While in Pocatello (I'm getting a lot of mileage out of that short trip!) I got to see one of my quilts that I made about 10 years ago. It is hanging in my brother's house. They have a 2-story livingroom with a blank wall that really cried out for something dramatic, so a few years ago I gave them my van Gogh Iris quilt on "longterm loan". It has faded a little from the sun, despite being sprayed with UV protectant and good shades on the windows. I think that's bound to happen, unless you keep the piece under wraps and what good is that? So, Oh well...
This quilt was made for a contest that Quilters Newsletter magazine had. The theme was something about quilts inspired by famous artists. (see the painting that inspired it below) The winner was Lura Schwarz Smith's wonderful piece "Seams like Degas", which has become very famous. But my quilt was a finalist and was published in the Nov. 1996 issue of QNM (centerfold with a staple in it) and was exhibited all over the place including the Quilt Expo in Lyon, France. It was such a learning experience--one of the first real art quilts I made. It was a struggle to put together. I machine-pieced and hand appliqued. Today I would fuse. It was one of those pieces that looked like a hodge-podge-y mess as I worked with it close-up and I had to keep pinning it on the wall and standing way back to reassure myself that it was working. It was a lesson in learning to trust the vision and keep going.
It was good to see it again. I still like it.
I like it too! It's funny, but I don't really like most of my quilts from 10 years ago; that's probably because they were very traditional and wrapped up in perfectionism.
ReplyDeleteStill looks good, it only a little high up. I wouldn't have anything 10 years old to look at, but I wonder what will happen in 10 years from now??
ReplyDeleteHey, Pocotello... Do they tell everyone flying in that they got to ride on the only escalator in the city??
ReplyDelete(I was in Pocey decades ago. The escalator and the Chinese restaurant with Italian restaurant decorations are all I remember...)