite a bit of fabric. This summer, not so much. Obviously I did take time out on one day to paint this fabric, and it inspired me to do what you know I love -

Digital Manipulation:

 This is the image above, cropped, blurred, and color adjusted. Add a few layers and you get:

So how did that green fabric look when it was dry?

OK, I probably should have ironed it better!

And what happened when I played with it for a few minutes?

Now we're cooking!

It's always interesting to me to see what  inspires other artists - what inspires you?

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If you're interested in learning more about how I digitally manipulate a variety of images to create my quilts, why not check out my DVD, Digital Collage for Quilt Design? In honor of 12-12-12 it's on sale just for today for $12.12.