Out of the Box

I was invited to join a local artists creativity group, Out of the Box, by Kathy Mack at Pink Chalk Studio. They are a group of artists who work on a given challenge idea, drawn from the box, each month and come together at a local coffee shop to share their projects. I attended my first meeting in February, but didn't have time to complete a project. The meeting was also cut short because it started to snow. I did, though, learn the new project from the box was "switchplates."

The original idea was to decorate a switchplate for your house. Since the group seemed to be keen on breaking the rules, I decieded to take it a step further and create a switchplate quilt. The backgroud is a piece of green painted fabric that I quilted with gold thread. I painted the switchplates with various shade of purple paint, much in the same way I painted my frames. I then attatched them to the quilt using the screws that came with them. I added the vintage purple glass button that I had just found at the Sewing Expo for $.25 to the center. The quilt was rather flimsy with all that added plastic so I mounted it on black mat board that I still had hanging around from my college days. I think a graphic design project that wasn't quite working is hiding behind the quilt. And I just had to add the frame because that is what I have been having so much fun doing the last week. I really had a lot of fun using something so unconventional to make a art quilt. And I'm already ahead of the game for next month -- make a piece of art using something in an unconventional way.