Late last year, Lisa Chipetine from the Studio Art Quilt Associates, invited me to participate in an online Quilt Critique session with Sandra Sider.  Never having been through a real critique session, I was nervous, but was so pleased to have been asked that I rustled up some courage and said yes, thank you!  Boy am I glad I did!   Since I didn’t have much in the way of new work (my time the past 24 months has been taken up with writing my manuscript and family crises, all now resolved).  So I offered up Koi and Naiads.  Since there is more going on in Naiads, Lisa suggested I use that one for the critique.  I will state up front that I was quite happy with this quilt as it was, and it had already won a Judges’ Choice (Lisa Erlandson) award at Maine Quilts last year and an Honorable Mention at the Lowell Quilt Festival show last summer, also.   Guess what:  it COULD be made better!

Here is the before,

Naiads, Original "complete" version, notice the ripple over the swimming figure

Here are the before and after, side by side:

Naiads, Revised full version

Naiads, Original "complete" version

Sandra spotted three things that could stand improvement, one of which I had already noticed.  What she mentioned first, however, is something that totally escaped me:  the seated figure on the left–her leg, the one in the water, was disproportionately long!  Even though I thought I had drawn carefully, Sandra was absolutely right.  So the water was rendered opaque, covering up the extra length since re-doing the figure would have been a horrid amount of work:

Naiads, original version, too-long leg

And after:

Naiads, Revised, leg "shortened" and center figure improved

Sandra also noted that I had done a very good job (thank you!) of making the water LOOK like water, which she said is hard to do in cloth.   Because of that she suggested that I shorten the willow branches on the right so that the feeling of rushing river water would be enhanced.  I didn’t want to cut them as short as she suggested (above the river bank), but I did shorten them so that only the longest branches reach the top of the river.  I agree… it looks better and more “flow-y”.

Finally, the naiad swimming in the middle.  I had not quilted over her center, because quilting on painted cloth (the figure) looks weird sometimes, and the other figures weren’t quilted, plus I wanted to preserve the illusion of transparent water washing over her body.  Alas, that meant a somewhat unsightly bubble.  Sandra (using a blur/cloning tool I think) showed in her doctored jpeg during the critique (more on the how of the online session in a minute) how the focal point of the three figures is enhance by covering the lower half to 2/3 of the swimming Naiad’s body.

I wanted to retain the illusion of water, where you can see the body through the water, but agreed this section dearly needed help, so I split the difference.  I covered her hip and middle with more of the same fabrics used for the river, but left her feet and a bit more of her torso revealed.   I think the overall effect is VASTLY improved! as shown in the “Revised” detail photo.

OK…so how does an online critique work?  Lisa’s description of the “webinar”, here, is the best, plus there is a YouTube type “video” here, but in a nutshell you need a phone (toll call), an internet connection, and to show up at the designated time.  The four or five participants in the one-hour session send jpegs to Sandra about 2 weeks ahead of time, giving her thinking and “Photoshopping” time.  The critiques occur in sequence, and “silent participants” can call in and listen but not engage in the conversation (it costs less to listen than be an active participant, a mere $5 per one-hour session for the silent one, and a modest $20 for active participant).

Sandra will show the before, ask the artist (unnamed) their goals, concerns, etc., then offer suggestions.  At this point, other critique participants may also chime in.  I can tell you that I learned as much from looking and listening and commenting on the other art quilts as from the review of my own.  I have a major project/commission coming up, and once I get detailed cartoons/sketches done and maybe some initial work on the first of six panels, will go back for a good critical eye before I get too far into construction.

The bottom line?  A very worthwhile and educational experience!

A few weeks ago a most wonderful thing happened, Lisa Chipetine (active and an asset to SAQA, the Studio Art Quilt Association) invited me to be part of a quilt critique session with Sandra Sider.  I had heard of these before, but had never even listened to one of the on-line critiques, let alone thought of participating.  But when opportunity knocks on your door, it pays to answer!   Lisa’s website is www.threadplay.com, and through the quilt critique page (click here) you can sign up to participate, be a silent observer, or access the archives.   I wasn’t sure which quilt to offer… Lisa had seen both The Wall and Naiads at the SAQA site on my Professional Artists Member’s page.

