Last week I listed the first 5 ways to find Visual Inspiration - be sure to click back if you missed it. Today I'll be adding two more ways to find inspiration for quilt making - this time it will be about Written Inspiration.
Written Inspiration
6: Literature Folktales or Myths
Often a story book or written literature will inspire a quilt. Reading a description and letting your imagine flow with the thoughts. Much like “The Phantom of the Opera” inspired me so can words. Words will paint a picture in ones mind and from there we transform that picture into our artwork. In this quilt I made St George the Dragon Slayer which is based on a myth.
St George the Dragon Slayer quilt
It is interesting when several quilters are given a description and then all head off in different directions to create their quilts. After they group back together it's amazing how different each quilt can be. This is a great way to be inspired in a group setting.
7: Poetry
Poetry is also another form of written literature. You could try the group example above for this as well. I found this short poem written by an unknown artist that inspired me into making the following quilt.
“Music comes through the senses, it whispers emotions of the heart. As a painter feels this emotion, he expresses it through his art. Sing the phrases of the universe and command the spectrum of color. Take your music and give it life and love for the world is waiting”
When I read this poem it started to make me think. I began thinking of the elements within the poem the word “World”. My first thoughts were of circles or rounds that would be a connection to the universe with the round planets and the solar system rotating around the sun. Then “the spectrum of color” made me think of bright colors and what better way to spread them than with paint.
Painted Notes
Of course I had to bring music into it as it brings me fond memories of playing the piano as a child. So thinking of these four elements world, color, paint, and music I began to design this quilt.
I found the perfect fabric full of color and spiraling as it changed. The center of which stretched out my life span moving far in the distance thus comes the music caught in the swirl as the paintbrush added the brilliance of color. I added shadows to the notes to give a three-dimensional look which gives you the impression of the notes floating. This thought was derived from a shadow effect I saw on one of the colored swirls which I extended into the shadow of the brush. So this is my story created by a few words from our unknown artist.
Did you make a quilt inspired by some sort of written literature? Tell me about them in the comments below.
Inspiration for quilt making through sound is next: 13 ways to find Inspiration for quilt making part 3
