Emotion in Art quilts

I've been reading the series once upon a time....the retelling of fairy stories.  They are written by a variety of authors for older children and teens.

"It's not your love that holds her hostage.  It's your need.  True love wants,  but it doesn't need.  True love thinks of the beloved first"    (The rose bride By Nancy Holder)

An author expresses and enrich stories though emotive language which got me considering how do artists use emotion to express themselves? 

An artist creates art from an emotion or an experience whether it is done consciously or not. Every piece of artwork created  draws on previous experience either technically or emotively.

Most women can identify themselves in this art quilt.  I made it on a bad PMT day when I was feeling like someone different to who I really am. 

The viewer respond to the artwork with an emotion.  this emotion could be the same as the artist or completely differently depending again on the viewers past experiences and point of view.

In this piece of work, 'We will remember them' I was celebrating the lives of my family who sacrificed their lives in the war for my freedom.  I saw it as a celebratory quilt but many viewers have seen it as a sad reminder of what was lost. 

A viewer will subconsciously or consciously make a judgement on a piece of art usually based on an emotion formed. The task as an artist is to connect with a viewer.  This can be done in so many ways. Many artist try to shock their audience or to get them to question belief systems they have in place.  I choose to create work that uplifts and and creates light inside them.

In 'Hot chocolate'  I purposely wanted the viewer to consider the emotion of safety and warmth on wonderful cool winter nights watching the flames of a fire.   Most viewers have commented on how peaceful this quilt makes them feel.

When I am considering a new quilt I try to think of what idea or emotion I want to create.  I want my work to be uplifting so I think about many of these things as I work through the design process.

1. Choose topics to photograph or quilt that create the emotion wanted.  
2. Use colours that evokes the emotion being used.  Research the use of colours and the emotion created by them.
3. Pray throughout the whole quilting process.  Having guidance from above really helps my creative process.
4. Love what is being worked on working.  The feeling I have while I am working seems to always come through the finished work.
5. Get others people to critique the work.  This is is a good way to get neutral feedback. Sometimes we get too close to our work.
6. Use colour, line,  shape and texture that reflects the mood or emotion in the quilt.   
7. Use expressions on faces to express the emotion.
8. Brainstorm ideas for creating emotion.  Use a mind map to collect ideas.
9. Listen to music that reflect the mood of the work.  Music is a great way to feel the work you are creating.
10. Study and look at other artwork that creates the same emotion in you. Look at the particular parts of the work that creates emotion in you.
11. Ask and answer questions about the emotion and make a list of the answers. ie I wonder what love would look like?  What objects describe love the best to me?  what shape do identify with love?  How does love show up in my family?