Monochrome
In a monochromatic color scheme, the colors in the design all come from the same color family. Nature contains scores of examples of monochromatic color schemes. The subtle changes of desert sand can be beautifully monochromatic. A cold, bleak winter day can display hues from one family alone. The monochromatic scheme can be sophisticated and elegant. The most important ingredient…is value – the contrast of light and dark hues. This contrast can be subtle, softly contrasted, or strongly apparent… The monochromatic color scheme is the most difficult plan to work in.
-Joen Wolfrom, Color Play
Cover artwork: Connections by Sarah Goer
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In 2021, with the pandemic in full swing, members of the SAQA Northern California/ Northern Nevada region were offered a challenge: to create monochromatic work. The response was extraordinary. In all, 110 art quilts were submitted, each making use of only one color on a 24 color spectrum. Sixty-two pieces were selected by juror Joen Wolfrom and she labored over the choices. In her words, …I am a bit heart-broken at not being able to include several quilts in Prism Play that were quite amazing. Standing alone, they were beautiful works of art and would be award-winning quilts in another show. In this online showcase, MONOCHROME, we offer a glimpse at the amazing work that is not touring with Prism Play. Each is a testament to the commitment and problem-solving skills of its maker.
MONOCHROME
Stories of Chartreuse Deborah Weir Website: https://www.deborahweir.net Joining Prism Play was a no brainer for me. I finished a 3 year project called Chroma a couple of years ago: 8 panels +/- 80" x 34" each exploring a different color from the Color Wheel (it is on permanent display at School on Wheels in Los Angeles). I love color and researching its social and psychological contexts. Chartreuse was the perfect color for me as I love all the yellow greens as they sing to me of newness andArtistcomplexity.Statement
Judith D. Epstein-Williams Website: https://www.canidrinkthewater.net Statement
Artist
Chartreuse
This piece showcases how I use hand appliqué as a form of meditation. The additional quilting stitches were especially rewarding. What others may find tedious, I find rewarding as I get lost in the process of stitching, especially working with such an organic color as this beautiful shade of green. Knot
Artist
Chartreuse Sinister
Julie Zaccone Stiller Website: https://juliezacconestiller.com Statement
The Chartreuse Mountains are where Carthusian monks have traditionally made the drink of the same name and color. The outlines of the curves of the mountain range inspired the curving lines and shadows. The Latin word for left is sinister. This is the left-most piece of a triptych.
The scroll on top sits quietly. As it travels down to the next two levels, it melts into the corner and spreads out as it settles in to its new home.
Melting
Scroll Cara ArtistPhotoWebsite:Gulatihttp://www.caragulati.comCredit:RickBolenStatement
Study in Aqua Deb
My art quilts send messages, inviting discovery and analysis. By stitching bits of fabric together, I create intricate, puzzle-like shapes reminiscent of graphics used in both ancient Mayan script and modern computer icons. I employ these shapes, which I call symbographs, to tell stories of modern life. The compositions morph as I intuitively add more symbographs, often curating these graphic elements into tidy rectangular containers suggestive of comic books and Chinese curio boxes. Viewed from afar, each work of art can look as incomprehensible as a cryptograph. However, as you move closer, elements emerge to make you chuckle and maybe even create your own story.
Artistdebcashatt/Instagram:Cashatthttps://www.instagram.com/Statement
Prism Play involved learning about pushing color to extremes, and problem-solving how to combine them for effect. I like looking at a subject or idea, then deciding which techniques and combinations will give me the results I envision.
Inspiration came from a photo I took of Bora Bora from the harbor. The sea, iconic mountains, and sky were interpreted in fabrics of extreme tints and shades, as well as those that fell in between, to convey the feeling of place.
Majestic Bora Bora
Lyla J. Messinger Photo Credit: Brandon Dimit Artist Statement
Textiles and stitch were layered to create the most visual impact. What appears to be white is a very light tint, and what appears to be black is a very dark shade of aquagreen. The challenge was combining these fabrics to make a successful monochromatic color scheme.
