No two people approach their quilting projects the same. Here, Road’s 2015 Featured Artist, Sheila Frampton Cooper, shares her creative process:
1) First Things First: Palette and Scale* I usually have a color scheme in mind but many times, I will pull out all of my fabric and just start making color choices as I am building a piece. There’s something about actually looking at a particular piece of fabric and deciding if it’s a good fit. After I decide on the color direction, I then consider the scale of the project. Will I use large pieces or smaller ones?
2) Music* Ever since I was a young child, I have had a very eclectic and discriminating taste in music. It’s fair to say you rarely walk into my studio when there’s nothing playing. Music can change my mood in an instant and it energizes my creative soul; this is one of the reasons music plays such a huge part in my creative process. Some of my favorite artists include: David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix, Grace Jones, Neil Young, theKinks, Elton John, Bootsy Collins, and Parliament Funkadelic.
3) Improvise* I don’t really work in a series. Each quilt is its own thing, so to speak. Often I’m inspired by a piece and I want to recreate that in some way, but it always goes where it wants to go. Improvisation requires thoughtful attention and every move I make takes careful consideration. In some ways, it’s a lot easier to follow a pattern or a predetermined design. Creating without an initial plan gives me the opportunity to make decisions throughout the construction of a piece and for some, that can be daunting. However, I thrive on that and when I run into a challenge, I step back, quiet my mind, and wait. I wait with the knowledge that a solution will dawn on me, and it always does, without fail.
4) Favorite Tip. I use Superior Threads mono poly in my bobbin. I wind the bobbin and use 50% speed. This also saves thread and gives a nice look on the back of the quilt.
How do you approach your creative process?
*Part of this text was adapted from an article that appeared in the May 2014 issue of American Quilter Magazine.
]]>Tags: Featured Artist, Quilting Creative Process, Sheila Frampton Cooper
