Friday, March 20, 2009

Duck and Cover

Duck and Cover
28" x 32"
Do you remember the slogan from the cold war, duck and cover? The strategy to SAVE YOUR LIFE in the event of a Nuclear Bomb? Yeah right! I have no idea why my brain connected that with the current economic crisis??? Regardless, this one is an attempt at humor. Hopefully, you will find it at least a bit funny.

The duckies are real rubber ducks. I cut them in half and sewed them to the quilt. The flower umbrellas they are carrying are 3D. They are really cool because they stick out from the quilt and hold their shape much better than I hoped for, like a good 3 inches. And I like the way the petals sag at the tips.
 This quilt also features a number of my batik fabrics, along with some commercial prints. I made the flower centers, the Dow Jones building fabric, and a few other of the building fabrics. And hey, if you have never seen the inside of a rubber duck, you owe it to yourself to cut one in half before you let your child chew on one of those things. EWWW! Sorry, I had to show you this unfortunate truth. My duckies were cleaned extensively before attaching to the quilt, while I was wearing biohazard gear!
And last, I am pleased to announce that this quilt will be included in the exhibit "Sense of Humor" at the International Quilt Festival in Houston this fall. It is sponsored by SAQA, Studio Art Quilts Association.

15 comments:

Karen Newman Fridy said...

LOVE it!! It's visually appealing AND it makes you think...

Well done!

Robin said...

How cute is that??
Great use of 3 dimensional visuals.
Robin

Karen said...

Just wonderful! I didn't understand what you meant about the umbrella flowers until I clicked to enlarge the picture, the details are great and I do see the humor in it.

Vivien Zepf said...

This is great!

PeggySue said...

It made me smile. The field of flowers popping out as umbrellas is cute! Fun 3D effects!

Anonymous said...

I love it! We all could use a little more humor right now.

Sue Walen said...

Love this quilt, and especially appreciated the INSIDE view! Maybe our quilts will meet at the Sense of Humor exhibition; mine's called Self Portrait.
Keep posting!
Sue

ann said...

Love it! Really a cute-fun idea on a really tragic subject for a lot of us who just lost most of our retirement. Too too old to go back to work. Just quilting day by day.
Joy on your journey, ann

Jamie Fingal said...

My molars and your ducks will be in good company in this exhibit. Congratulations. You do so well with a play on words in your work. Whoohoo. We can pose by our work in Houston! Yahoo.

Unknown said...

Way to get your ducks in a row! (Sorry.) Seriously, humor can be a great way to confront an issue, sometimes having more impact than a solemn approach.

Carole said...

Kathy, this is great!! The whole of the content is great and so well executed.
I have some rubber ducks too, saved them from when my first grandchildren were little [20 yrs,] maybe a use yet.
Love your sense of humor and play on words....
Carole
[of the 'Moon' series...]

Helen said...

Who knew that rubber ducks were such a bio-hazard? This is a very successful piece. I hope it wins a prize for you. What kind of flowers did you use for the umbrellas? Were they artificial silk flowers? Very clever use of 3D objects.

Kathy York said...

Helen,
The flowers are made from fabric, the old standard, right sides together, sew the seam and then turn, right sides out, then a bit of top stitching, and overcast the opening. I did fuse a bit of green on the underside, and flower centers on the top, so maybe that's what helps it stand out from the quilt? I don't know, I was hoping they would stand out, but not really expecting it. So delightful that it actually worked!

And for now, I think the exhibit it is going to does not have prizes. The reward will be in the simple delight of the viewer, so thanks for writing!

Kathy

Margeeth said...

Hi Kathy,

The slimy goo in the ducks looks to me like mainly chalk. You can test this by trying to clean them with vinegar, if the stuff disappears much easier it is chalk. It is really disgusting, but if there is no mold in it, probably not really a biohazard.
Your quilt is really lovely, congratulations on having it in the show.

Barbara Strobel Lardon said...

Love this quilt. Made me laugh as I remember having to sit under my desk at school for a bomb drill. I often wonder why we were not more frightened by the thought of it but then I guess we believed the desk was going to save us!