In a natural phenomenon, inosculation, the surfaces of touching tree trunks or branches, abraded by their motion in wind, can self-graft, and grow together as they expand in diameter. Here, the greens of the trunks are fractured, as a prism fractures white light. The dark trunks are shrouded in iridescent mist. Trees share water and nutrients through their mycorrhizal networks, and they also use them to communicate. They send distress signals about drought, disease or insect attacks, and other trees alter their behavior. The oldest living presences on earth, trees create our breathable atmosphere and are home to millions of other organisms. I wonder if they can survive the increasingly rapid changes to our shared climate?
Inosculation
Emily H. Hopkins Artist Statement
Aqua is the Latin word for water, and the color is soothing and calming. The mix of blue and green reflects all the colors and natural beauty of the ocean or Lake Tahoe.
Aqua Green, Color #7 Giny ArtistPhotoWebsite:Dixonhttps://www.ginydixon.comCredit:SibilaSavageStatement
The curving lines and shadows echo the color changes in the open ocean water at various depths. The Latin word for center is centrum. This is the center-most piece of a triptych. Aqua Centrum Julie Zaccone Stiller Website: https://juliezacconestiller.com Artist Statement
Artist Statement
Riverside Helene
Living close to a river, I am fascinated by the play of light through foliage and its reflections on water. Trying to emulate this atmosphere while using a limited color range was an interesting challenge. The water background was created using breakdown printing and a mix of Procion dyes that would remain within the targeted palette. The foliage uses non-woven material giving it a bit more dimension. The leaves are either Procion-dyed or painted with acrylic with a wider range of shades and tints to capture the light effects. Hein
I had in mind a plan to work abstractly within a block format and incorporate a dark-to-light value gradation.
For the title, I simply went to the dictionary and found a word that paired well with “Cerulean,” the title of my color card! I definitely worked toward creating a celebratory design. I think the resulting piece has that Tilt-a-Whirl carnival feeling.
Cerulean Celebration Brennan Artist Statement
Donna
"Blue's Hues" is my attempt to push Cerulean to its limits from lightest tint to darkest shade. I started with light and dark solid blue fabrics and over-printedtwice- with a linoleum block before fragmenting and piecing the quilt top together. Blue's Hues Barbara D. Kibbe Website: http://www.barbarakibbe.com Artist Statement
ArtistWebsite:Cahnhttp://www.pluckings.comStatement
My
Had a cotton color wheel of the perfect colors in this shade and the perfect silk for the background and Voila!! Chose to design it with squares on end and off center, embellished it with puff paint and glitter paints and then had fun with my new sewing machine for the quilting. Oh yes of course I added yarn in somewhat circular designs. Favorite Color Sharon
Layer
Artist
Textile holds history and it has the power to initiate conversation about the culture, tradition, time, and memory. I constantly practice stitches on the surface of textile and think about women’s invisible labor in old days. I used a variety of sheer Korean silks to make my work, that embraces both modern aesthetics and traditional techniques. Layering sheer materials represents my identity as the one living in two cultures. and Sheer Youngmin Lee Website: http://www.youngminlee.com Statement
Watch out Babycakes!SpinyNow they want to mine the ocean floor
Bubbles act like prisms, and the volume and the size increase as they rise from a depth. A female Pacific football fish washed up on a southern California beach last summer; previously decades passed between sightings. Named "Spiny Babycakes" by a public Twitter poll, she is now in the NHMLAC Ichthyology Collection. The mining industry has been developing specialized equipment designed to work in the harsh conditions of the deep ocean. Increases in the price of materials such as copper, plus increasing demand is making such ventures more economically feasible. The argument for protecting species is the same as that on land—diversity is at the heart of functioning ecosystems; it helps life adapt to changing conditions.
