DUET 2 – 2023.12.30

In 2022, I created an art quilt I called DUET. Read about it here.

My friends Kate and Rick fell in love with DUET and said they wanted to purchase it. They intended to display it with two stringed instruments they have collected in their travels. However, it soon became obvious to all of us that the colors I used for Duet (chartreuse and violet – above) did not fit their colour preferences at all. So I offered to make a version just for them.

We looked at some of their favourite treasures and created a whole new palette. Kate and I spent a lot of time shopping for fabrics, and came up with this palette of royal blue, moss green and terracotta. We looked at in black & white to ensure the values would work.

As the project developed, we also decided their art quilt should be 24 x 32 inches (rather than 24 x 24) and should be mounted on a canvas frame.

While we were debating various fabric options, Kate and I had a ‘what if?’ moment when we decided the sound hole of one of the ukuleles should be a diamond shape to reflect the shape of one of their instruments.

Of course, then I felt it necessary to ensure the circle and the diamond shapes each had the same area. I found a tutorial in WikiHow. In fact, I ignored the complicated formulas, and just printed out the diagram below, and traced the two shapes. We are very pleased with this design decision.

Here is the finished piece – DUET 2. Mounted on a 24 x 32 inch stretched canvas.

Here it is in Kate and Rick’s home with their treasured musical instruments. I think it looks fantastic!

Here is another view.