This one is the wall…. about the size of a poster.  Below is Naiads, which is 18 wide by 45 long (49 including the longest branch):

I also suggested Koi, because I wasn’t sure which to pick:

In an exchange of e-mails, Lisa suggested one of the first two, as there was more to them.  I chose Naiads, because there is more in the way of technique and composition.  I will say that I was quite happy with this piece, and wondered what she would say.

I was, fortunately, second on the list of the five quilts being reviewed–that gave me a chance to sit through one before my turn.  You need to have a live phone line (as in, not tied up with dial-up) and internet while the one-hour critique session takes place.  After you sign up, Lisa sends each participant an e-mail with a special code which allows them in to the restricted online page where you can view the quilts being discussed.

When the session begins, you also dial in to a special number and are conferenced in to a multi-way call with Sandra, Lisa, and the five other quilters, and perhaps a few others.  Our session began with a work in progress… an unfinished top.  Sandra begins by asking the quilter (who is identified as Quilter (or was it artist?) 1) what is his/her intent, goals, and a bit about the quilt.  Sandra continues with good points, suggests changes, and other participants may also offer comments.

For Naiads, Sandra was very kind, commenting that I had managed to capture the feel of moving water, which is hard to do in textiles.  A photo of Naiads appeared on the left of the screen.  Then a slightly photoshopped version showed Sandra’s suggestions.  A moving cursor identified specific areas under discussion so that other participants (silent and otherwise) can easily see the area being discussed.

Sandra’s first comment was that the seated Naiad’s leg was too long, so she moved blue over the bottom of it.  In fact, tho I will check to make sure, I am pretty certain the proportions are accurate, but because she was viewing on a screen, she couldn’t see that it is also her foot..in the picture the heel is hidden under some sheer fabric, but that may be something I need to modify or accentuate so that it reads better.

Sandra’s other two comments were fantastic…so much so that I wished I could dash upstairs and make the changes NOW!  Instead, Christmas will have to happen first, an article get written, THEN fix before sending in an entry to Paducah.  Anyway, Sandra suggested shortening the branches on the right side, where the river flows into the quilt.  By lifting these branches out of the way, you get even more of a sense of moving water….way cool!  (and an easy fix too!)

The final suggestion was to somehow cover up the lower portion of the swimming naiad’s body.  In the photo, the shape appeared distorted, but I explained that the problem is actually a technical one:  I didn’t quilt the water (sheer fabric) over her body (when you quilt part of a body and not the rest weird stuff happens and it looks worse), so the sheer kinda bubbles.  It is the one technical issue for this quilt which I really don’t like.

Sandra used the cloning tool (or something like that) and covered her left hand and the body from about the waist down with blue…. as a result, the focal point shifts up to the other two naiads, the swimming naiad’s right hand points up and leads the eye to the one walking into the background… it just totally works!   I don’t know that I will completely cover the lower half… when one is swimming in the river, you can see parts of the body underwater; however, I think if I cover parts of her with cotton and more with a dark blue/green sheer, I can keep the realism and still get the effect in Sandra’s suggestion.  I promise I’ll share pics!

The next three quilts, including some that were finished, was at least as educational as  the critique of my quilt.  Because I was looking at new (to me) work, with fresh eyes, I could see where Sandra was going.  It was fun to participate in the conversation, too.

Would I do this again?  ABSOLUTELY!   I don’t know that I can afford to sign up for the regular monthly access (which is a bargain if  you listen in or go to the archives for all the sessions), but I will definitely be back as both a silent participant and, when I need it, in the critique session.  Lisa and Sandra are taking a short break, but the sessions resume January 26th.  I’ve got it marked on my calendar…and hopefully by then my changes will be made and my quilt will be better.