CQ On the Edge: Eroding Margins

Thrilled to find out this morning that my entry ' Eroding Margins'  for CQ 'On  The Edge'  challenge  has been accepted!!
Having been in the 'Salon de Refuses' the last couple of times I've entered ( 'CQ@ 10'   and  'Dislocation') and  after a year of not making anything much, fearing I'd lost my way, it's given me a real boost. It fits in with both my continuing  series of indigo and seascapes  and those using salvaged antique red quilts, being constructed from sections of old quilts I dyed in the garden. 
A decent bottle of red with our lamb chops at lunchtime is called for I think...   

From my statement:

The edges of the coast are eroding, falling into the sea, being washed up in other places.  Disintegrating sea defence structures are patched up, replaced and reinforced, the coastline continually evolving, a delicate balance between intervening and letting nature take its course.   

Sections of two rescued antique coverlets over-dyed with indigo, tacked together and lines of broken quilting repaired, the edges of holes caught down and darned. Through the process of stitching I attempt to reach an equilibrium of mending with leaving the fragility and beauty of worn textiles to speak for themselves.

The Shape of Challenges

 With  the long awaited arrival of the latest CQ newsletter ( great job by Margaret)  the challenges for  2015 Journal Quilts and Foq were revealed. This will be my 13th  year of making JQ's - I had already been making them for a few years before  Contemporary Quilt started doing it.
The  rules this year are that they be 6" x 12"  and you choose portrait or landscape format and stick to it.  That will be the hard part for me!

When this size was last set in 2009, I didn't like it very much , especially after I'd so enjoyed the 12" square challenge  the year before. While  I did produce some nice pieces ( the  best  I've shown here) some were quite dreadful ( I'll spare you those!)

Now having made several 40 x 80cm portrait quilts  for International Threads, I've learnt to enjoy this format  and the new  CQ challenge 'Elements'  is  nearly the same at  45 x 80cm. So there is some advantage to using   portrait format JQ's as trial pieces and experiments( and probably more doors!) 
However,  making little books using the Fabriano Mediavalis cards  as the basis ,  I like the idea of a landscape  series ( even bought a panoramic sketchbook to take up to Rydal Hall retreat, in 5 weeks time ,inspired by the purchase of  Norman Ackroyd's  Shetland Notebook). Seascapes would probably feature again too.

So which format to go for? 

 UPDATE - thanks for all the comments, I decided in the end to go for Landscape.


 

John Virtue Seascapes and Prism textiles

 Taking a days flexi leave ( being nearly 12 hours in hand )  I treated myself to an afternoon of galleries in central London as a reward for cleaning my studio in preparation for friend Maggie coming to stay ( making sure there were no pins on the floor).
I was absorbed by the monochrome seascapes of John Virtue at the Malborough Fine Art Gallery . The  huge canvases gave a  sense of being within the landscape, particularly when you could see several at once and I liked the subtle brush marks in what looked initially like a flat black area.  But  I preferred the smaller works on paper ( still about 1m wide), the variety of marks  more dynamic. Much as I love colour, there's something about the rigour of a limited monochrome palatte that appeals.

Earlier I'd been to see the latest exhibition by Prism at the Mall Galleries . I applied to join a few years ago but wasn't accepted  - probably just as well given the limited time I can devote to textiles at the moment. I  enjoy seeing the variety of work produced by this group - Amanda Hislop, Liz Harding, Alice Fox and Consuela Simpson  were my favourites , mainly I think as they all base their work on marks from the landscape.
Meanwhile, I'm thinking about a potential piece for latest CQ challenge 'Dislocation' using  both the front and back of a very tatty log cabin quilt. There's a bit too much of the red at the moment - I like the flecks of colour that show through the holes in the backing but not sure about the solid red areas ( although I can always paint them .... )

 

Saddened to hear of the death of Robert Genn  - I've subscribed to his twice weekly letters 'Painters Keys' for several years, his  insights into artists practice have given me a lot of pleasure and food for thought. It's good to hear his daughter is continuing with them.

Rejected!

Hardly the best birthday present - I've just heard my entry for CQ@10  'Indigo Mine' has been rejected. While stressing that mainly dictated by the wall space available  and not a reflection of the quality of the work,  I was not comfortable having to  work from someone elses image and that is probably reflected in  this piece. 

Maybe I was too honest in my artists statement about the struggle I had, maybe the sample (above) wasn't up to scratch. Maybe it was too blue!
I hope for better success with my other indigo pieces.

UPDATE - there were only 23 selected from 61 entries so I don't feel so bad now to be part of the majority not accepted. I  had just enough notice to fill in an entry form for Small Wall Hanging Category at Sandown  quilt show in June so at least it will be seen somewhere!