Different Kind of Drawing
April 14, 2007

I’ve written before about drawing as a process as opposed to drawing as a product in this post about my infinite drawings, and here I sewed a 5′ x 11′ drawing together. There is another kind of drawing I do that is also process, but I can’t help but like the end result.
When I’m getting ready to quilt a face or some detail, I lay some tracing paper over the shape and practice drawing lines, to ready myself to make similar patterns with the sewing machine needle. I do all my quilting improvisationally, so for me, it’s like a dancer practicing the dance to ready for the final performance.
In this case, I wanted the stitch lines to surround and accentuate the beaded eyes that I would later sew on, so it was important to practice for the placement of the yet-to-be-added embellishments. I use colored pastel pencils so it’s more fun.

Comments
2 Comments so far

What a GREAT idea. I too (well, duh) do all my quilting improvisationally, but sometimes I am into it and get a bit lost in the process. I think this will really help me think about and have a bit more control over the final emphasis that that line element adds to my work. Thanks, S
Pam, I love your alien!!!!!!! Thanks for sharing your joy, struggles, gorgeous photography, and fun bend on the world.
Aly