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Lava quilt - part one


A few weeks ago, I showed you some digital line experiments that I was doing.  Well, here is the inspiration behind those experiments!  We visited Hawai'i in February (no, I haven't shared the photos yet...you didn't miss it, although I did tell you about Kimura Fabrics!) and I got obsessed with lava while we were there.  Actually, I think I was obsessed with it before we even went, but my obsession strengthened and spread.

There are two types of lava: pahoehoe (pa-hoy-hoy) and a'a (ah ah).  Pahoehoe is the flowy type and a'a is broken up and granular.  I took lots of shots of lava textures while I was there (getting some strange looks from people as you can imagine), and I chose 4 close ups of pahoehoe to use as the centerpieces for a new quilt.  My plan was to use some of the fabrics from Kimura for the background.

I've often said here that even my "best" plans don't usually go according to.  So I thought I'd prove it to you by sharing most of my missteps as I show you how this quilt was constructed.



The first step in creating this quilt was to turn photos like the one at the top of the post into cotton fabric sheet printouts like these.  Here is the method that I used:

Lava texture on cotton fabric sheets

1. Size to 5 1/4 x 8 1/4 at 300 dpi.  Two can fit on each sheet.
2. Filter > Stylize > Find edges
3. Desaturate
4. Invert
5. Levels adjustment layer - blow it out.
6. Flatten image, redo levels if needed.
7. Print out

The printouts turned out exactly as I had envisioned them, but then the trouble started.  No matter how I arranged them, I just couldn't get excited about the way they looked with the fabrics that I planned to use:





So I painted the printouts to pick up some of the colors that I wanted to emphasize.  Disaster!  I hated the way they turned out.  If I had been inspired by tigers, maybe...



And of course, I painted all FOUR of them!  Stupid, stupid, stupid.  Two cotton inkjet sheets wasted (well, set aside for possibly something in the future that has to do with tigers...).


Next week, things begin to go better, but still not perfect!   

Part one
Part two
Part three

Copyright 2012 Cyndi Lavin. All rights reserved. Not to be reprinted, resold, or redistributed for profit. May be printed out for personal use or distributed electronically provided that entire file, including this notice, remains intact.

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Comments

I'm sorry, Cyndi. I too hate to ruin good (pricey) art supplies. I really like the idea of a lava patterned quilt. Can't wait to see what yu come up with.