"Lessons From Stripes"

"Random bits and pieces, accidental arrangements, and formal layouts: why do these fascinate me? I think it's because to me they suggest a way that we make sense of the world. We string together bits of experience and information and arrange them in ways that create meaning we can live with." Jane Davies 

I'm a fan of artist Jane Davies. She loves to play with paint and paper...and her loose and whimsical line work always draws me in. Jane is generous about sharing skills and techniques and I always learn something when I watch her lessons on color theory...paint...and collage. https://linktr.ee/janedaviesart

Jane's collage hearts were part of the inspiration for my "Art Heart" series I did this past winter.  

Next time I play with hearts....I hope to lean in a little more to Jane's whimsical wonkiness! I have to work at wonky.

It's no secret that I'm also a big fan of stripes and dots in all forms....they show up in my home...my clothes...and my art over and over. So I was drawn to Jane's simple stripe series she did in 2020. She's immersed herself in stripes at the time....and they were often a mixture of paint right on the canvas and painted papers that were added as collage. I've always wanted to try this style with fabric.

Jane wrote a blog post that I've read several times called "Lessons From Stripes"....that now has become my starting off point for a striped art piece with hand dyed fabric. If it goes well...it might actually hang in my living room.

It sounds so easy....just a bunch of stripes.....but I have to get the color...scale...and value right or it just won't be pleasing to the eye.

Here are some of Jane's lessons from stripes that I am going lean on as I work through my project.

1.  Value is as important as color...maybe be more so. It's the lighter colors that give a piece a sense of space and presence. 

2.  Color is relative....and what you put something next to can change it dramatically.

3.  Very little of the dark...bright and pure colors go a long way. Use them sparingly.

4.  Use various degrees of contrast....in both color and value.

This piece called Sunshine Stripes appears bright....but Jane points out how much of it is actually muted and neutral.

Here is a collection of her stripe work that I will draw on for inspiration:

https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/jane-davies/collections/stripes

"The stripes, by their nature set up rhythms based on spacing of the colors, and the improvisational aspect of them is like visual jazz." Jane Davies

Here are a few other of Jane's arrangements and schemes that caught my eye. 

I can see that the neutrals...and browns are what really make this piece work....the color is very subtle.

For the past week or so I've been auditioning and prepping fabrics with fusible webbing....I want to have a lot of choices when it comes to arranging the stripes. I won't use all the colors on my piece...but I want plenty of options. 

I'm using hand dyed Cherrywood Fabrics that I collected over the years....and much of the variety came from scrap bags I purchased that were odds and ends and/or seconds making them more affordable. Hand dyed Cherrywood Fabrics have fabulous texture and they fuse beautifully.

I have more of everything...these are just manageable chunky strips to play with. I'm wanting to make sure I have plenty of muted colors.....plenty of lights....and a few pops of brights and darks so I can apply Jane's "lessons from stripes." 

I'm going to take my time....I need to mull over every single stage.

So I took the fabrics outside with me this afternoon while I worked on a few projects and enjoyed the backyard.