I've been wondering why that's so. What is that something that I need? After my own quilt went to QuiltCon and I'd had the opportunity to view the quilts juried into the show, I really had to find a way to answer that question for myself. Especially since the judges' response to my quilt was rather negative. Again, I am okay with the fact that I didn't win and I mostly agree with the judges' opinions. But the one line that said my quilt wasn't what they thought of as modern, had me thinking about the definition of modern even more. Modern Quilt Guild definition.
I know now. I'm not an expert (in my mind at least) but I know what I like and I'm metacognitive enough to be able to think about it and put it into words. So my plan for 2014 is twofold: I will present photos of modern quilts and explain why they are modern; and I will create at least a few modern quilts of my own.
"Reflections in Gray" fits the definition in some ways: the yellow is a surprise and the use of gray is modern. However, now I think there is too much of the yellow. (Less is more.) The real problem is the fabrics. I used the grays in my stash, but had I wanted to make the quilt truly modern, I've have used fewer fabrics and all would have been solids. That's one of the oddities of modern quilts. They are supposed to look random and fresh and out-of-the-box, but in reality they are planned. Sometimes down to every detail. When I started out making the quilt, my intention was to make a quilt. The modern elements happened once I started and I tried to make it more modern as I worked on it. Unfortunately, that's not how it works and it shows in this quilt.
Lesson learned. Now let's see if I can apply those lessons to a truly modern quilt and define it for you along the way. Modern Mondays is my opportunity to focus on, think about and create modern works. I hope you'll join me in the dialog and share your modern creations.
Mary
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