Emily H. Hopkins Artist Statement
Skyways
Feel the energy of highways and byways crisscrossing each other! The complexity of this piece began with improvisational piecing. As the shapes developed, I interpreted them as skyways or highways to another galaxy. The monochromatic blue color palette was soothing and strong and helped to convey the movement in and out of the composition. Travel along these imaginary paths and see where they will take you! To the world and beyond!
Jan ArtistSoulesStatement
International
Holly ArtistPhotoWebsite:Brackmannhttp://www.hollybrackmann.comCredit:TomLidenStatement
Blue has been an important color in art since ancient times. It is the most popular color in the US and Europe, and has been my favorite color for many years. Used here are a variety of fabrics from around the world, including Africa, Japan, China and my own hand-dyes. These fabrics were purchased at a variety of locations, including a Kyoto flea market, textile conferences, from African traders. Most are dyed with indigo using a variety of techniques, including shibori, starch resist, ikat, wax batik, and woven stripes. Blues
ArtistWebsite:Readhttps://priscillaread.comStatement
Take it Easy Priscilla
I selected a variety of blue fabrics to make several smaller blocks with freehand cutting and three larger ones following a design I drew and made in a different color way earlier last year. It was fun to see how the variety of blues looked together while keeping the design light and easygoing. I kept the quilting minimal in each section to echo and emphasize the curved shapes.
For Blue Glitz, I reversed the proportions of silks and cottons used in Lapis Geometry: LOTS of light blue silk, with geometric pops of royal blue silk and skinny lines of cotton for contrast. And what a difference that switch makes to the mood of the quilt and to the viewer's response! To celebrate the quilt's verticality, I quilted only vertical lines, except in the three rectangles and partial rectangles. The minimalist stitchery uses thick, silvery thread so that the quilting reads at a distance.
Blue Glitz Cathy
ArtistPhotoWebsite:Mirankerhttps://cathymiranker.comCredit:DouglasSandbergStatement
Lapis
I love the challenge of a truly monochromatic palette. To help achieve contrast and drama, I used silks to add glitz to the center of each triangle, a variety of cottons to border the triangles, and a brushed chambray in the background to soften the sharp geometry of of the composition.
Geometry Cathy ArtistPhotoWebsite:Mirankerhttps://cathymiranker.comCredit:DouglasSandbergStatement
The violet color often present at twilight reminds me of the calm and loving hugs we give and receive. The hearts and hands reflect the love we each send into the universe. Hands Oliver Artist Statement
Hearts and
Kathleen
Vortex
Illusion is visual and personal. Shadows come and go, fade and reform and the San Francisco Bay with its water and fog is a perfect spot for getting lost in imagery and thoughts. Anne Burns Johnson Artist Statement
Artist
In the creation of this piece, my inspiration came from the beauty of the sea, the color of the sky, and the waterfalls of the world. This piece is the result of intuitive fabric cutting paired with the stitching of gentle curves and lines. While adhering to the colors of my color card (Violet 13), I created the composition to include contrast and vibrant color. I eagerly await viewing the prism effect the many panels will display. Sherri Lipman McCauley Website: http://sherrilipmanmccauley.blogspot.com Statement
Violet13
Thirty-six righteous people are hidden in the world, according to mystical Judaism, so we must treat everyone as if they or we might be one. Perhaps this dog is one of thirty-six animals hidden to guide us, with the responsibility to protect them all. Even while remaining attentive to the details of the dog’s existence, the pixelation suggests her true nature only from a distance. Each color is important, none more than its neighbor. This world-view brings with it an element of trust. I watched this little dog, her paws up on the window, wagging her tail, trusting her mom to come back inside. Both worrying and anticipating means you live through something twice. In the waiting room living and reliving the same hopeful moment
The Hidden Dog Alisa
ArtistWebsite:Goldenhttp://www.neverbook.comStatement
Karren Lusignan Artist Statement
A love of curves and circles was the inspiration for this original design. The requirement for using a monochromatic color scheme made value a critical part of the design. The flowing lines from the three bottom circles bring an uplifting feel to the piece. The interlocking circles at the top add complexity.
