Abstract Art for Quilters!

Anybody taking a look at the current   Quilt National exhibition will see that abstract art works very well indeed in a quilt format. And, while I love representational  quilts and have made many representational ones myself, or at least impressionistic, I do think that the medium is superb when it comes to abstract work.

I love abstract painting! I recently went to several shows in New York including the Whitney biennial and saw some wonderful work.
Any of these ideas could be "stolen" and developed! (I'm not talking about copying here  - that is not a very good idea  for very many reasons; I'm talking more about being inspired by a certain way that painter's structures work or a particular colour scheme, or a way that they have arranged particular shapes and so on)  Don't worry about "stealing" like this. As the piano teacher said to the student who was afraid to listen to Rubenstein playing Chopin because she didn't want to sound too much like Rubenstein, there is no fear of that! There is no fear that any of  us quilt makers will ever end up hanging on wall next to Rauschenberg or Diebenkorn or Clyfford Still or next to any of the great female abstract painters: af Klimt, Joan Mitchell, Bridget Riley, Elaine deKooning, Helen Frankenthaler, Lee Krasner, Alma Thomas.... just to name a few.

What??! You tell me you don't know anything about these painters! Well, now is your chance!
I have written two courses each of five lessons for Academy of quilting on abstract art: abstract art for quilt makers and more abstract art for quilt makers. The first course, abstract art for quiltmakers, deals only with women abstract painters  - and there are a lot of them  - and they are quite wonderful...... In my course I tell you little bit about each painter and at the same time I have developed a number of different exercises that will help you learn how to create abstract designs.   This course starts this Friday and if you're interested just go to the Academy of quilting website.

Meanwhile here are some goodies that I saw in New York a couple of weeks ago:  

 I think that all of Georgia O'Keefe's works can be viewed as being abstract.....she abstracts to the nth degree!!she takes the essence of the city or land scape...or the flower....and plays with the shapes and colors and their interactions to make a truly beautiful composition that also indicates such a sense of place.  I had not seen this particular city scape before....
this is from a fascinating exhibit in the Brooklyn museum of many paintings but also the clothes she made herself - all in black and/or white...incredibly fine and neat pin tucking and little architectural details:

she wasn't the only one to paint city scapes of course...here is an almost abstract by Ault:

Lee Krasner.....imagine this in a fine wool...or silk!!

 Picasso and a real sense of fun.....and gosh it would be so easy to cut up lots of little scraps and create images.....

 One of the Biennal "new" artists....acutally a collaberation called Kaya....more below.  These were free hanging, different painting on the back....and they were so rich....
but also...wouldn't that wrought iron make a super quilt hanging?   Away with stodgy old rods and sleeves!!!

 I hadn't heard of Jo Baer before, but I really love the way she extracts landscape elements  and makes wonderfully spacious compositions, rich with tranquillity.

And this last one is Carrie Moyer who often begins with a simple paper collage to work out her ideas.


I hope you're inspired and want to have a go yourselves!!  I know I am.....

And, if you have been, thanks for reading....
also I love your comments...and I'll do my best to respond...thank you!  Elizabeth