Connie's Bafa Circle Challenge Work

The Bafa Circle Challenge was sort of the art quilt group's version of a "round robin".  I created a painted block on commercial fabric (fig. 1) and passed it off to Melissa Tweedel, who added two sides to it and a pieced circular wave (fig. 2).  When I received it back to finish it, I decided to cut it up into circles/ovals and half-moon shapes then tried solving the visual problems presented, visually (fig. 3).  I rejected the painted background immediately, concluding that it did not have enough contrast nor did it speak to the central idea of washing up onto the shore.  I decided to add a dark and a light not used in the original block and use squares/rectangles to contrast with the circles for greater effect, funneling the elements like an hourglass to allude to the timelessness of water washing ashore.  Coming Ashore was born (fig. 4).  This was a fused work, no piecing involved.

Connie's Block                                           fig. 1

Melissa's Additions                               fig. 2

Connie's rejected background and design      fig. 3

Coming Ashore       21" x 42" 

                                          fig. 4 

Fibervoices Circle Challenge

Fibervoices members decided to do the circle challenge which was in progress with the Bafa group, passing it off twice before finishing.  My block (fig. 1)  was created with two planets and three moons.  The moons were painted misty fuse.  Misty fuse was ultimately ironed off leaving paint pattern behind.  I passed my block to Linda Teddlie Minton (fig. 2) who added more paint and divided and flipped the block, adding two "black hole" strips.  She passed it to Mary Ann Littlejohn who added improvisational strip-sets all around and a half-planet (see fig. 3).  She passed it back to me with the other half of the planet.  I added the red background, the half-planet plus another three-quarter planet, more paint, then tried to balance the odd perspective  (fig. 4).  I also maintained the irregular line of Mary Ann's work (often her signature on pieced work) so that it looks like it is floating.  Lastly, I quilted it.  It turned out to be a fun study in perspective and balance and reminded me of nighttime happenings, planets/stars revolving to day, fireworks over the water at the beach, and late night/early-dark morning bumpings around the studio.

A Moveable Feast II is Susan's challenge work re-worked and quilted by me (she was going to throw it out).  See fig. 5 below.

Connie's Block                                         fig. 1

Linda's Version                                         fig. 2

Mary Ann's Version                          fig. 3

Night Moves       24" x 25"                            fig. 4

A Moveable Feast II  14"x14"      fig. 5

Bafa Meeting July, 2017

The group met and presented various challenge works (fig. 1-4), journal pages (fig. 5-8), and general show and tell which includes retreat work, challenges from other groups, etc. (fig. 9-21).

Nancy B. Dickey       Fish Challenge

                                                   fig. 1

Sew Globe  Beth Mayer     Circle Challenge

                                                                  fig. 2

Night Moves   Connie      FV Circle Challenge

                                                                  Fig 3

Beth Mayer  Baggie Challenge                 fig. 4

Sylvia Weir                                                  fig. 5

Lisa Johnson                                       fig. 6

Dot Collins                                                  fig 7

Connie                                         fig. 8

Dot Collins              Fabric Box                  fig. 9

Dot Collins - Fabric Bird House

     View 1                                fig. 10

View 2                                     fig. 11

View 3                                     fig. 12

View 4                                       fig. 13

Sylvia Weir                                                 fig. 14

Susan Cornell                          fig. 15

Kathy Risinger                          fig. 16

Kathy Improvisational Block 1                  fig. 17

Improv Block 2                                           fig. 18

Kathy  Paint Play                                       fig. 19

Dot Collins                                                  fig. 20

Connie                      fig. 21