Swirling Circles
Color! Texture! Movement! Color and texture motivate me to create abstract pieced art quilts. I couch decorative threads and cut them up to use as fabric. The addition of artist made details and decorative threads adds texture and creates movement. Inspiration comes from seeing the fabrics play with one another. Often my materials are redirected from the San Francisco Design Center away from the landfill. My favorite techniques to create movement in my pieces include curved line piecing and Scribble Quilting. Party On Purple! Ann Baldwin May Website: https://annbaldwinmayartquilts.com Artist Statement
The Scale of my Scales
Trish Morris-Plise Artist Statement
Having always been a bit of a color nerd, I have invested a bit of time researching color. I started getting serious when I had my personal color palate analyzed while still in the business world. It was an eye opener to say the least. I quickly learned why I gravitate to a cooler palate, it looked good on me! As my quilting evolved having gone through Traditional, Amish and now Art having a good understanding of color has helped me in my projects. I enjoyed exploring Blue-Violet. Trying to utilize as many of the variations. It was a challenge, as I stuck to commercially produced fabrics. I felt that would give me more control. Dying fabric, be it fun and exciting, did not strike me as the less stressful path to wander down.
Inspired by the shapes in a painting at a resort on Hilton Head, I chose to shade my quilt from light to dark in a free form design and embellished it with many techniques and fibers.
Mom's Favorite Sharon ArtistWebsite:Cahnhttp://www.pluckings.comStatement
Connections Sarah ArtistWebsite:Goerhttps://www.sarahgoerquilts.comStatement
I enjoyed the parameters of working within a strictly defined monochromatic palette. This means everything is about the value, so I played with higher and lower value contrast in the components of my piece. Working in the time of a global pandemic, it is hard not to think about connections how connecting to individuals has ebbed and flowed, and how those connections that are happening look different at this time. As I constructed the overall composition of the piece, I looked for ways to make connections between each section. The columns illustrate how a community is dependent upon each other, each member contributing the building blocks of the whole.
First, I lay the back fabric on a table, then the batting is put on top. Next a scene is created using fabric and decorative yarns. Finally, a layer of tulle netting covers the whole piece. The three layers are free motion quilted together.
Magenta
Magenta Winds is made with the fabric layering technique.
Winds Ann Baldwin May Website: https://annbaldwinmayartquilts.com Artist Statement
ArtistWebsite:Goldenhttp://www.neverbook.comStatement
In 1994, Mark Bittner began feeding wild parrots on Telegraph Hill, who came to trust him and his kindness. Due to eating sweet uncovered rodenticide, many wild parrots there today have been sickened. According to mystical Judaism, 36 righteous people are hidden in the world, so we must treat everyone as if they or we might be one. Perhaps this cherry-headed conure is one of 36 animals hidden to guide us, with the responsibility to protect them all. The pixelation suggests that one can perceive the bird’s true nature only from a distance. Each color is important, none more than its neighbor.caught to sell as pets but too garrulous to keep windows thrown open poisonfingerssky-scatterconurescrossedcovered.
The Hidden Parrot Alisa
Being new to the world of art quilts made the notion of basing a piece on a single color a bit daunting. I focused on the word “Play” in the title of the exhibition. I envisioned a light and airy piece that would hopefully draw the viewer in by creating a collage of torn fabric in varying shades of red violet. Kites catching a breeze beckon the viewer to “come fly away”.
Come Fly Away Michele Martin Artist Statement
Follow Your heART Mel ArtistWebsite:Beachhttps://melbeachquilts.comStatement
A previous design concept wasn't coalescing, no matter how hard I reworked it my mind. Instead of abandoning all hope of creating a magenta piece, I returned to my studio resolved to simply "play with pink" to see what might happen. I pulled out some of my favorite pink fabrics: solids, stripes, polka dots, and sun prints. Next round of fun included a bit of markmaking magic using some of my favorite techniques and supplies. Messages of love were free-motion stitched throughout the hearts. By focusing on the element of play, I experienced joy at every step of the design process and ultimately learned to follow my heART!
