Windows I

Using digital imagery along with surface design is my favorite way of working. The piece I'm presently working on uses pictures I took of a very old and interesting building; the windows were my favorite - lots of great rocks with plenty of color and texture, chipped paint on the trim, glass covered with grime and haze and even something lurking behind one of the panes. Could I ask for more!
I liked this detail of the wood with peeling paint.

I especially loved the rocks along the lower ledge of the window. I cropped the picture of the whole window (1st photo) in photoshop to use and emphasize the parts I found most interesting. I also like to make the parts different sizes so they are not all proportionate to each other, such as in the next picture.

Sometimes I'll cut them up (after printing on fabric) and make into a pieced block so just a "suggestion" of the image shows.  Sometimes I'll place them in a direction your eye doesn't expect.

The next rocks can be used as strips in various areas throughout the quilt.

I love the next photo and used it often. The lightness of the image was a good balance for the rest of the darker colors.

Creating small strips from the larger photo gives you lots of options and fillers.

Next thing was to pick images I thought had good texture and lines and make them into silkscreens. I was able to do that easily in Photoshop by clicking on Filter, then Sketch and then Photocopy. In that manipulation you can play with the amount of detail and darkness or lightness of lines. It should have enough lines to make into a good screen. I printed them off and brought them to Staples to make a lazer copy which is needed to burn a screen with a Thermofax. They all look good on paper but not always effective as a screen. It's really trial and error. Below is one of the screens.

And this one which seems to have a little more texture to it.

and this next one - probably overkill but you can get carried away when you have access to a Thermofax and it takes seconds to burn a screen.

I have most of the imagery I think I want to use, so next will be making fabric and printing images.  To be continued.