26 January 2008

The work of moments

Dijanne's post on Xenobia sent me looking in a book of near-eastern art and while flipping through I saw this 9th century bowl from Mesopotamia -and thought "if I had all day, I'd use this as a starting point..." -- and then thought "I don't have all day but I do have 30 minutes!"

So, off to the sewing room, pull fabrics, and get going cutting - first in separate "leaves" and then trying to get the entire palmette out of one shape. The way you paint on pottery and the way you cut out of fabric are Very Different Things!
This certainly won't look like a bowl when it's done -
That'll do for palmettes, let's get on with the central bit.
"Translating" the writing was tricky, but I was running out of time, so this will have to do. It can be rethought and reworked - or rather, changed by adding "something" - later.

And "something" is needed in the bottom corner - these are the fabrics that came to hand first. I left this to percolate in the subconsious during the work day.
Next steps - that corner; raw edge applique; some handstitch in the central section; the quilting of course; binding. That'll certainly take more than half an hour, but sometimes the hard part is actually getting started.

Gluestick is great for working fast like this.

4 comments:

Sue Krekorian said...

I noticed immediately that the remnants in your second photo look a lot like the writing on the bowl - do you still have them? And I think that corner is bothersome because you've lost the circular element in the bowl shape. I'm fascinated by this start and hope you'll share what you do with it. Best wishes.

Linda B. said...

I like this interpretation, I think the version with the larger leaf form less segmented has a more 'together' feel. Amazing how much they put me in mind of Durham feathers!

That'll be January almost finished then???

Kate North said...

lovely - may not look like a bowl, but I like it.

Jane LaFazio said...

I just LOVE 'watching' you work!! Using the bowl and interpreting it is fascinating and it's going to be beautiful! can't wait to see the finished product.