Rising and Setting

I am just thrilled to announce that my art quilt was juried into Brenda Gael Smith's upcoming international traveling textile exhibition "a matter of time."

Rising and Setting, 100 x 40 cm (approximately 40 x 16 inches)

Brenda is a long time friend and fellow member of the Twelve by Twelve International Art Quilt Challenge. She curates and organizes stunning, highly professional and innovative collections of traveling art quilt exhibits. I was honored that my quilt Indigo Garden was included in her last exhibition, Living Colour. 

Indigo Garden, 100 x 40 cm (approximately 40 x 16 inches)

I had not initially planned to make a quilt to enter "a matter of time." I was busy. I had no inspiring idea for interpreting the theme. Blah Blah Blah. But, then I came across a piece of printed fabric I bought years ago. One section of the print had a large yellow scribbly circle. It made me think of the sun. I figured if I tore it in half, I could suggest a sunset or sunrise.

I also had a piece of Kaffe Fasset stripe very similar to the stripe in Indigo Garden, but in warm colors. And I'd been further exploring the ladder motif in my work lately. Inspired by this sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art in Fort Worth.

So... the sun fabric, the warm stripe and the ladder. That's where I began.

I didn't take too many in-progress pictures. Sometimes I just want to focus on the process rather than documenting the process.

Here is one possible configuration I considered. 

As I auditioned various compositions and fabrics, I was thinking about the theme and how I would express a more complex idea about rising and setting and the cycles of life. The batik print with the rain drops suggested changes in the weather, or changes in life. Challenges. Darkness.

Brenda takes the themes of her exhibition very seriously. She really wants a cohesive collection that explores ideas in unique ways, in addition to presenting excellent design, composition, technique and art! With that in mind, here's the artist statement I submitted with the quilt. 

Days pass with the rising and setting of the sun. Maybe we notice and mark the passing, maybe not. Similarly, we move through life marking some events and missing others. In an effort to move ever onward, I try to make note of what lies ahead and what has passed. There are unexpected diversions, snippets of conversation, and moments of growth. Sometimes I reach a destination quickly. Sometimes the path is slow and arduous. The sun’s consistency eases my own irregular journey.

I did hit one snag at the very very very end of creating this quilt.

While finishing the edge with a simple zigzag, I slipped off the edge in one spot. Ugly!

So I ripped it out.

Then I clipped and buried threads, carefully restitched and re-clipped and re-buried.

Ta Da! Much better.

The exhibition will be traveling around Australia and New Zealand throughout 2016. I hope it will make a trip to the US in 2017. You can keep up with the quilts, the artists and the schedule on any of the social media challenges on the "a matter of time" website. 

Brenda is currently writing a series of short blog posts she's calling "just a moment." They include detail images of all the quilts and links to the artists' websites. I've been so impressed by everything I've seen and I'm honored to be included in such great company.