Working in a monochromatic color scheme is nothing new. Matching fabrics to an assigned palette of a specific color including its tints, shades and tones was challenging. Add to that no white or black allowed to add some relief and Murphy’s Law of ending up with the color I never work with and hence have little in my stash. At my art quilt group Lake Tahoe retreat this year we honed our skills in photography. This gave me the inspiration for this piece. A beautiful pine tree on the lakes edge with mountains on the far shore seemed ideal to display Magenta in all its glory. Tahoe Jenny Johnston Artist Statement
Lake
Extra Spectral Plaid
Susan Gibson Kelly Artist Statement
Reading up on Magenta, I learned that it is considered an Extra Spectral color meaning that it is not a hue associated with monochromatic visible light. It is a beautiful hue, though not one I would normally use in my work. I wanted to create a design that would maximize the juxtaposition of all of the tints, tones and shades with one another. This led me to a piecing technique that I call “improv bargello”. I enjoy the way the various versions of the color play with each other.
Artist Statement
I love improvisational piecing, and just "making it up as I go along" when creating. In this case, I sliced a variety of the magenta colored fabrics into 6" bars and cross cut slices into wonky pie-shaped pieces. I rearrange the smaller pieces into swirls and circles and sewed together. Once done, I made raw-edged flower centers that were placed off center to continue to feeling of movement and flow. I used free motion quilting to outline the blossom petals to further feature the petals and detail. While I didn't set out to make a floral piece, as I created it I saw it as a set of magenta and pink blossoms flowing down the piece.
Blossoms Lorraine Woodruff-Long Website: https://quiltinginthefog.com
Orange is the color of joy and creativity. Reminders of beautiful sunsets, sunshine glowing thru fall leaves, pumpkins and persimmons. Orange, Color Number 21 Giny ArtistPhotoWebsite:Dixonhttps://www.ginydixon.comCredit:SibilaSavageStatement
Orange is an inspiring color for me. I use a lot of orange in my quilts, but it was a surprise that orange can include brown. I created blocks I call circular rectangles. I manipulated the blocks on my design wall until I settled on an overall design. I enjoy piecing improvisational curves; however, this was the first time I’ve attempted it with only one color. Choosing a full range of oranges from dark orange-brown to pale salmon was the key to making a dynamic monochromatic quilt. Texture is also important. I used both solid color and printed fabrics for more visual texture. The different quilting within each change of color adds definition to the meanderings of the curves.
ArtistPhotoWebsite:Shermanhttp://claireshermanart.comCredit:EdwardAnismanStatement
Claire
Orange Meanderings
The curving lines and shadows evoke the rolling hills covered in orange groves. The Latin word for right is dextera and for orange is aurantia. This is the rightmost piece of a triptych. Aurantia Dextera Julie Zaccone Stiller Website: https://juliezacconestiller.com Artist Statement
Outrageous Orange Windows Martha
Orange leaves in autumn make a stunning display. Orange flames from a forest fire bring devastation and sadness. Orange speaks with a loud voice and cannot be ignored. My orange windows are outrageous. W. Ginn
Website: http://marthaginn.blogspot.com Artist Statement
Adriane
As a figurative artist, I immediately imagined a nude female as the center of my design so I selected the color orange which offers a broad range of skin tones with tints and shades for shadows. A vision of Eve in the Garden of Eden came to mind, but red apples were out of my color scope. Orange trees have green leaves. But in December, perfectly ripe vivid orange persimmons are a stunning contrast dangling from their stark, dark brown branches. I used the lightest tints of orange for the snowy sky and snow covered ground, the darkest shades are the tree. The pure orange solids and prints are the persimmons. Eve’s hair is a multitude of the darker shades while midrange tones cover her body. Meet Eve In The Garden Of Persimmons In Winter.
