81" x 83"
I am finally finished! I knew this day would eventually come, but I didn't know it would be so late! I am slow, but I do finally get there. This piece was started when the refugees began showing up at our southern border in increasing large numbers. Our response to them was less than honorable and the daily onslaught of the atrocities there haunted me. Especially troubling was the separation of children from their parents, and then losing track of where the children were. Now, I have finally finished and the nation has forgotten about them and moved on to other equally heinous atrocities. I made this piece because I wanted to call attention to the systemic nature of racism. Yes, there are certainly bad actors causing trouble. But the problem is bigger than that. It is an entire system of racism that is defiantly overt and also lurks subconsciously. The entire system needs change. When I feel the discomfort, it is important to lean into it.
There have been so many posts about the process of making this quilt. Thank you for being patient and following along with me!
Beginning the drawing: here
The batik of the chickadees: here
The batik of the center flower and the fawns: here
The batik of 4 different flowers: here
Beginning the applique, hummingbird, and batik of orange poppies, irises: here
Appliqueing of the flower stems: here
Appliqueing of the chickadees and orange poppies: here
Drawing and batik of the fawn group on the back: here
Drawing and batik of the wall on the back: here
Batik of the whole cloth flower panel on the back: here
Batik of spiral flowers and the hills panel on the back: here
Hand quilting, thimbles and needles: here
Marking concentric circles for hand quilting: here
I am exceptionally pleased with how this quilt speaks to me. The sharp contrast of the imagery with the softness of the fabric is compelling. I love how the quilting ties together the two images both conceptually and literally. On the front, the quilting lines are perfect for showing a world of beauty and generational prosperity. And on the back, the same concentric quilting lines show how the vulnerable and darker blue fawns, living in a land of scarcity, are targets. The story is made richer by seeing both sides.
Here are some detail shots (front):
