DNA and Quilts

There has been a discussion thread on Quiltart recently dealing with science, math and quilting. And more recently DNA. I wanted to share a quilt I made in 2005 called "More Than the Sum of Our Genes".

This was my first original design. I was playing with the layout of a bunch of fan segments that I cut out of solids (after a Nancy Crow class). First I stitched them together in groups of three or four and then started to arrange them. After they were arranged and sewn onto the background (crinkled taffeta--it was after midnight and the only fabric I had that was dark enough to carry the segments), I kept thinking about genetics and DNA. As it happened 2005 was the year that scientists completed the Human Genome Project, the complete mapping of human DNA. It was also the 50th anniversary of the discovery of DNA by Watson and Crick. (Did I mention, I'm a chemist?).

All this got me to thinking about what makes us human. I did some research and found that there were lists of traits by various groups/organizations/individuals that were unique to humans. I chose ones that appeared on all of the lists representing both the good and bad side of human nature and cut them from lame' and appliqued them onto the quilt.

I also wanted to speak about diversity and individualism. For each group of segments in a single color, I devised a quilting/embellishment scheme with every segment being unique, but a variation of the same theme. The background is quilted in the familiar double helix of DNA, complete with bridges. (I said I was a chemist!).

Finally, I added a single piece of yarn to depict the unraveling of the human genome. The title of the quilt is in the broken off segments of the string.

Ain't Technology Grand!

Big Sigh!

Having spent quite a bit of time this weekend getting my blog page updated, photos posted and the like, I got a message today from the provider of my "free" blog page. I had exceeded my space for the month! That with only two posts. So here I am, starting over. I think I may be losing my resiliency (that's a nice way of saying I'm getting too old for this stuff).

So, this is a regurgitation of my postings on my previous site. I haven't got placement of the photos down, but I'm out of time, not to mention patience.

Tuesday, April 10, 2007Sewing It Out
I am working on a fairly large piece at the moment, and one part needs some thread painting to add dimension. The background fabric is a mottled light gray on white. I wanted to use variegated threads for blending. Unfortunately, my stash only included one spool.

I visited my friends at Red Rock Threads and ordered every item that looked like it might work. (For those of you who will holler at me for not shopping at my local quilt shop--none of them carry all of the brands/varieties that I need for this, and one-stop shopping saves me a lot of time which is a very important consideration at this point.) Buying online is a bit of a guessing game at the best of times with monitor synchronization issues, and of course my aging eyes. I ordered nine spools from various manufacturers, anything that look like it might work.

They arrived yesterday, and there was quite a bit of variability. This is good because I need lights, mediums and darks for my project. One spool turned out to be purple, which I am blaming on the above mentioned aging eyes. All the others looked pretty true to what I "saw" online. The first photo in the column to the right are the spools of thread, including the one from my stash.

Based on this first look/see, I was tempted to go with a few of the spools and abandon the others. But I had a piece of fabric/batting already prepared so, for once I decided to sew them out. This goes against my nature, as I am a fly by the seat of my pants sort of girl. But on occasion the Virgo side of my nature asserts itself. Very rarely.

The results are shown in the second photo--the stitch outs are in the same order as the spools in the first photo. I'm happy I did this, as I will be using many more of the spools than I originally supposed. I admit, that this can be useful, grudgingly. But don't go expecting this type of behavior from me on a regular basis.

And if you see a large shadow over the moon some night, it just might be me. And the seat of my pants of course.8:39 am pdt

Saturday, April 7, 2007Ooops, Error of Omission
I almost forgot. I also completed a commission for a wall hanging. This was for a fund-raising auction. I had just completed a class with Janet Taylor at Arrowmont and came away with a nifty printing technique which I just had to try out. The result was Seasons of Splendor. Each block was printed then overprinted (Setacolor used as ink). Then they were hand-inked. Then machine quilted, then more details added by hand stitching. All put together with artist-dyed fabric, and a hand-painted canvas backing.

Ahh to have more time to play with this!1:59 pm pdt

1:19 pm pdtOh, How the Time Has Slipped Away!
No, I haven't died or taken a vow of no Internet access. What I have been doing is working, working, working.

Last year, just after creating this blog, I made a commitment that for 18 months I would work to get my pieces into whatever type of exhibition I could find that would take them. My goal was to build name recognition and have a resume' that consisted of more than my name.

The postcard of Arizona was the opening kickoff. Next, I made a piece for an exhibit called Doing Small Things. The piece is called A Safe Place.

My Father loved thunderstorms, and would drag a kitchen chair out onto our front porch, actually an overhang was all the roof there was. He would sit in the chair and I would sit in his lap and we would watch nature's fireworks display. I felt very safe in a situation that would frighten most children, I learned to love thunderstorms. I dedicated this piece to parents who make their children feel safe in a very unpredictable world.

