More Art Quilts

Introduction

I have found that a personal connection to the subject is important for me in choosing a subject for my quilts. Each piece takes about 3 months in execution time, sometimes more. It is not just an investment in time, but also in resources and connection. I feel like I live with these quilts.

My choice of subject matter varies. Since we have moved from Cambridge to the North Shore of Massachusetts, I have been very inspired by the nature here. The fields of boulders that recall the dolmens in Brittany. The Great Salt Marsh with its varieties of waterways and creatures. The beautiful rocky coast along the Atlantic. The Federal architecture for which this area is famous.

Or I may want to interpret the work of an artist in textile, such as the color fields of Mark Rothko, or the fantastical buildings of Michele Acquani.

I learn so much from my subjects, about color relationships, dimension, space, illusion. A symbiotic relationship, I hope.

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The Stone Bridge 2021

The Stone Bridge is an appliqued pictorial quilt that I composed based on a photo that I took during a hike in the Ipswich River Sanctuary in Topsfield, Massachusetts. The site of this beautiful bridge is a feast for the senses, especially in autumn with its brilliant colors reflecting in the waterfowl pond, the delightful home of all sorts of birds, beavers and other creatures.

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Fisherman’s Wharf Gloucester 2022
(19.5” W x 14.5” L)

December 24, 2021, Christmas Eve. We were going to be many fewer at the holiday table that evening because of COVID. Nevertheless, I needed to go to the wharf, to buy our fish, to acknowledge that we were still going to celebrate, albeit in a quieter way. The day was drizzly and gloomy, reflecting the mood of the time.

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The Blue Dragon 2023
(25” W x 16.5” L)

Arthur Wesley Dow was born in Ipswich, Massachusetts, and was an integral part of the thriving colony of artists in Ipswich. His 1892 painting, The Blue Dragon of the Marshes celebrated the light, movement and vibrancy of the North Shore. I was generously accorded permission to interpret this painting as a quilt from the Ipswich Museum, where this painting can be found. As I hike through the river sanctuaries and area trails, I have the wonderful sensation of living in my quilt.

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Rafe’s Chasm 2023
(23” W x 17” L)

I was inspired, as many artists before me, to interpret the North Shore for the light, the ocean, and topography which makes it a natural wonder. Rafe’s chasm is located in Gloucester on the ocean. The brilliant light reflecting on the ocean and the rocks, the chaos of boulders with their angular surfaces, the courageous vegetation which manages to grow from stone make this spot an explosion of sensations.

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A Day at the Beach on Plum Island 2023
(20” W x 30” L)

This quilt was part of a group exhibition where each of us quilters imagined a day at the beach. At the time, my husband and I were renting on Plum Island as we were house hunting on the North Shore. The naturally purple hues of the sand and seaweed there, as well as the vast sky/ocean delineation made this quilt a delight to do.

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The Fantastic City 2022

When we were staying in a beautiful country home in Piemonte, the lovely proprietors were hosting an exhibit of paintings by their friend Michele Acquani. I was immediately struck by the vibrancy of their colors, the playfulness of the dimensions, the complexity of the planes. They reminded me at the same time of Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino, and the paintings of Paul Klee.  Yet they were totally unique. The artist graciously gave me permission to interpret one of his paintings into a quilt. So his Città Fantastica became my Fantastic City. I certainly hope that my quilt has given proper honor to his art.

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Fantastic Autumn in Monferrato 2024
(23” W x 16” L)

As with my quilt The Fantastic City 2022, I was inspired by the work of the painter Michele Acquani, fantastic himself. He graciously gave me permission to interpret his 2022 painting of an imaginary vineyard in the Monferrato region of Piedmont, Italy. The landscape itself looks like a patchwork quilt, and one can barely discern the outline of the Alpes against the piemontese sky.  The stitching I used in the outer frame extends the landscape into the distance. The region is rich in sensorial delights, which I sought to capture. Can you feel the crispness of the autumn air, can you capture the fragrance of the fall vegetation, can you taste the magnificent red wines that come from this beautiful countryside?

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Street Scene in Goult, Provence 2024
(27” W x 20” L)

As Dick and I were making our way up the circular road which led up to the top of the Provencal village of Goult, I glanced over my shoulder to this narrow passage between two groups of houses. I fell in love with the vegetation growing up the side of each house, as if to be an integral part of the architecture. This is indeed the magic of Provence, the symbiosis of art and nature. The colors were understated and calming, reflecting the hidden nature of this village gem.

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Rothko’s Red 2015

This quilt was inspired by a painting that Mark Rothko executed in 1957, a painting that is untitled.  However many potential ideas come to mind:

floating fields, red reflectance, boundless red, ambiguity, red vibrations, impalpable depth

In designing this quilt, I sought to capture the fluidity and movement that Rothko realized in his painting.  I chose fabrics that had a painterly quality.  Some resemble frescoes.  The black central panels seem to pulsate.  The black border emanates from the central panels and has the effect of lifting the central portion from the body of the quilt so as to float above it.  The inner border surrounding the central triptych has a cosmic vibe.  This fabric also is used in the bands which separate the three panels of the central portion, all the more to have it be a separate floating entity.

I love the pixilated aura of the outer border.  Rothko’s borders were often in soft focus, as if to have the painting continue beyond the canvas.  To that end, I chose to bind the quilt with the same fabric as the outer border, so that the effects of the pixels would extend beyond the limits of the quilt.