Deb Makes A “Selfie” for Cloth in Common

It has been a hectic summer!  Since Kris is working part-time at another job, I thought I might need another activity to keep me busy. Yeah, right. After hemming and hawing, I decided to join Cloth in Common, an international group of twelve talented fiber artists organized by Karol Kusmaul from Florida.

Cloth in Common

Every 2 months one of the members chooses a theme, and all of the artists create a piece based on that prompt. The original group finished their first round in May. If you want to see how these women have interpreted such diverse topics as Sound, Kitchen, and Night, visit https://www.clothincommon.com/ and click on Galleries – Round One.

Identity Prompt

On June 1, 2019, I received the first prompt for round two: Identity. For me, what to make was an easy decision. Kris and I have both been wanting to create self-portraits, but we just haven’t had the time. This past April, Bonnie McCaffery took a wonderful photo of us. Bonnie has a way of getting us to look like ourselves, only better.  “Long neck! Chin out! Beautiful!”  Trust me, modeling is not easy. I know Kris had to balance on her bad ankle for longer than she would have liked. If you need a head shot, look for Bonnie (https://bonniemccaffery.com/photography).  She sets up her studio at many quilt shows and conferences.

Selfie Draft

Bonnie’s photo of me was the basis of my self-portrait.  After lots of playing in Photoshop, I decided to use words and phrases that I had cut out over the years. But instead of collaging them onto paper, I scanned the snippets into the computer and digitally (with the stylus and mouse, instead of my fingers) placed the words where I wanted them. I experimented with many filters in Photoshop and came up with a basis for the portrait.

 

I also played with adding various drawings and collages to give the portrait color and texture. As I was contemplating the composition, I found myself in the same position as the photo—arms crossed, head tilted.  That’s how good Bonnie is.

 

 

I sent the file off to be printed on fabric, and a few days later I was quilting away. Here I am with my almost-life-sized selfie.  If you want to read more about my process, check out my Cloth in Common blog post at https://www.clothincommon.com/single-post/2019/07/29/Selfie.