Point, Click, Quilt! Turn Your Photos into Fabulous Fabric Art: 16 Projects, Fusible Applique, Thread Sketching & More

116 Pages·2011·32.26 MB·English

by  Susan Knapp

QUILT!
POINT, CLICK,
Turn Your Photos into Fabulous Fabric Art
16 Projects • Fusible Appliqué, Thread Sketching & More
Susan Brubaker Knapp
Text and Photography copyright © 2011 by Susan Brubaker Knapp
Photography and Artwork copyright © 2011 by C&T Publishing, Inc.
Publisher: Amy Marson
Creative Director: Gailen Runge
Acquisitions Editor: Susanne Woods
Editor: Liz Aneloski
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Illustrator: Tim Manibusan
Quilt Photography by Christina Carty-Francis and Diane Pedersen
of C&T Publishing, Inc., and how-to and inspirational photography
by Susan Brubaker Knapp, unless otherwise noted
Published by C&T Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 1456, Lafayette,
CA 94549
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noted in Point, Click, Quilt! Turn Your Photos into Fabulous Fabric
Art. These designs may be used to make items only for personal
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label: Designs copyright © 2011 by Susan Brubaker Knapp from the
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Knapp, Susan Brubaker.
Point, click, quilt! : turn your photos into fabulous fabric art
16 projects : fusible appliqué, thread sketching & more / Susan
Brubaker Knapp.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-1-60705-226-5 (softcover)
1. Quilting--Patterns. 2. Transfer-printing. 3. Drawing from photo-
graphs. I. Title.
TT835.K563 2011
746.46--dc22
2010046183
Printed in China
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
DEDICATION
To my daughters, Lea and Julia,
who are always teaching me
how to see—and to my mother,
Eleanor Carter Brubaker
(1936–2011)
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Many thanks to…
my supportive husband, Rob,
the entire creative team at C&T Publishing,
and my friends in the Pandoras,
Fiber Art Options, and Lake Norman Quilters.
37 40 43 46
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION. . .6 ON A MISSION:

PHOTOGRAPHY EXERCISES
CREATIVITY AND
TO BUILD YOUR SKILLS. . .17
LEARNING TO SEE. . .7
MISSION NO. 1:
Shoot for line, color, shape/form, light/shadow,
How to Shoot Great Photos
That Will Make Great Quilts. . .8 reflection, texture/pattern, or angle. . .17
Design and Composition Basics. . .12 MISSION NO. 2:
Shoot a mundane location. . .20
From Photo to Quilt. . .15
Developing an Image Bank. . .16 MISSION NO. 3:
Pick ten subjects and shoot each one
Copyright Issues. . .16 using a long shot, a medium shot,
and a close-up. . .22
MISSION NO. 4:
Pick a subject and shoot as many
examples of it as you can, aiming for
diversity in a similarly composed shot. . .25
MISSION NO. 5:
Shoot in black and white. . .27
63 67 73 78
49 52 55 59
CONTENTS
GETTING STARTED. . .29 FROM REALISM TO ABSTRACTION. . .82
Supplies. . .29 What Is Abstraction?. . .82
Basic Instructions. . .31 Ways to Achieve Abstraction. . .82
REALISTIC PROJECTS. . .37 ABSTRACTION PROJECTS. . .86
Agave Grande. . .37 Blue Feathers. . .86
Indian Corn. . .40 Cylindrical. . .90
Rusty Chevys. . .43 Buttons. . .93
Papillon. . .46 Detritus. . .96
Exotic Beauties. . .49
FINISHING UP. . .99
Pink Coneflowers. . .52
Thread Sketching. . .99
Parrot Peek-a-Boo. . .55
Quilting. . .101
Green Barn. . .59
African Beads. . .63 GALLERY. . .102

Gourds. . .67 ABOUT THE AUTHOR. . .111
Snow Shadows. . .73
Spiderweb. . .78 SUPPLIES AND RESOURCES. . .111
86 90 93 96
INTRODUCTION
While I have always enjoyed taking photos, it took through your work. And the shots you take will provide
me a while to realize how much photography you with a deep well of ideas and images you can use.
could be a part of my artistic process. Like much of
The first chapters of this book include concrete infor-
what I do now for a living, I have never studied it in a
mation about how to take better photos, based on the
classroom. My brother and parents shared a darkroom
elements of art and basic design principles. They include
space in our back basement when I was a teenager, but
specific suggestions and tips and a series of “missions”
I completely ignored it. My first real desire to take better
you can do on your own or with friends that will start
photos began about a decade ago when I had my first
you down the path of learning to see with an artist’s eye.
child and wanted to take shots to capture the wonder of
You don’t need a lot of materials or equipment, just an
those first amazing days.
inexpensive digital camera and the desire to try looking
Several years ago, I started taking photographs in a at the world in a different way.
more deliberate way. I began thinking about photog-
This book does not include projects that deal with the
raphy almost as a form of meditation or deep study
human face or form, which are the subject of other
of what was. When you take photography seriously, it
excellent books specifically on the subject. The projects
forces you to be in the moment, and an hour or two
here, based on my photos, are a great way to learn new
spent shooting in a garden, on a city street, or on a
techniques. Some are realistic subjects, some explore
mountain hike can leave you serene and perfectly
the process of abstraction, and some use materials that
centered, and at the same time bursting with creative
may be new to you. Try a few of my projects and then
energy.
go out and take photos for projects you can make com-
Perhaps you already enjoy taking photos, or have at pletely your own.
least taken snapshots of vacations or special occasions.
If so, this book is a guide to thinking about photography
in a different way, as a way of truly learning to see and
appreciate what is around you and to record it in a
meaningful way. The kinds of subjects you find most
interesting will teach you much about what you enjoy,

