I rarely use pattern in my work to create texture but I think my friend Vicki does a brilliant job of using pattern in her kaleidoscope quilts. With just solid pieces of fabric, these quilts would still be a kaleidoscope but I think that the choice of patterned fabric really makes the piece sing.
If you look at Vicki’s quilts from a distance, the kaleidoscopes do have texture from the patterns in the fabric. On closer inspection, you can see the individual motifs in the fabric.
I am not planning on making this kind of quilt but I do love the result of Vicki’s hard work. Do you use patterned fabrics in your work? If so, do you think about how this adds visual texture to your pieces? If you don’t use patterned fabrics in your work, can you think of a way to add these in? How would that change your working method? Or how your piece looks when created?
Let me know how you use visual texture in your work and leave a link so we all can see.
Photos used with permission of Vicki Welsh.
Ruth Lane Art 