When is a line, not a line? When thinking about what a ‘line’ is, most of us think of straight ones. Once we take a moment to really think about the possibilities a line presents it becomes quite clear that a line can be so much more and is more ambiguous than simply the shortest distance between point A and point B. A line can lead us in a multitude of different directions, sometimes straight, sometimes winding. Every day we recite familiar cliches, queue up in lines, and stack up our thoughts and to-dos...all in line. And yet, following a line can lead us in a circle that brings us back to the place we started. Today we reflect on the Curated Quilts issue that started it all:Linear.
City Lights by Anne Sullivan
Sullivan says that the design ofCity Lights was all about trying to find balance without symmetry. The use of blues in this quilt softens the lines and allows the yellow and white to ‘lighten’ up the city.
Split Picket by Barbara Perrino
When it comes to lines, fences are one of the most definable ways by which we mark boundaries. The saying goes that “good fences make good neighbors.” Perrino’s clever use of stacking lines between negative space creates that fenced-in feeling.
Thread by Jayne Willis
The panel ‘threading’ through the middle of this quilt gives a place for the eye to rest from the starkness of the monotone lines. In contrast, Willis’s use of tiny bits of color keeps the eye moving over the quilt.
Sunrise Over Missionary Ridge by Mary Keasler
The way the lines of this quilt fold in on each other leaves the impression of stratified rock jutting out of the ground and was the perfect way to create a ‘ridge.’ However, the bright colors of the quilt leave more for the overall interpretation of the quilt at first glance.
Mesa Quilt by Nancy Purvis
Mesa Quilt exudes a sense of minimalism but also reads like a tribal breastplate and rows of ribs.
Cruella Deville by Nicole Daksiewicz
The ombré effect of this quilt guides the eye from left to the right. The improvisational lines of the quilt eerily look like they could be the reaching fingers of Cruella trying to get her hands of some of those puppies she so desires.
Community by Season Evans
Season Evans is a master at creating powerful minimalist quilts.Community is no exception. The stark contrast between light and dark and how negative space is used to frame the lines in this quilt creates a feeling of forceful austerity. Sometimes the lines we draw around or through our communities
Find these quilts and more when you purchase your own digital copy ofCurated Quilts: ‘Linear’.
By Brittany Bowen Burton