Eve In The Garden Of Persimmons In Winter
ArtistWebsite:Dedichttps://www.myartiststudio.comStatement
When I received the orange-red color card for “Prism Play”, I knew which images I would work with. Chuckwalla lizards and chalcedony stone are both orange-red, and I have photographed both in California’s Death Valley. These color constraints and my images were perfect tools to explore this lizard’s connections to its habitat. Working with only tints, tones and shades, I created patterns that describe and flow through both lizard and stone. The two are distinct, but never fully separate. “Suddenly I See” demonstrates that understanding—seeing —requires close observation and attention to nuance and Ascontext.humans, we see ourselves separate from nature. In actuality we continually create and are created by our environments and histories.
Suddenly I See Elizabeth Salvia Website: https://www.elizabethsalvia.com Artist Statement
Artist
Earth
Barbara D. Kibbe Website: http://www.barbarakibbe.com Statement
Mars
I've always been fascinated by photographs of Mars. On a recent trip to Arizona, I was reminded of how much the red rock landscapes there remind me of Hubble Space telescope images of the Martian landscape. This is a whole cloth quilt entirely in orange-red -- the red planet palette -- and features fragments of photo transferred images of Mars and the red rocks of the Southwest. While I was stitching the layers, I was thinking of pop culture images of Martians and wound up with a weird and whimsical stitch line. Meets
Cinnamon Tree Ann Baldwin May Website:
Artist Statement
Cinnamon Tree is made with the fabric layering technique. First, I lay the back fabric on a table, then the batting is put on top. Next a scene is created using fabric and decorative yarns. Finally, a layer of tulle netting covers the whole piece. The three layers are free motion quilted together. https://annbaldwinmayartquilts.com
Artist
I started with fire, since there were out-of-control conflagrations happening all over when I undertook this process. But what happened instead is more like eggs. Earlier versions of the piece had more pattern and shape, but this final version has smoothed off all the rough edges and brings me to a much happier place. D. Epstein-Williams Website: https://www.canidrinkthewater.net Statement
#23 & Me Judith
Eucalyptus II Franki ArtistPhotoWebsite:Kohlerhttp://www.frankikohler.comCredit:Statement
This eco print highlights one of my favorite plants. Branches laden with buds were rolled around a wood poll and boiled in marigold water. The range of color represented by the orange-yellow color card #23 is well displayed in the eco print and the variegated thread chosen for the buds.
ArtistWebsite:Kleinhttps://evelynklein.comStatement
Since the first day of the pandemic, looking at the bigger picture from above, I felt that it was a “wake up call to Ihumanity”.havebeen writing poems, journaling my feelings and printing during this time, as well as teaching online. My background is printmaking and painting. During the pandemic, since most of my students didn’t have access to a press, I decided to experiment with hand printing and fabrics, transitioning into a whole new medium: art quilts. Water lilies have been a constant recurring imagery in my work throughout my art career.
Prism Play lends itself beautifully to this theme, with the subtle monochromatic color variations in tone and value. It was a great learning experience!
Prism Play I Evelyn
Vanishing Point
ArtistPhotoWebsite:Bianchihttps://www.suebianchi.comCredit:CurtBianchiStatement
Susan
Yellow is the color of hope, optimism and creativity. That is the theme of this piece. It made me continually ask “what Yellowif?” also shows up in nature to catch our eye. This stick caught my eye when I was on a walk. The lines, texture, and the way light played on the surface made me want to play with it in a “fun-house mirror” kind of way. What would happen if I started large and the image faded out and got smaller? Could I float the image? Did I want images ghosting through the piece? Could I mirror the twists and turns of the stick adding texture to the piece? This piece mimics the structure of nature along with the playfulness and sense of joy.
