QUILT! POINT, CLICK, Turn Your Photos into Fabulous Fabric Art 16 Projects • Fusible Appliqué, Thread Sketching & More Susan Brubaker Knapp Text and Photography copyright © 2011 by Susan Brubaker Knapp Photography and Artwork copyright © 2011 by C&T Publishing, Inc. Publisher: Amy Marson Creative Director: Gailen Runge Acquisitions Editor: Susanne Woods Editor: Liz Aneloski Technical Editor: Nanette S. Zeller Copyeditor/Proofreader: Wordfirm Inc. Cover Designer: Kristen Yenche Book Designer: Christina D. Jarumay Production Coordinator: Zinnia Heinzmann Production Editor: Julia Cianci Illustrator: Tim Manibusan Quilt Photography by Christina Carty-Francis and Diane Pedersen of C&T Publishing, Inc., and how-to and inspirational photography by Susan Brubaker Knapp, unless otherwise noted Published by C&T Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 1456, Lafayette, CA 94549 All rights reserved. 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If a correction is not already noted, please contact our customer service department at [email protected] or at P.O. Box 1456, Lafayette, CA 94549. Trademark (™) and registered trademark (®) names are used throughout this book. Rather than use the symbols with every occurrence of a trademark or registered trademark name, we are using the names only in the editorial fashion and to the benefit of the owner, with no intention of infringement. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Knapp, Susan Brubaker. Point, click, quilt! : turn your photos into fabulous fabric art 16 projects : fusible appliqué, thread sketching & more / Susan Brubaker Knapp. p. cm. ISBN 978-1-60705-226-5 (softcover) 1. Quilting--Patterns. 2. Transfer-printing. 3. Drawing from photo- graphs. I. Title. TT835.K563 2011 746.46--dc22 2010046183 Printed in China 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 DEDICATION To my daughters, Lea and Julia, who are always teaching me how to see—and to my mother, Eleanor Carter Brubaker (1936–2011) ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Many thanks to… my supportive husband, Rob, the entire creative team at C&T Publishing, and my friends in the Pandoras, Fiber Art Options, and Lake Norman Quilters. 37 40 43 46 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION. . .6 ON A MISSION: PHOTOGRAPHY EXERCISES CREATIVITY AND TO BUILD YOUR SKILLS. . .17 LEARNING TO SEE. . .7 MISSION NO. 1: Shoot for line, color, shape/form, light/shadow, How to Shoot Great Photos That Will Make Great Quilts. . .8 reflection, texture/pattern, or angle. . .17 Design and Composition Basics. . .12 MISSION NO. 2: Shoot a mundane location. . .20 From Photo to Quilt. . .15 Developing an Image Bank. . .16 MISSION NO. 3: Pick ten subjects and shoot each one Copyright Issues. . .16 using a long shot, a medium shot, and a close-up. . .22 MISSION NO. 4: Pick a subject and shoot as many examples of it as you can, aiming for diversity in a similarly composed shot. . .25 MISSION NO. 5: Shoot in black and white. . .27 63 67 73 78 49 52 55 59 CONTENTS GETTING STARTED. . .29 FROM REALISM TO ABSTRACTION. . .82 Supplies. . .29 What Is Abstraction?. . .82 Basic Instructions. . .31 Ways to Achieve Abstraction. . .82 REALISTIC PROJECTS. . .37 ABSTRACTION PROJECTS. . .86 Agave Grande. . .37 Blue Feathers. . .86 Indian Corn. . .40 Cylindrical. . .90 Rusty Chevys. . .43 Buttons. . .93 Papillon. . .46 Detritus. . .96 Exotic Beauties. . .49 FINISHING UP. . .99 Pink Coneflowers. . .52 Thread Sketching. . .99 Parrot Peek-a-Boo. . .55 Quilting. . .101 Green Barn. . .59 African Beads. . .63 GALLERY. . .102 Gourds. . .67 ABOUT THE AUTHOR. . .111 Snow Shadows. . .73 Spiderweb. . .78 SUPPLIES AND RESOURCES. . .111 86 90 93 96 INTRODUCTION While I have always enjoyed taking photos, it took through your work. And the shots you take will provide me a while to realize how much photography you with a deep well of ideas and images you can use. could be a part of my artistic process. Like much of The first chapters of this book include concrete infor- what I do now for a living, I have never studied it in a mation about how to take better photos, based on the classroom. My brother and parents shared a darkroom elements of art and basic design principles. They include space in our back basement when I was a teenager, but specific suggestions and tips and a series of “missions” I completely ignored it. My first real desire to take better you can do on your own or with friends that will start photos began about a decade ago when I had my first you down the path of learning to see with an artist’s eye. child and wanted to take shots to capture the wonder of You don’t need a lot of materials or equipment, just an those first amazing days. inexpensive digital camera and the desire to try looking Several years ago, I started taking photographs in a at the world in a different way. more deliberate way. I began thinking about photog- This book does not include projects that deal with the raphy almost as a form of meditation or deep study human face or form, which are the subject of other of what was. When you take photography seriously, it excellent books specifically on the subject. The projects forces you to be in the moment, and an hour or two here, based on my photos, are a great way to learn new spent shooting in a garden, on a city street, or on a techniques. Some are realistic subjects, some explore mountain hike can leave you serene and perfectly the process of abstraction, and some use materials that centered, and at the same time bursting with creative may be new to you. Try a few of my projects and then energy. go out and take photos for projects you can make com- Perhaps you already enjoy taking photos, or have at pletely your own. least taken snapshots of vacations or special occasions. If so, this book is a guide to thinking about photography in a different way, as a way of truly learning to see and appreciate what is around you and to record it in a meaningful way. The kinds of subjects you find most interesting