Art Quilt Elements: PRINT

I may have mentioned I'm taking a digital print on fabric course right now. I'm still wrapping my head around it's usefulness and how it may enter my work in the future. It was nice to see a broad range of use in digital print represented in this exhibit at the Wayne Arts Center (see 2 previous posts). The 2 works I'll share below were my 2 favorite works in the whole show ( I think... there's so much good stuff it's hard to say favorite).This work, "Piter 1" by Natalya Aikens, is probably closest to how I envision using digital images in embroidery. I already work from photos for inspiration, so it's a logical choice to use the actual photographic image in the work like in this piece. Her use of silk organza allows for transparencies and a fading in and out like a memory of this place. The stitching is subtle, mostly running and seed stitch judiciously placed. I think I would have been tempted to cover it entirely in stitch. (Okay after perusing her blog I feel like we're kindred spirits!)This much much larger quilt by Jess E. Jones is at the opposite spectrum in digital print. There may be photographic images involved, but they've become distorted or enlarged beyond recognition, making the digital print on fabric a patterning surface design. It perhaps carries meaning and content, but the visual effect is formal- a study of value and texture. This one is map-like, topographical. Perhaps I should start a question on the slow-cloth forum- Where does digital manipulation of images and fibers fit into the idea of slow cloth? How can we take advantage of technology and still honor the hand? These artists are doing it, but you have to decide for yourself how successfully.