• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

CLARA NARTEY |Unlock Your Creative Potential

Creativity, Thread Sketching, Art Quilters, Fiber Artists

  • Start Here
    • The Artist
    • The Artworks
    • Exhibitions
  • Work with Clara
    • Hire Clara
    • Take a Course
  • Media + Press
  • Blog
  • Contact

Stitch The Sketch #22: Greek Pottery

June 2, 2016 by Clara Nartey 2 Comments

I’ve been reading up on Greek pottery. I love pottery especially vases and jars. One of the things I purchased with my very first paycheck was a tall (4 feet high) decorative pot. The elegance and grace that can be viewed in such inanimate objects is simply amazing.

 

greek pottery
Save to Pinterest

I discovered that Greek pottery was generally for utilitarian purposes and not necessarily for decoration. As varied as they are, they all follow a number of basic forms or shapes based on their functions. In their time, they were used for storage, carrying, pouring, mixing, drinking etc. They held water, milk, wine, perfumes and other cosmetics.

The exciting thing is, although shapes of Greek pottery were pretty standard, when it came to decorating them, potters and painters got a free reign in artistic expression. I find that the decorations on some of these vases easily lend themselves to free motion quilting designs. Which for me is absolutely wonderful – I get to marry two things that I love.

 

 Greek Pottery – Amphora

 In this week’s sketch, I drew an amphora, a form of Greek pottery used to carry milk, water, wine, and grain. I named my pot “Orange Wine” (hey there’s red and white wine why not orange?). Mine is orange so why not?

 Here’s the pencil sketch I started with

greek pottery
“Orange Wine” – Pencil on Paper by Clara Nartey

Here’s the stitched drawing. I used fabric that I dye painted. I wanted to create a balance between the colors that come from the painted fabric and the colors and texture that come from thread painting. So to achieve that I restrained stitching to a minimum, using it to complement rather than overwhelm the design.

greek pottery
“Orange Wine” – Stitched Drawing by Clara Nartey

Here’s a look at the reverse side. I’m loving this marriage between free motion quilting designs and pottery. I won’t be surprised when I start doing a lot more of these.

greek pottery
“Orange Wine” – Stitched Drawing by Clara Nartey (Reverse View)

And here’s the video showing how I put it all together.

Tips Techniques and Tools: Greek Pottery

  1. It’s hard to entirely paint/color a blank space with thread without distorting the underlying fabric. The dense stitching needed to make to cover the space and make the thread color pop will invariably result in fabric distortions. A shortcut to achieving intense color in your stitched designs is to stitch on an intensely colored fabric collage or on an image printed onto fabric. That way the colors from the fabric will help you achieve the color intensity you want.
  2. For multicolored fabric collages, let the lightest value in the fabric be your guide for choosing the color of thread to sew with for a subtle thread effect. For an intense effect, use the most saturated thread value.
  3. Don’t overwhelm the fabric collage with stitching or the other way round. They both have their part to play in this orchestra and your aim is to get them to work in harmony.

Thanks for reading. I’ll love to hear your comments.

Warmest Regards,

Clara's Signature

 

 

Watch and read about the entire Stitch The Sketch series.

 

Get behind the scenes and learn more about my art practice, events, exhibitions and release of new artworks


JUST ONE MORE STEP...... Success! Now you need to check your email to confirm your subscription. The subject will be [confirm your subscription] Once you click the link in this confirmation email, you will be on your way to receiving exclusive C-Letters meant for Clara's Friends only. Don't forget to confirm your email. Warmest Regards, Clara

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

I won't send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time. Powered by ConvertKit

Comments

  1. Sue Reno says

    July 7, 2016 at 10:47 am

    Your work is wonderful! And I’m so impressed you are documenting your project on video. If I ever undertake a project like this again, I will have to consider that….an extra layer of commitment, but very worthwhile.

    Reply
  2. Clara says

    July 7, 2016 at 12:22 pm

    Thanks Sue. That’s a wonderful comment from a talented artist like you.

    Yes, documenting this project on video added another lay of complexity that I didn’t expect. But I figured it’ll be a way to keep me accountable and it sure has worked in keeping me on my toes. 🙂

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

inspiration is everywhere
Next »
Return to menu

« Previous

Creativity

Professional Development

Creative Confidence Boost

Thread Sketching Videos

Thread Sketching Techniques

Surface Design

Textile Art Collector

Textile Art Business

 

Let's Connect on Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • Pinterest

Copyright © 2023 · All images copyrighted by the artist, Clara Nartey,
and are not to be copied or reproduced in any manner.
Privacy Policy|Terms and Condition|Disclaimer

Copyright © 2023 · Aspire Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in