Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Net Play

"Net Play" is my creation for "Games". After spending most of our two month creation time making numerous sketches along the theme of games I settled on my favorite game and sketch. I wanted to try a new technique, new to me, so I used Terri Stegmiller's mosaic technique for my background. (You can see one of Terri's pieces that inspired me over at my blog.)
 I did some measuring and transferred the marks to my background for net placement.
With the background completed it was time to see if those sketches transferred well to fabric. I tried some of my original placements for the balls and spent a LOT of time trying to come up with the right fabrics for the balls, even considered using some wallpaper samples as the colors were right.
After days of playing with fabrics, paper, placements and photos of each one, my husband asked what it was I wanted to convey with this piece. I wanted the viewer to enjoy the visual design of the piece and if they considered the title and the elements of the piece they would see it was about tennis. He suggested I include some court lines but literal placement only added busyness so I decided to use another technique I had been wanting to use. I used three layers of tulle to create a translucent court outline and put it in the area that needed another element of design.
I was happy with the added court but the balls weren't working well. I wanted to create depth and a single path. My two sets of balls created confusion for me. Finally when looking at the photos I'd taken of numerous option, the winner jumped out at me. I had thought I would add quilting or stitching lines to represent the tennis balls but decided against that as I like the idea of balls or bubbles as well as tennis balls moving across the piece. I didn't want literal.
Thanks team for a fun and enjoyable two months with our first challenge. I'm looking forward to our next!

11 comments:

  1. Two tennis themes!! How fun!! You have inspired me to try Terri's mosaic technique. You achieved just the right balance between the simple and the complex.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Though the quilt is made of fabric only, I still have the real Gina feel of clay and fiber! So beautiful!
    It looks like we have a common love for tennis!
    I hope to explore the mosaique technique, it looks fabulous and so does your quilting!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Really interesting to hear how you worked through the design processespecially your non-literal use of the court lines, and the simplification of the ball paths. Love how this turned out.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think you made the right choice, but you know, I liked all of the designs. The background is a piece of art in itself. I love the fabrics you used. The orange and yellow against the background is just the right counterpoint. Gorgreous!

    ReplyDelete
  5. This is very striking! So much energy and movement and it captures the speed of a ball coming over the net very well! I really like the element of the court added with tulle, also.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Gina, this is ingenous! I love how you show the depth through the fabric choices!

    ReplyDelete
  7. another awe inspiring submission! I love the background and the contrast of the balls. The addition of the court is perfect. Well done!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I like the technique you used for your background and your use of quilting lines to accentuate the various components. The piece just sings movement! Makes me feel like I should get my backhand ready.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I love the sense of movement the balls have, and your background is incredible- doesn't grab center stage, but draws me in for a closer look. Beautifully done!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Gina this is wonderful...I love the movement and feel like I am a spectator at the compettion. Wonderful job to be able to put the observer right there..congratulations!

    ReplyDelete