THE SECRET LIFE OF SCRAPS

A while back I tidied up my studio and one of the things that I did was to sort through my scraps. Those pieces that I know I’ll never use, I gave to a friend. What a pleasant surprise every time when I spot a piece of my work mixed into hers! This got me thinking more about using scraps in my work.

Most fabric scraps begin their lives with very little status. They’re the pieces trimmed from a curve, leftovers from a border and the odd shape that feels too pretty to throw away but too small to use.

And yet… scraps have a secret life.

Unlike choosing fabric from a neat stack of coordinated pieces, working with scraps invites surprise. Colours end up next to one another that were never intended to meet. Tiny prints suddenly become texture. Unexpected combinations create movement and energy that can feel far more interesting than a carefully planned palette.

KANDINSKY'S TREE

Scraps also carry history. A little piece of fabric may remind you of a class, a commission, a challenge, a favourite quilt or simply a season in your creative life. When those pieces come together, they quietly bring their stories with them.

There is also something wonderfully freeing about scraps. Because they are ‘only scraps’, we often become less precious and more adventurous. We audition, cut, layer and experiment more boldly…and sometimes that is where the most original work appears!

One of the things I love teaching students is that scraps do not need to become secondary elements or fillers. They can become the artwork itself. A background built from fragments can hold as much beauty and intention as a carefully pieced quilt. Leaves can emerge from offcuts. Flowers can bloom from leftovers. Small pieces can create surprisingly grand ideas.

In both my Kandinsky’s Tree and Vase With Flowers, scraps were used to form the background as well as the elements on top and just look how beautiful those turned out!

VASE WITH FLOWERS

Perhaps scraps are not the remains of a project at all.

Perhaps they are the beginning of the next one!

May your scrap pile surprise you….till next time!