My quilt is titled "The desert was cruel and hard and dry...."
the sentence continues "...and these were the people of the desert."
It's from Jews: The Story of the People by Howard Fast, a marvelous chronicle of Jews, their impact on our world and the start of Christianity. It's not a religious book, but a fascinating story.
Of course, my quilt is an abstract interpretation. The background is strip pieced and the shadows of the dunes are made with Shiva paintsticks. I used a photo of the Nevada desert taken by my husband for the idea. The vertical strips are the people, black to show them as in our past. The quilting includes stars of David. The red circles are up to your interpretation.
Now I have to admit that this isn't necessarily my favorite book (I read about 5 a week so it is too hard to have a favorite) but this book did have an impact on me. My husband and I listened to an audio version while traveling many years ago and we still recall it from time to time. While not being Jewish, we found the book a great read and feel richer for having read it.
Marlene
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3 comments:
I like this quilt. It has a feeling of continuity. It is abscract, and very structured. I believe that you nailed the theme of contrast on the head. what a great use of the shiva sticks. From the photograph it looks like printed fabric - landscape look - so bravo.
Hi Marlene,
Wonderful piece! There is a feeling of structure but irregular structure with the different lengths & widths of the black bars, the shifting shadows and the placements of the red shimmering balls (is that foil?). The more I look at it, the more I love it. Great job, Marlene
I look forward to seeing more of your work
Cynthia
Hi Marlene - Your work communicates so well the desert feeling you were striving for. I particularly like the way you added the shadows. The red circles seem very important to the symbolism of the piece - even though you (and I) don't quite know what they mean. Nice work.
Roberta
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