Laura Kate

100 Day Project: Days 1-5

Posted on March 1, 2023March 1, 2023 by Laura Kate

Last Wednesday I wrote about my 100-day project, during which I will collaborate with Bill in making artwork or fiber objects inspired by his photographs. These three are the subjects of my first week.

Back in 2017 at the Kansas City Zoo, Bill has a close encounter with this lorikeet. In his image you see plumage in colors that, impossibly, co-exist on one bird. I accepted as my challenge to swatch out this feathery palette in watercolor paint.

Day One: Samples

Day Two: I turned it into a color wheel.

In 2010 we visited The Louvre. While I wandered around, Bill found this sculptural fragment in the Antiquities gallery.

My initial idea was to do a simple drawing using Micron pen. To get a better look at the details, I edited the photo, brightening up the shadows, then printing it in monochrome.

Day Three: Drawing

It actually took me two days to finish the drawing because I chose to stipple.

The next photograph was taken while vacationing in the Caribbean, but I am unsure if we were in Barbados or Belize. I really love the wave action and the colors.

My brain must have mashed up the last two photographs because I ended up superimposing the face onto the water.

1st Week Final Note: Searching my yarn closet, I found scraps to match up with the Lorikeet plumage. Today I used them to knit this swatch in fingering yarn.

What do you think of the combination? Would you wear it on a hat, scarf or vest?

See you next week.

quilting

SAHRR 2023 Round 5: Square in Square Saga

Posted on February 26, 2023 by Laura Kate

Now I know why this quilt along is called a challenge. Round 5 proved to be the most time-consuming and frustrating of all (so far.) My decision to use recycled quilt blocks turned into a bad idea. You see in the photo above the results of many hours work harvesting suitable fabric pieces for square in square blocks from the pineapple blocks. Oh boy! By Saturday, I had made enough blocks to build two sides.

I plan to edge these pieces with gray strips, bringing the finished block size to 7 inches. Six blocks will fill a border, with an additional two at top and bottom points. But first I attached a two-inch coping strip.

Here is the proposed lay-out for round five.

I bought the squiggly line print because it made me happy, and it looked like a nice transition between the pale grey and dark gray. Next, I assembled my first border.

And here is how it looks attached to the quilt

If you are enjoying the SAHRR Quilt challenge and want to check out the work of other participants, visit Emily’s blog, The Darling Dogwood.

http://thedarlingdogwood.blogspot.com/

There will be one more round. If I survive that, then I think that I have the ability to finish this quilt.

knitting

Friday Finish: Cheers Shawl

Posted on February 24, 2023 by Laura Kate

One of the resolutions I made to myself for 2023 was to clear up my backlog of UFOs. Today I celebrate another finish from the knitting category. This shawl, designed by Laura Nelkins….

http://www.nelkindesigns.com/index.cfm/gallery.page/265888.htm

….has been hanging around in its unfinished state for at least three years. I was working the beaded version and got into trouble by choosing beads that were too heavy. Anybody out in blogland work with beads on knitted garments? Let me know if you had any success. For me, the beads were so weighty that the shawl was pulled considerably downward. Sorry, Ms. Nelkin.

Anyway, I still loved the colors and the lace edging. It blocked out to 72 inches.

The beads weren’t totally wasted. I learned how to work them into knitted jewelry, eventually teaching a class on the technique, using up a few beads in the process.

This beadless shawl pairs nicely with my blush-colored boiled wool jacket.

Last time I looked in my craft room closet, there were still three knitting UFOs to finish. I hope to get them marked off the list before summer arrives.

Uncategorized

Inspired by Photographs: A Collaboration

Posted on February 22, 2023 by Laura Kate

My imagination was captured by the 100 Day Project Challenge. The idea is simple: choose a creative project, do it every single day for 100 days, and share your process on your social accounts using the hashtag #The100DayProject.

https://www.the100dayproject.org/

After thinking about aspects of my work that I want to improve, I hit upon the idea of collaborating with my husband, Bill. He is a dedicated photographer who carries his Canon with telephoto lens everywhere he goes. Consequently, he has an immense library of images. So here is what I suggested to him:

Process: From his library of photographs, he will curate several dozen into collections with prompts generated by me. From that point, I will create artwork based on the images, working daily for 100 days.

Guidelines: There are almost none. Back and forth consultations between photographer and artist are encouraged. I agreed to publish his photographs only if they are stamped with his mark.

Here are the prompts I provided to Bill:

Atmosphere
Best of the Birds
Creatures Great and Small
Faces
Gardens
Kids’ Stuff
Light Effects
Mineral
Photographer’s Choice
Rural America
Seasons
Transportation
Urban Architecture
Vacation Favorites
Waterscape

My plan is to work daily, but post on this site only once a week. I have no idea how many paintings, drawings, sketches, quilt blocks or knitted swatches will be made, so it seems easier just to group them.

And here are the images I have chosen for study the first week of the challenge.

Photographs by Bill Riley, reuse by permission only.

painting

Taking a Break from Quilting

Posted on February 21, 2023February 20, 2023 by Laura Kate

The last two weeks have seen me working intensly on two quilts. One is finished (yay!) So today I am taking a break from quilting, if not from thinking about quilts.

It’s time to get more watercolor postcards painted. I have some new watercolor paper made especially for postcards that I am excited to try out.

A sample of this 100% cotton paper by Winsor and Newton was included with an order from Dick Blick. Since I liked the sample, I decided to buy this packet of 15 sheets. It seemed affordable and is the perfect size for postcards.

In perusing my library of reference photos, I came across an image of a quilt that really appealed to me. I described it as a log cabin flag quilt. I saved it with the idea of making a similar quilt.

But now I think it’s the perfect subject for a geometric watercolor painting.

I started by dividing my paper vertically into three columns. Determining that the angle of the flags is sixty degrees, I drew several intersecting lines. The painting process was slow and relaxed. When I was satisfied with the color, I grabbed a black watercolor pencil to reinforce the lines and darken a few of the blocks. Done.

What do you think? It’s not a slavish copy, more of an interpretation. Where the quilt has patterned fabric, I chose to allow colors to mingle.

I used all my reds, which included Pyrol scarlet, alizarin crimson, quinacridone red and magenta. Blues are cobalt and prussian. Rounding out the paints were quinacridone gold and Winsor green blue shade.