This semester, the 3rd-years are participating in an elective class about “Drawing the Obvious to See the Hidden” with their studio instructors Emily McGlohn and Chelsea Elcott.
This elective combines drawing and rendering with the art of quilting to craft a homemade artifact to give to their client at the end of the semester. Their hope is that this quilt will serve as a reminder of the fond memories and feelings of the home she’s lived in for nearly her whole life.
The first step in this process was creating a rendering of Ophelia’s house that shared some point of view into her life and how she lives in her current home. Students came up with many great ideas like elevations, sections through the neighborhood, and axonometric plans. They also played around with color, negative space, and perspective to make for a very diverse and well rounded group of renderings.
Currently, the 3rd-years are honing their sewing skills with the help of Aaron Sanders Head (who also help during the fabric dying workshop) by sewing their first iterations of their quilt squares. The goal of each square is to portray an abstracted representation of their rendering and tell a story of miss Ophelia and her home.
The latest excursion for this elective was a day long field trip to Gee’s bend – a small community women who have been crafting beautifully vernacular quilts for generations! While there, the 3rd-years got to watch these women at work and talk to them about their quilting process and the tips and tricks of the trade. It was such an amazing experience to see and experience a group with such a strong presence in the community’s past and present, explore their workplace, and learn from their craft.
The 3rd-years are working hard to apply elements from all their courses to their everything they do to enhance the overall quality of work and their experience here at Rural Studio!