Ursula Kern fabric collage

Ursula's quilt, photographed informally on the floor.

On April 9, I had the privilege of taking a workshop with Ursula Kern. This was really two workshops for the price of one: a lesson on paper piecing (see previous blog post) and, in a sort of bonus lesson, an introduction to her quilt design methodology. Indeed, Ursula teaches a stand-alone workshop on her design technique. This spring she'll be leading this class at the Empty Spools Seminars in Asilomar, California, http://www.emptyspoolsseminars.com

Ursula, right, holding the small fabric collage on which the finished quilt,
held by stalwart class assistant Ellen, is based.

Ursula travels with a bag of small fabric scraps, which I would call snippets, so she can design on the go. She also designs quilts using watercolor or gouache (opaque watercolor), creating a maquette (model) which is her layout and color guide for the quilt.

Ursula's travel bag of scraps.
A color palette strip in the foreground.

On the left, fabric scraps are glued onto sturdy paper,
forming a maquette.

Transparent grid overlay, with axes labelled,
aids in enlargement and individual block design.
Sewn block on right is based on block C2.

Once Ursula has a fabric collage to her liking, she uses a permanent marker on a transparent sheet to draw a grid. She can then stitch up each block - the fabric block in the above image, for example, is based on block C2 of the grid. This structured method also helps her keep track of her progress regardless of interruptions in her work schedule. Heavy duty sheet protectors, available at Staples office supply, would work well too, and protect the collages.

Of course, since the fabric collage is comparatively small, and perhaps has two or three fabric snippets, many design decisions remain in the creation of the larger block, which might have as many as twenty fabrics. Ursula describes her studio as messy, with a superabundance of fabric, but her process is very orderly and logical.

Floor layout of fabric collage, grid, individual block,
and partial view of finished quilt.

Another maquette, in watercolor, with grid.
Diagonals assist ensuring each block
will adhere to the radial direction in this design.


Windows cut to limit view to single block.

Another one of Ursula's tools is the masking window. This is just heavy stock with holes cut out to allow focus on an individual block, without the distraction of its neighbors.

Fabric collage model, or maquette, about 10 inches square.

Finished quilt (from postcard.)

Watercolor model.

Quilt (from postcard image.)


Happy workshop attendee making a fabric collage.

Another wonderful fabric collage in progress.

As I was intent on working on my paper pieced fish while I still had access to a teacher in case of questions, I didn't have time to start a collage. Fortunately, some of my classmates dove in to this exercise, and kindly allowed me to photograph their work in progress to share in my blog.

Some of Ursula's fabric collages.

Finally, I think Ursula's collages are works of art in and of themselves, and I hope she will someday have a retrospective of her work which includes these small gems.

Ursula Kern paper piecing workshop

My paper-pieced fish, with sequin and bead eye.

On April 9, I enjoyed a workshop with textile artist Ursula Kern as part of the programming of my quilt guild. Ursula, a professor emerita of textile design from Basel, Switzerland, is an excellent teacher. Visit her website, http://www.ursulakern.ch/kern_pages/frameset.html, for images of her work.

The focus of the workshop was Ursula's paper piecing technique, a variant of the classic English paper piecing traditionally used for Grandmother's Flower Garden blocks.

Ursula, on the right, with class assistant Ellen.

Using Ursula's handout as a guide, we began by sketching simple flower or fish shapes, and then subdividing these images into simple irregular polygons. Polygons, you may remember, are simply shapes with three or more straight sides and angles. (Circles are not polygons.) One rule for our polygons: no re-entrant angles.

In an irregular polygon, an interior angle that is greater than 180° and whose apex faces into the polygon is a re-entrant angle. Another way of saying this is that all the polygons must be convex polygons, never concave polygons. (I always liked geometry - can you tell?) Shapes like the one in the image below aren't allowed because you'd end up with no seam allowance at corner B, and thus a hole in the patchwork. Okay, enough math.

Angle CBA, indicated by the red arc, is the forbidden re-entrant angle.

Ursula Kern, sketching from nature photographs.

To watch the process an artist uses to translate a nature photograph into an abstract shape, while retaining the naturalistic characteristics of the animal or plant, was the most important aspect of the workshop for me. Too often, in their desire for realism, quilters end up with something that is, in the words of Jane Sassaman, "tragically literal," and more of a cartoon than a meaningful interpretation.

Ursula's abstraction of a narcissus.

An orchid, made into polygons.


A butterfly.

A fish - translated into polygons, with stripes modified for pragmatic piecing.

I decided to attempt a fish, inspired by a photo of an undersea animal quilt by Ursula. I began sketching from a fish photograph in an old Monterey Bay Aquarium newsletter and Ursula came over to help. She showed me how she selects the salient features of the fish - gills, fins, tail - then blocks out the elements of the fish using sketch bubbles. Next, she translates the contours of the bubbles into straight lines. Once the fish shape has been sub-divided into polygons, she extends lines out from the outer points to form the background shapes.

My inspiration.

Ursula's sketch - the light sketch outlines are darkened into polygons.

I simplified Ursula's sketch a bit, just to ensure that I would actually finish my fish in a timely manner. If I make another fish, I will probably return to Ursula's original design, which gave more detail to the gills, and included a lateral fin.

Sticking pins through the design and layer of card stock beneath.

