Gwen Marston - Small Studies

Wow, three days of 15+ quilters / artists in the house and the ideas just started flowing.  Gwen was under the weather the first day.  She did her intro, pinned up her Small Studies samples and then went back to her room.  And we got busy.  

These first 4 pieces are some of my favorites of Gwen's work. 

I just love the shot of turquoise that jumped into this piece.

Here is the collective work of our class.  WOW.  I watched people share their ideas, their formulas, their methods.  It was a room that was busting with ideas and creativity.  You can see my pieces on the bottom left.  First piece as too much print in it, the second one got a shot of pink and the small piece on the bottom left is the beginning of ??????

These two are made by the same quilter, in fact, she had 3 pieces finished by the end of day 3.  It wasn't' a race or a competition, and I have to tell you, I learned SO MUCH watching KM work.  I have already starting thinking in a different manner about piecing and quilting design in general after these three days.

Close up of KM's third piece.

This picture is twisted, but see next picture. Great work by this quilter.

Here is the second piece right side up. I love the curve in the top right corner and how it plays with the straight outside edge of the borders.

I had the pleasure of having Tom at my table. It was fabulous to watch him work. He's spent his career surrounded by line and design and has recently started playing with textiles. Unfortunately, I did not capture his first piece that was superb. In this picture, he re created the piece on the left side, which is a chenille creation of his.  The upper left was his 3rd piece of the workshop. 

My goal was to test every technique Gwen had to offer.  I came home with  a stitched sample of each method she uses and I can now refer back to these pieces for reference.  That was my goal, I achieved it and am very pleased with my pieces and my ability to move forward onto a second and third piece.

And if you've stayed with me, here is the info on Gwen's new book.  I can't wait, and I'm positive it will be one that becomes dog eared and coffee stained in my studio. 

Thank you Gwen, for a life time of creating and sharing and teaching. I've learned so much from you!

Sharon