Wherever the Four Winds Blow - A Commissioned Memorial Quilt

I recently had the honor of creating an original art quilt as a memorial tribute to Harold Myers, commissioned by his daughter Lauren. It was such a wonderful process. I first met with Lauren last summer to look over the materials, which were her father's silk shirts and ties, and to talk to her about who he was and the things that inspired him in his lifetime. He loved mandalas, and she had several that he had sketched. He had collected some beautiful silver pieces with lovely engravings. Paisleys were a common motif in his ties. The number 33 was significant to him. He was also an extraordinary musician, a concert pianist, and what was especially inspiring to me was the CD of his performances that Lauren gave me to listen to as I worked on the quilt. That is a CD which I treasure and will listen to often!

After pondering all of the things Lauren shared with me about his life and her memories of him, I created Wherever the Four Winds Blow, named (with permission) after one of his original musical compositions.

I created the design on my computer using my AutoCAD program, largely to simplify the process of repetition and spacing of the various motifs. A unique feature of the design is that every measurement within the quilt ties back to the number 33 or some division of it, and the overall size is 33" x 33". Another nice thing about using my CAD program was the ability to copy elements and offset them to get the seam allowances. (I would guess that EQ does that too, but my background is architectural design so I use what I have and know :) 

The ties were deconstructed and backed with fusible stabilizer and the elements of the quilt pattern were printed onto card stock to use as templates:

I also used printouts without the seam allowance as templates for pressing under the edges of each piece. Oh yes, the entire portion of the quilt within the circle is hand appliqued with silk thread. That was a lot of little stitches!

Once I got to the background and borders I was able to machine piece, still using silk thread.

One of the other unique features of the quilt is the inner border, which is a custom fabric printed with a musical score composed and handwritten by Mr. Myers. I'm not showing any close ups of that to protect it from any would be copyright infringement out there in cyber land, but it turned out really great!

I tried to keep the quilting fairly simple to show off all of the beautiful fabrics and make the paisley motifs stand out. In the background I used a metallic silk thread to quilt a filigree-like stipple, to honor his silver collection.

In the many hours that I worked on this project I feel like I got to know a remarkable man and someone who was quite a kindred spirit. I was very pleased to present the finished quilt to Lauren when she was in town for the holidays!

Time for the Hokie to Fly!

He's finished!!

Isn't he handsome?

Meet Hokie Pokie Dot II...he flies off to his new home in Virginia tomorrow morning. I'm going to miss him... (but it sure will be nice to be able to park in the garage again!)

Winding Down...Winding UP!

I can't believe that the year is almost over! Where did it go??? It seems like this one in particular went by at an unbelievable speed. Perhaps it was the constantly (over?)booked schedule...but that's pretty much the norm in my world. It was a great year for the most part, though it had some sharp spots in it. Normally I would call them 'rough spots' but these were downright sharp. Nevertheless, good things come out of every situation if you are willing to look for them, and having found the good, I press onward to embrace what the new year will bring.

For starters I have to get going on my fiberglass sculpture commissions. One, a 5' tall Hokie bird (ala VA Tech), which will arrive at my house this Saturday - weather permitting. The other, a cat for the Forsyth Humane Society's Art Unleashed fundraiser, due to arrive sometime in January. Both will be artfully painted. Stay tuned for postings as I get them underway. Deadline for both pieces is April. I have done several commissions like this in the past...the trick this time is that, being winter, I will need to fit them into my studio instead of the garage. That means the first thing on the agenda is to clean up and make room! :)

In January I am teaching my first class at Sawtooth School for Visual Art (Winston-Salem, NC)on surface design...Saturdays 1/16 & 23...covering rust dyeing, stamp making and stamping, discharge dyeing, and gelatin plate printing. Click here if you want to join in on the fun!

In March I will be teaching an original Easter table runner pattern at Sew Original (also in Winston-Salem)...more info on that will be posted closer to time.

I also have booked 2 small solo shows, which I am excited about. They are both local and later in the year, giving me time to create new pieces for them. I am a bit undecided on what other shows I will submit for this year. PAQA South has ARTQUILTS:illuminations coming up and I have a couple of pieces started that I want to submit for that one. My guild has a show this spring that I will put some piece into...it's always a great show. Beyond those two I still have to decide. I have committed to a street festival in Virginia in the spring, and there will be venues to arrange for the Beecassos, next year's Deck the Halls, more classes to teach, new galleries to explore, and .....oh yeah, my day job!

The new year is full of possibilities...I guess I'd better get busy!

Happy New Year everyone...make it the best ever!

Hokies, Kitties, and Floor Plans, Oh My!

Within the span of about a week I have been commissioned to paint a 5' tall fiberglass Hokie Bird for someone in Virginia, I found out that I've been selected to paint a fiberglass cat for the Forsyth Humane Society's Art Unleashed 2010 (my third time with them!) and I just got a call for a 1,400 sqft space planning job. I'll find out at the end of this week how I did at Sawtooth's Deck the Halls holiday sale and I am scheduled to teach a surface design class there in January (16th and 23rd... covering rust dyeing, stamp making and stamping, discharge dyeing, and gelatin plate printing...FUN!). Some of my things had sold out when I was there on Friday and I took another load in on Saturday, so I'm looking forward to finding out how it all did.

All very welcomed good news!