The next step is to transfer the polygon-ified design to a piece of stiff paper such as card stock. Ursula uses a low-tech technique - she simply places the polygon design over the card stock and sticks a straight pin through both layers at each corner, or vertex. Then, using a ruler or clear plastic drafting triangle, she literally connects the (pin-prick) dots on the card stock, redrawing the polygons. Basic, but effective.

Another transfer option might be to put the card stock through the single-sheet feed of a copier.

Marked card stock pieces are cut apart.

After the shapes are transferred to the card stock, each piece is enumerated and given a directional arrow too. If you've ever worked on a paper collage and had a gust of wind blow zillions of pieces everywhere, you'll understand why it's a good idea to mark every piece. Moreover, to avoid reversing the design, pieces are also marked on the back, using a different color marker or some other form of differentiation from the front.

Fish shapes, all cut and ready to cover with fabric.

Next, all the pieces are cut, then covered in the chosen fabric. Seam allowance is at least one quarter inch, but doesn't have to be exact. Basting stitches go through paper and fabric, securing the corners. While it might seem tempting to use template plastic for the pieces, it would be difficult to stitch through the plastic. Card stock, or other similar weight paper, has enough stiffness to hold its shape but is still easily sewn.

Piece #5 covered in fabric.
Basted through fabric and paper, catching corners.

My basted polygons, in progress.

As is usual in workshops, I really didn't bring the right fabrics, so thanks to Sylvia Einstein for lugging part of her stash, from which I borrowed liberally.

Another artist auditioning fabrics for a leafy background for her flower.
Center of flower is fussy cut.
Petals are covered in orange fabrics.

Once all the pieces are basted, they are sewn together, using small whipstitches right along the edge of the fabric, catching two or three threads, but NOT the paper. It was difficult to photograph this part of the process but more about the paper piecing technique can be found in books on English paper piecing or videos, such as this link on Youtube, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDrTVi0jk6w

Inserting the needle perpendicular to the edges,
I whipstitch two pieces together.
Right sides together, and catching only the fabric.

All sewn together, wrong side view.
Pieces are labelled on the back, as the front labelling is now covered by fabric!

One correction - it's really not necessary to baste the outermost edges of the design; doing so is just a waste of time. Once all the pieces are stitched together the basting thread is cut and pulled out. The paper pieces are removed, carefully, as they can be re-used.

Paper pieces removed - slightly creased, but good for at least one more fish.


Design and outcome.

When I do this again, I will make sure to have plenty of fabric options for the background, which I think came out a bit boring. Overall, not bad, though, for a first effort at paper piecing.

Supplies used:
Sewing needles (I used betweens) and thimble if you use one
Straight pins
Selection of sewing thread to match fabrics
Scissors, both paper and fabric
Pencil and eraser
Card stock or other stiff paper
Ruler, clear drafting triangle if you have one
Nature images from magazines, calendars, etc., for inspiration
Fabrics

What's Red and White but Pure Gold All Over?

Details of quilts.

On March 30, Jay and I drove down to the Park Avenue Armory, in Manhattan, to view "Infinite Variety," a special quilt event coordinated by the American Folk Art Museum. This six-day-only installation featured 651 red-and-white quilts from the collection of Joanna S. Rose. It was worth the drive; indeed Jay compared it to Christo's 2005 "The Gates" project as a spectacle not to be missed. This was even better, though, as the quilts were comfortably indoors, and, instead of endlessly repeated orange banners, each and every quilt was an individual creation. As one online commenter said in a post at the New York Times website, it was like being hugged by 651 women at once, http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/24/finally-mrs-rose-and-the-public-can-see-all-her-rugs/

Park Avenue Armory.

Exhibit banner outside the Armory.

Thinc [sic] Design, which master-minded the installation, deserves kudos for the dynamic way in which the quilts inhabit the cavernous Armory drill hall. A unique free-span space, the hall is reminiscent of a state fairgrounds barn, but right in Manhattan. Learn more about the Armory's history, and current programming, at http://www.armoryonpark.org/index.php/

The quilts were hung in circular groups called pavilions, which enclosed the viewers, creating an immersive experience.

The central pavilion featured a spiral of quilts.

Another view of pavilions.

Check out the quilt with woman at spinning wheel.
Shades of Wallace Nutting.

Tubes are suspended using cable and cable stays.

Quilts are hung using paper tubes and paper clamps.


Quilts hung using cables.

Viewers of all ages documented their experience.

Visitors silhouetted in front of quilts.

Their strong graphic quality allows quilts to be "read" even from a distance,
allowing a vertical presentation.


Quilts rising up.

By limiting herself to red-and-white quilts for this exhibit, Mrs. Rose created a group show whose impact is greater than the sum of its parts. By holding color constant, the variability of pattern became that much more powerful.

Many traditional quilt patterns are represented - Drunkard's Path, Burgoyne Surrounded, Schoolhouse, just to name a few - but also quilts of idiosyncratic design and execution. Even the classic pattern quilts display much individuality in borders and bindings. Additionally, the quilting - mostly by hand - shows up beautifully on the solid fabrics.

Detail, hand quilting.

Photographer with red and white patterns on her jacket.

We were at the installation on the last day, which was packed with viewers in every age, shape, size and degree of mobility, with men well-represented, a bit unusual for a quilt show.

Technology assisted with audio descriptions of select quilts accessed by cell phone; viewers could also borrow iPads with special apps. A cafe and the inevitable gift shop made the experience complete. We stayed until the exhibit closed at 5 pm, just savoring the presence of so many quilts and the spirits of their makers.

Op art, before Bridget Riley or Victor Vasarely.