See what happens . . .

"Aspenglow"

(available for sale on my website)

 . . . after a play date with quilt artists (and good friends) Joanna Monroe and Pat Spillane?  Your right brain opens wide and says "Aaahh."  I became inspired to do this piece after spending a most enjoyable and creative afternoon in Joanna's studio, where we painted on paper towels (I am not making this up) and on surfaces which had been heavily stitched, and basically took ourselves back to our kindergarten days.

This is the first art quilt I've ever done without drawing the design beforehand or creating pattern pieces.  The leaves were fused into place wherever they fell as I cut them out, and the moon was created from a piece of fabric that I had painted and considered a mistake.  Talk about embracing imperfection . . .

I've heard it said that, when you're creating a work of fiber art, the piece will talk to you and tell you what it needs, and I experienced this phenomenon as I completed the design.  Although the idea was percolating in my mind long before I started it, many of the elements asked to be included along the way.  As I worked on it, the beautiful song, "Aspenglow," by John Denver, kept returning to my thoughts.  And so the scene became reminiscent of autumn nights unfolding into winter, and the piece earned its title.

May we all continue to enjoy the end of winter nights and the promise of warm spring days.