Shade Values in Quilt Making

Positioning the “light source” from the upper left corner is a standard convention among map makers. (Odd, because the sun almost never shines from this geographical position.)

Even following this standard, sometimes the eye gets confused, as shown in this map of The Abyss, Grand Canyon National Park. Is it a canyon or is it a ridge?

The Abyss, Grand Canyon National Park

For most people, centuries of art work using the orientation of upper left light, have ingrained the convention of placing shadows in the lower right. Continue reading →

Unrestrained Colors Pack Drama in your Art Quilts

Part 1 of 3 – “mother fabrics”,  and accented analogous color palettes

Say you want to work with magenta, tangerine and lime green fabric. How do you effectively harmonize these colors in a quilt when using commercially printed fabrics?

The standard color wheel with its primary and secondary colors sectors is well known to most of us since school days. It’s one thing to select great color combinations, but the tricky part is how much of which colors will create a balanced and therefore pleasing result?

One way is to select a “mother fabric”, Continue reading →