I also made a piece for the Alliance for American Quilts, Put a Roof Over Our Heads exhibit. All the pieces are made in the shape of a house. They are on tour until the end of the year, when they will be auctioned off to benefit the organization. My piece is called Art, Its a

Heady Experience.

I made a piece for an exhibit called She Made Her Mark and was overjoyed to have it selected for exhibition at the Quilter's Hall of Fame Museum in Marion IN. My first juried exhibition. The piece is very close to my heart, as it is about my Grandmother. It is called Julia Krichkowski: An Immigrant's Journey. I remembered from my childhood when she learned to write her name, and that is the event that I depict along with the symbols of her native country and her chosen homeland. Below the main piece hang icons representing her children and grandchildren. Although she came to this country alone and illiterate, her son was the family's first college graduate and only two of her grandchildren do not have an advanced degree. This was my first venture into linoleum block printing since 4th grade.

A few days ago I learned that Bridges 4: Simple Arch Distorted has been accepted into Tactile Architecture 2007. Scroll down for a look.

As you can see, I have made considerable progress on building my resume'. And my 18 months aren't up until July. I'm working on a very large piece at the moment, and I'm committed to the final year of The Journal Quilt Project. After that, well I'm not telling just yet!1:14 pm pdt

March 13, 2006
I spent some time making postcards for Fiberart for A Cause, a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. I had read that postcards should take an hour or two to make. Not so for me, they take about four hours for me to complete. Maybe its my adlib design style, with endless ideas, decisions and adjustments made along the way. More likely it is my refusal to use fusables unless I can't figure out any other way to proceed. This isn't a judgement on folks who fuse. I just don't like the way the fusible feels, and how it is to work with. Maybe I just don't date the right fusibles! At any rate, here are the results.

Adrift
This is a combination of raw-edge applique and thread-painting. A little Angelina for glizt, along with both metallic and rayon threads.

My Secret Garden This one started with a hand-dyed fabric that suggested tulips to me. I outlined them with thread, and then quilted the daylights out of the background to make them stand out. I kept to a monochromatic color scheme for maximum impact.

Grant Me Shelter, Grant Me Peace

This one began with an unsuccessful project, which I cut into postcard size fragments. When I tipped this one on its side, it looked like a shelter to me. I free-hand cut the figure from Angelina, and quilted in a minimal amount of detail to make the figure more obvious, but not distinct. I added shingles and texture for the shelter and followed the marbled fabric background with quilting lines.

Now its back to my work in progress. Till next time.
8:37 am pst

March 7, 2006
When I woke up this morning, I had no idea that I would be publishing a blog before noon. This springs from my desire to be able to share my work with interested parties--fellow artists, potential customers and the like. So, here goes.

Arizona Highways
This is my first ever postcard and it came out of a very bad day--I was stalled on my bigger project (more on that later). I wanted something to do and I didn't want to make a major commitment, so I could get back to the bigger project when my supplies arrive. I came across a call for entries (http://www.tohonochulpark.org/) for "Wish You Were Here: Fiber Art Postcards". Postcards would document a real or imagined place or event in Arizona. So I decided to give it a try. This was fun, and relatively quick (once I got the open toed foot for my new machine!) and has inspired ideas for some other projects.

Bridges Series (2005)
I am fascinated by bridges (according to my sister, its an obsession). To me it is the place where architecture and art meet head-on. There is something so improbable about a bridge--its like flying, we know its possible, but its still hard to believe it can be done. Many bridges have become icons--the Golden Gate and Brooklyn Bridges come immediately to mind. The concept of bridge--to unite two opposing sides, is very powerful. Many of the most exciting modern architectural designs today are centering around bridges and they are being created by new teams combining architects, engineers and ARTISTS!

Bridges 2: Footbridge

This is based on a foot bridge in Nepal. It is an abstraction of the railings, turned 180 degrees.

Bridges 4: Simple Arch, Distorted

This is a simple arch bridge block which I have distorted by warping the shape of the block. There are 32 blocks and each has a unique quilting pattern.

Bridges 5: Roman Bridge at Segovia

This is based on the Roman aqueduct at Segovia, Spain. In addition to the standard techniques, I have used oil paintstiks, and angelina fibers for embellishment. The embellishment plays on motifs in the fabrics.

Bridges 6: From Arch to Icon

Here is the same arch block from Bridges 4, turned on its side. In two colors, I thought it looked like the icon for information. This plays on the theme of the iconization of bridges.

That's it for today. A retrospective of my recent work (since Sept 2005). As soon as I take some shots of my work in progress I will post.

Till then--stay on track, even when its rocky and rough.