This week in the journey of the family-in-the-boat quilt, it was time to turn my attention to the boat.
This will involve some math, and some drawing.
MATH: ENLARGING WITH A GRID. My little rowboat shape is deceptively simple. From experience, I know that freehand drawing a curved shape like this, I can easily end up creating a banana or a gourd shape. I’d much prefer to get the shape right.
So I began the enlarging process by drawing a rectangle around the boat to get its actual dimensions. Then I divided it into four equal parts that will define the drawing area.
On my paper mockup the rowboat is 6”W. On the final size I want it to be 42”W, or 7X the size. On my mockup the rowboat is 2.75”H; I will need to increase that by 7X also to maintain the Height-Width aspect ratio. So, I drew a rectangle 19.25”H x 42”w, then divided into quarters. If my drawn boat fills that space the same way the small mockup one fills its small space, it should be correct.
(I’m drawing onto upcycled kraft paper packing material.)
DRAWING: A few drawing notes (because I don’t want my angled photograph to be unintentionally misleading.) When you measure and when you draw the grid, it’s best for your paper to be flat. You want the angles to be true 90 degree angles.
But, when you do the drawing…
You do not want the paper to be flat, with you leaning over it. You’d be seeing a distorted image. Freehand drawing should be done with the paper vertical (as on an easel) or – at least—on an angle that matches the angle of our body as you work, so your view isn’t distorted as you draw. I prop my drawing board on a few large paint cans.
If you ever need to enlarge an image that is a lot more complex than this little boat, such as a portrait, it’s really helpful to divide your drawing into more blocks. Maybe 8. Maybe 16. As you draw, the grid device keeps your mind from interfering with the process. Instead of drawing what you THINK should be the shape (often wrong,) your job is just to fill in squares with the same lines at the same angles as they are on the small version.
After I drew the boat I tacked it up on my easel next to the family that will go in the boat to be sure they fit
Already, I like the way it feels. This begins to communicate real-but-not real. The boat looks enough like a boat that a viewer would not be confused about what I’m depicting.
But, the proportion is clearly not realistic. The boat is way too small for an actual family of kneeling people to fit it in.
Just what I wanted. Not we are in the realm of storytelling and imagination.
My next stage will be to cut up the paper boat into pieces that will be pattern pieces for the fabrics I created for this quilt section, then sewing those sections together.
And, of course, I’ve got to get the family down into the boat.
See you next time.
For all of us: focus each day
on the good that needs to be done in the world.
Be part of doing it.
Thank you for reading. I always enjoy questions and comments.
--Bobbi
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