Aunt Jane’s Quilt
This book started with the stick ink. I “fell in
love” with the red orange stick ink, then had to
find something to do with it. Several years ago I
did a large broadside about making quilts. The text
came from Aunt Jane of Kentucky by Eliza Calvert
Hall. I chose portions of that text to write in this
book. The design took a while. Letting my fingers do
the searching, I visited Pinterest looking for
antique quilts that used orange and came across a
19th c. Mennonite quilt. I did not want to replicate
the quilt, but use elements of it.
Deciding
to use individual blocks as my design elements, I
went searching for ways to create colors similar to
the photo. First I tried replicating the blocks
using watercolor on a piece of scrap Arches 90# HP.
They didn’t look right, so I tried colored pencils,
which also failed. Next I came up with the idea to
create the blocks using paper. |
My calligraphy paper drawer was very limited in colors, so I went to
my card making papers which are archival, had many different colors
and textures that I could use. First I tired cutting 1/8” strips, then
cutting them again and piecing the blocks together. This was
exceedingly difficult and didn’t work. Then I remembered that I had a
1/8” punch and punched many different colors and textures. The punch
didn’t create an exact square, but it was consistent. Using a xacto
blade and my fingernail I was able to make them work. Finally I used a
Pigma pen and a white Prismacolor pencil to create several patterns.
The design elements were glued onto right hand page of a double
spread.
The finished book measures 11” x 4 13/16. Both covers
are French folds for greater strength. I don’t remember what the paper
is as I have had it a very long time, but the color was just perfect.
The pages are done with Arches 90# HP and were cut individually. |
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