I usually plan my quilts very meticulously -- but this piece came out of
play time. I started it last summer out of my desire to reconnect with my
artistic side -- something that tends to get lost in the summer schedule.
I had a collection of fused fabrics that I cut on the bias and curved as
I ironed them to make the stems -- a neat technique from Laura Wasilowski.
Then I added the three flowers, the leaves, and the whimsical bubbles.
I had just read The Golden Compass in which the children in the book use
a special knife to cut holes into other dimensions (which is all about quantum
physics -- but I digress). I had this piece of photo transfer with the eye
and thought it would be almost like a Rene Magritte statement to hang it
in the sky. My original thought was for it to be square -- but then it had
to become a flower -- and as the focal point of the piece, it had to be showy.
This quilt sat around for a while before I quilted it. The black background
was nice to set off the colors in the piece, but the quilting had to jazz
up the background. I knew exactly what to do when I found this wonderful
variegated thread with purple, orange, and magenta. The sequins, beads, crystals,
and charms followed.
Fiber Art Fusion: Transformation, The Art Place, Marietta, GA, July/August
2008
