Week in Review 2022 – 06/24

Look Back

The sky, or upper portion of the image is made up of jagged, scraps of red fabric. The base and much of the right side of the image is covered with tightly packed yellow buildings with blue windows and doors.
Image #1
This will be my blueprint or guide for piecing together Bat Sh*t Crazy.

It is time to look back. I am at the half way point, a partial finish, in the making of Bat Sh*t Crazy. The impetus for the piece was Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. How could I depict the horror I felt and what I imagined people of Ukraine must feel as their peaceful world was turned upside down. I’m not sure what audiobook I was listening to at the time, but I heard the phrase bat sh*t crazy and my journey began. I could visualize Putin as this ominous, evil presence flying over an innocent Kyiv.

Look Over

A simple village, set on a hillside with side by side yellow townhouses, sporting blue windows and doors fills lower and most of the right section. There is red sky above.
Image #2
The Bat Sh*t Crazy top is complete!

If you compare the blueprint imagine I created in EQ8, image #1, with image #2, the finished pieced quilt top, you can see how helpful it is to have a piecing diagram, but also how I adapt, adjust and intuitively work as I progress. A design wall is very helpful. It allows me to check scale and value as the piece comes together.

A closeup of the bat, whose wings have been thread painted in shades of grays and body in mustard colors. It has fangs and a Russian white Z is placed on each wing.
Image #3
A closeup of the zany bat. I added some evil vampire fangs.

Looking good. There is sufficient contrast between the city on the hill, represented by the colors of the Ukrainian flag, a typical architectural style of Kyiv and the unsettling red sky. Time to move on and create Mr. Evil – the bat. I opted to thread paint the bat so I could get the fussy detail I was looking for. Check out the vampire fangs and the symbolic Russian Z’s on the wings. Creepy! But would it stand out against the blood red sky?

Overlook

A simple village, set on a hillside with side by side yellow townhouses, sporting blue windows and doors fills lower and most of the right section. There is red sky above. Flying over the city in the upper left is a bat with Russian Z's on its wings.
I finished the insane bat this week. It is currently pinned in position. Note the freeform Z’s painted on its wings.

Time to step back and take on the full view. It works. I thought it would. Still, it is reassuring to reach an overlook, a time to take in the view and be delightfully surprised. The contrast is visible from 40 feet back.

Look Forward

Now it is time to look forward. How in the world will I quilt this? Suggestions are welcome.

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By Gwyned Trefethen

I am an artist who uses fabric, thread and miscellany to create designs gifted to me by my imagination.