Uranus, detail of required printed fabric
Springboard Muses
Just as art can fuel life. Life can fuel art. Early this summer I became charmed by the graphics of Bell’s Brewery Uranus beer label.
Bell’s Beer Label
Uranus by NASA
Under the Uranus spell, I discovered several facts. First, methane, CH4, exists in Uranus’ atmosphere. Methane absorbs infrared wavelengths making Uranus appear blue-green in color. Second, sky gazers between 1787 and 2003 discovered 27 Uranus moons, which are named after Shakespearean and Alexander Pope characters. The moon names are: Oberon, Titania, Ariel, Umbriel, Miranda, Juliet, Puch, Cordelia, Ophelia, Bianca, Desdemona, Portia, Rosalind, Cressida, Belinda, Caliban, Sycoran, Setebos, Prospero, Stephano, Trincolo, Francisco, Ferdinand, Perdita, Mab, Cupid, and Margaret. If you think, hey, not Greek mythology characters! You are right. Uranus breaks tradition in moon naming. Third, a NASA-ESA (European Space Agency) program called Pathfinder has a 2025 launch date for a Uranus orbiter and probe. It will arrive at Uranus in 2037.
Then, I studied the color gray and its evolution beyond a sliding scale from black to white. PANTONE®, the world-renowned authority on color and provider of color systems for the selection and accurate communication of color across a variety of industries, offers over 50 shades of gray. Here’s a sampling of PANTONE® grays with blue, green, brown, and lilac tones.
Gray Dawn 14-4106 TP
Gray Mist 15-4706 TPX
Opal Gray 16-3801 TPX
Lavender Gray 17-3910 TC
Finally, ever wonder whether you spell gray with an ‘A’ or ‘E’? As many issues in life, it just depends. My 1947 Funk & Wagnalls dictionary gives an Old English origin to gray and spells it græy. Amazing both ‘a’ and ‘e’.
American English spells it GRAY while British English uses GREY. Influenced by dictionary writers in both countries, Americans and British writers both adopted GRAY as early as 1825. For unknown reasons, Britain in the 1900s began to prefer GREY.
Charm + Need
Now, down to art making. With gray and blue-green colors on my mind, what a delight to see the La Conner Quilt & Textile Museum’s 2015 challenge embrace colors of gray and blue-green and a make-it-modern theme! Life wanderings can be productive. Uranus prepared me well. I quickly sketched some designs. Local friends rated several as favorites.
glacialpool’s sketchbook
Which are your top two favorite Uranus designs?
Made Design
A large Uranus balances the illusion of deep space. Comet streaks of 1/8th inch quilting unify the orbs and space. I took artistic liberties and made Uranus more yellow because yellow contrasted better with the blue-green in the required print fabric.
Uranus
Vintage Chinese silk, cotton, silk thread, cotton flannel batting. Hand stitched.
12 x 36 in (30.5 x 91.5 cm)
Original: $450
Paper Pattern: $15
Pattern and Fabric Kit: $40
Silk shimmers warmly
Opulent flannel-silk quilting caresses
Cool space come forth
Uranus, detail hues and basting stitches
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glacialpool 