Saturday, July 17, 2010

WOW the heat IS on....

I made a quick trip to Michael's in Newington this morning. I needed a new art journal. I didn't find the one like the one Paula gave me with the nice smooth paper, but it's similar and the pages are not perforated. Now I have to "finish" the one for Jan- July with some writing.
The prompt will attempt to answer why I'm making a second scroll and why I'm using fabrics. I've been reading Whole Cloth by Mildred Constantine and that has given me the inspiration I needed. It addresses some of my personal, long held attractions for fabric, beyond its tactile and visual appeal. This book was quoted in the latest issue of "Surface Design Journal"in an excellent article titled "Cloth: In The Presence of Silence" by Belinda von Mengersen. I devour each issue, but this issue, as exemplified by this article, I found particularly rich.
Once I've written the responses to the questions, I'll write about its construction. Then I'll write this "essay" on the large piece of buckram, attach the narrower piece by machine creating pockets. In each pocket I'll write phrases from my writing. These photos show my mock-up.

The stitching adds a little color and holds special words. I will have to use a permanent ink, you can see the Flair pen bled.












The two layers of gauze create an illusion similar to the surface of taffeta which adds a mysterious, elegant look.
Obviously, I've found a book form I can explore. Already, I have a mental image for the next one. Perhaps "Scroll 3" will deal with the oil well disaster. How does one illustrate greedy,callousness of big business and the relationship with politics?
It's a contrast with the implied security, comfort and intimacy of cloth.
DAILY HAIKU 2009

This entry celebrates my love of fabrics and quilts. I went to the opening at the New England Quilt Museum in Lowell, MA. This exhibit gathered several quilts from the documentation project in Massachusetts. The book is Massachusetts Quilts Our Common Wealth. The pieces included in the exhibit were not the usual beauties. Their fabrics covered a long span and they represented the utilititarian nature of quiltmaking.


The Lowell Quilt Festival is in August every year. For more information check out http://www.nequiltmuseum.org/
One of the last quilts I made was for "Lowell:Inside Out". I worked at the Museum for 6 years and loved that job and the people I met. I still feel like I'm going home when I drive to Lowell.
The references to the bricks is obvious. The "path" is a traditional block pieced in the top border and appliqued in the lower left, and upper right. I handpieced the center, "Chimneys and Cornerstones" using dupioni silk. One of the quilts I remember still was a log cabin in silk with half inch logs. The background triangles are photos of the "slat room" in the Quilt Museum printed on silk. The triangles of the lower border represent the multcultural dimensions of the city. The narrow strip of fabric across thos triangles has small stones held on with tulle. It honors the first show I helped hang with the work of Elizabeth Talford Scott.

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