will teach you much about what you enjoy, what attracts you, and what you want to communicate 6 POINT, CLICK, QUILT! TURN YOUR PHOTOS INTO FABULOUS FABRIC ART CREATIvITY AND LEARNING TO SEE Creativity involves not only imagining great new things, but acting on that imagining. It is a process of considering new possibili- ties, combinations, connections, or alternatives and then using those ideas to solve a problem or to communicate an idea or value. For the visual artist, creativity begins Here’s an example. You are walking Now, ask yourself, “What if…?” and with what I call “learning to see.” down a sidewalk in your neighbor- “Could I…?” What if I created a The difference between looking hood, past a neighbor’s hydrangea piece in just ten shades of green? and seeing is akin to the difference bush in bloom. “That’s pretty,” you What if I created a flower three- between existing and living. Looking think, and keep walking. dimensionally, using tiny tufts of is passive, but when you see, you organza? Could I drop color out of You have just looked at the form an intimate connection with the equation entirely and concen- hydrangea, but you have not really what you are viewing. trate on the line and shape of the seen it. Go back. Notice the way the leaves instead? Could I focus on the recent rain has left raindrops on the water drops, and what is reflected petals that reflect sparkles of blue in them? sky; the way the new growth is a marvelous chartreuse green next to The mere act of slowing down, the duller green older growth; the of taking the time to see the perfect symmetry of the leaves; the hydrangea, may make you more vein structure and the tightly curled creative, because your brain has buds with tiny sections, waiting to more time to form connections and open; the first blush of lavender blue consider possibilities. Photography, on the pale green-white flowers; the act of composing and taking the marvelous serrated edge of the your shots, slows you down even leaves lined in a lighter green. more, giving you even more time to ponder those important “What if” How has this experience of seeing and “Could I” questions. made you more creative? You have opened your eyes—and perhaps And in taking the time to do this your mind and soul—to the amazing activity, you have declared that it things around you. You have is important to you, worthy of your perceived structure and line, color attention. That alone will make you and texture. more creative. CREATIvITY AND LEARNING TO SEE 7 How to Shoot 3. Change position so you have 5. Watch for unpredictable details. something interesting in the fore- Small, unexpected things are what Great Photos ground. It can be a person, a tree set great photos apart from average That Will Make branch, or a flower. This adds to the ones. They sometimes include perspective of the shot, creates a subtle meanings or symbolism that Great Quilts sense of depth, and often makes for can make a piece of art based on a livelier photo. them more powerful. Here are some of the guiding prin- ciples that good photographers know, whether they’ve learned them intuitively or been taught them in a classroom. Start putting them to work, and you’ll soon be shooting more dynamic photos. 1. Shoot vertically as well as hori- zontally. It is natural for people to Belly down in the sand, I took this photo, shoot horizontally, since that is the which speaks to the perfect vastness of the beach, with its billions of grains of sand. way we see the world, through It would be unremarkable without the two eyes arrayed horizontally, our weathered shell in the foreground. peripheral vision filling in on the 4. far left and right. But some subjects Look at things from all angles. beg to be shot in a vertical format. Don’t just shoot head on. Shoot very The newly repaired spokes in the oxcart, not Just turn your camera and try low and very high. Think about the yet painted, speak to the craftsmanship and care of the cart owner, and of a time before shooting your subject both ways. way a crawling baby might perceive our current throwaway culture. 2. things versus a giraffe or a construc- Be patient. Don’t be afraid to tion worker on a scaffold up 40 arrange your subjects or wait for stories. Shoot straight down from them to get into just the right posi- the tops (or high windows) of tall tion. You may also have to wait for buildings. Shoot up while lying flat the light to be correct. If the subject on your back in the forest. is interesting but the light is wrong, come back at a different time of day, or even a different season. A high vantage point from a skyscraper looking down into a park gives an unusual The tiny birds perched in the spiny ocotillo perspective and throws a landscape into a offer a perfect natural counterpoint to This sheep pasture, normally a pleasant fractured set of planes and textures. the man-made bells and cross of the meadow, looks foreboding with the bare trees mission tower. of autumn and an approaching storm. 8 POINT, CLICK, QUILT! TURN YOUR PHOTOS INTO FABULOUS FABRIC ART 6. 7. Use lines to move the eye Salvage what you can. You don’t across the composition. Remember always have time to compose the that the characteristics and rota- perfect shot. Remember that a sec- tion of the line can change the tone tion of your photo may be perfect of the photo and how dynamic it for what you need, even if the whole seems. isn’t. You can also delete or add ele- ments from different photos. Crop 2 Horizontal lines like those in these ocean waves are static, calm, and predictable. Original photo Vertical lines imply action. Diagonal lines give a feeling of movement. Curving diagonals add grace and elegance. Crop 1 Crop 3 When shooting this photo of tree roots along the edge of a swamp river (see original photo), I was in a boat that was quickly carrying me away from the subject. I didn’t panic. I knew I could crop this into a great shot later. Here are three possibilities cropped from the same shot. CREATIvITY AND LEARNING TO SEE 9