Saturday, March 19, 2011

Stand Up

I'm continuing to play around with art quilts although I'm still somewhat uncomfortable using the term "art" to describe anything I've made. Exuberant Color has done a few posts on Journal Quilts and I very much like the idea of using a smaller format to experiment with techniques or color or whatever. So I think I'm going to start doing more Journal Quilts.

The recent earthquake/tsunami/nuclear catastrophe in Japan has really brought me to tears on several occasions. But what has struck me more than anything has been the Japanese people's calm and determined response. There's been no looting or panicked rioting, just a solid resolve to pick up the pieces and move forward through their overwhelming grief. After looking through some editorial cartoons I was inspired to create something of my own to express what's been happening.



It was kinda weird actually, I'd saved a bit of frayed ribbon from a gift for no good reason - but I think it worked well here. Also, months ago I'd experimented with soaking fabric in salt water, then drying it out just to see what happens. Not surprisingly it creates a kind of interesting white crust, which again... seemed pretty appropriate. I put most of this together last night after work and finished it up today. It seems weird to say I like it considering the subject matter... but I am really pleased with it (despite the wonky embroidery), and intend to do more journal quilts in the future.

3 comments:

Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson said...

Good for you!! They are a great way to experiment with the small format and instant gratification, a double bonus.

Rebel said...

Thanks guys!

jovaliquilts said...

That's a really powerful piece. The ribbon does work well, and the quilting is super. Did you embroider the words, or write them?

(Also, irrelevant to the post, did you know that you're no-reply? I tried to respond to a comment you left a couple weeks ago and it bounced back.)