what attracts you, and what you want to communicate
6 POINT, CLICK, QUILT! TURN YOUR PHOTOS INTO FABULOUS FABRIC ART
CREATIvITY AND
LEARNING TO SEE
Creativity involves not only
imagining great new things,
but acting on that imagining. It is a
process of considering new possibili-
ties, combinations, connections, or
alternatives and then using those
ideas to solve a problem or to
communicate an idea or value. For
the visual artist, creativity begins
Here’s an example. You are walking Now, ask yourself, “What if…?” and
with what I call “learning to see.”
down a sidewalk in your neighbor- “Could I…?” What if I created a
The difference between looking
hood, past a neighbor’s hydrangea piece in just ten shades of green?
and seeing is akin to the difference
bush in bloom. “That’s pretty,” you What if I created a flower three-
between existing and living. Looking
think, and keep walking. dimensionally, using tiny tufts of
is passive, but when you see, you
organza? Could I drop color out of
You have just looked at the
form an intimate connection with
the equation entirely and concen-
hydrangea, but you have not really
what you are viewing.
trate on the line and shape of the
seen it. Go back. Notice the way the
leaves instead? Could I focus on the
recent rain has left raindrops on the
water drops, and what is reflected
petals that reflect sparkles of blue
in them?
sky; the way the new growth is a
marvelous chartreuse green next to The mere act of slowing down,
the duller green older growth; the of taking the time to see the
perfect symmetry of the leaves; the hydrangea, may make you more
vein structure and the tightly curled creative, because your brain has
buds with tiny sections, waiting to more time to form connections and
open; the first blush of lavender blue consider possibilities. Photography,
on the pale green-white flowers; the act of composing and taking
the marvelous serrated edge of the your shots, slows you down even
leaves lined in a lighter green. more, giving you even more time to
ponder those important “What if”
How has this experience of seeing
and “Could I” questions.
made you more creative? You have
opened your eyes—and perhaps And in taking the time to do this
your mind and soul—to the amazing activity, you have declared that it
things around you. You have is important to you, worthy of your
perceived structure and line, color attention. That alone will make you
and texture. more creative.
CREATIvITY AND LEARNING TO SEE 7
How to Shoot 3. Change position so you have 5. Watch for unpredictable details.
something interesting in the fore- Small, unexpected things are what
Great Photos
ground. It can be a person, a tree set great photos apart from average
That Will Make branch, or a flower. This adds to the ones. They sometimes include
perspective of the shot, creates a subtle meanings or symbolism that
Great Quilts sense of depth, and often makes for can make a piece of art based on
a livelier photo. them more powerful.
Here are some of the guiding prin-
ciples that good photographers
know, whether they’ve learned them
intuitively or been taught them in
a classroom. Start putting them to
work, and you’ll soon be shooting
more dynamic photos.
1.
Shoot vertically as well as hori-
zontally. It is natural for people to Belly down in the sand, I took this photo,
shoot horizontally, since that is the which speaks to the perfect vastness of the
beach, with its billions of grains of sand.
way we see the world, through
It would be unremarkable without the
two eyes arrayed horizontally, our weathered shell in the foreground.
peripheral vision filling in on the
4.
far left and right. But some subjects Look at things from all angles.
beg to be shot in a vertical format. Don’t just shoot head on. Shoot very The newly repaired spokes in the oxcart, not
Just turn your camera and try low and very high. Think about the yet painted, speak to the craftsmanship and
care of the cart owner, and of a time before
shooting your subject both ways. way a crawling baby might perceive
our current throwaway culture.
2. things versus a giraffe or a construc-
Be patient. Don’t be afraid to
tion worker on a scaffold up 40
arrange your subjects or wait for
stories. Shoot straight down from
them to get into just the right posi-
the tops (or high windows) of tall
tion. You may also have to wait for
buildings. Shoot up while lying flat
the light to be correct. If the subject
on your back in the forest.
is interesting but the light is wrong,
come back at a different time of day,
or even a different season.
A high vantage point from a skyscraper
looking down into a park gives an unusual The tiny birds perched in the spiny ocotillo
perspective and throws a landscape into a offer a perfect natural counterpoint to
This sheep pasture, normally a pleasant fractured set of planes and textures. the man-made bells and cross of the
meadow, looks foreboding with the bare trees mission tower.
of autumn and an approaching storm.
8 POINT, CLICK, QUILT! TURN YOUR PHOTOS INTO FABULOUS FABRIC ART
6. 7.
Use lines to move the eye Salvage what you can. You don’t
across the composition. Remember always have time to compose the
that the characteristics and rota- perfect shot. Remember that a sec-
tion of the line can change the tone tion of your photo may be perfect
of the photo and how dynamic it for what you need, even if the whole
seems. isn’t. You can also delete or add ele-
ments from different photos.
Crop 2
Horizontal lines like those in these ocean
waves are static, calm, and predictable.
Original photo
Vertical lines imply action. Diagonal lines give
a feeling of movement. Curving diagonals add
grace and elegance.
Crop 1 Crop 3
When shooting this photo of tree roots along the edge of a swamp river (see original photo), I
was in a boat that was quickly carrying me away from the subject. I didn’t panic. I knew I could
crop this into a great shot later. Here are three possibilities cropped from the same shot.
CREATIvITY AND LEARNING TO SEE 9