I thought a February 29th post would be fun, so here we go.
A very quiet quilt, Gathered In 1, will be included in the Ancient-Emerald Art Quilt Exhibition at the Emerald Art Center, Springfield, OR. The exhibit runs from March 3 through March 27, then on to another venue, the Yachats Commons, Yachats, OR, April 11 and 12.
Gathered In 1, 39” x 32”. Cotton, linen, found domestic textiles, hand embroidered and stitched.
This artwork began with an interesting piece of rust-dyed fabric that my friend and fellow artist Carol Myers gave me. The cloth is quite sheer and I began to draw it into gathers with stitches on a brown linen base. I tucked in bits of lace and handwork, as well as some embroidered monograms from hankies and napkins. the whole piece has an understated quality, maybe because it is so light in value. I liked the idea of bits and pieces gathered in and considered. I made two pieces of identical size with the fabric that Carol gave me. They may appear as a pair sometime in the future. This is the statement I wrote for the exhibit:
“Gathered In is a reflection on the countless generations of women who have made useful and lovely things by hand. Thousands of stitches honor the cloth keepers, the ones who save and gather in the textile legacy of their lives and the lives of all the women who stitched before them.”
Good Reads
Winter days spent inside sewing and listening, and always a book on the nightstand. Here are a few titles:
First, Nothing to See Here, by Kevin Wilson and read by Marin Ireland. I LOVED THIS BOOK. I also have enjoyed The Dutch House, by Ann Patchett; The Vanished Birds, by Simon Jimenez; The Long Call, by Anne Cleeves; and Snow Hunters by Paul Yoon..
Tomorrow will be March and I may venture out to find some signs of spring.