Sunday, October 31, 2010

Ice, by Sharon Robinson



sky painfully blue  
icicle piercing my heart
his disdain for me

This piece is 12" x 16."  I like my haiku, and I sort of like the quilt, but I'm not sure that it illustrates the poem.   The poem is about emotional coldness as well as seasonal cold.  I think that the icicle might not have been the best metaphor to represent that, because mental images of happy "winter wonderlands" are evoked by the icicle image.   


I really enjoyed thinking up haiku.  As others have said, I'd like to do more of these interpretations.  I started out wanting to work more abstractly, but I didn't like where that took me, so I cut out some realistic icicles.  Then it really seemed to want a horizon line.  Something was still missing, so I added the moon. That was the first thing I quilted, in a radial pattern.  It looked like a big blue grapefruit slice, so that had to go!  This was my first attempt at using metallic thread and I had a lot of fun using it for the free-motion quilting on the icicles.  I thought it would add perspective to have some horizontal lines on the snow, but the thread and I stopped getting along at that point.   So I reverted back to straight lines for the sky area.  Now I wish I'd just left it plain, but I thought they would help with the vertical emphasis of the icicles.  There were a few other technical glitches, but overall I am glad that I was able to finish it this weekend. (Except binding, which will happen this afternoon during the football game!)


Here's a detail shot:

I learned a lot on this challenge, and I'm eager to hear your comments.  

Thanks for a fun challenge, Kathy!

5 comments:

  1. You've made a beautiful little quilt with wonderful quilting. I like the beading on the ice cycles.

    I do think you're right, though, that it doesn't really illustrate the poem. I am thinking the poem is trying to say how someone is feeling blue and cold about a lover's sudden dislike for her???

    But who cares? Great quilt!

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  2. Kathy,

    I think your colors are crisp and cool denoting the season and feelings voiced in your haiku. I like where you have placed the moon and the foreground, giving the piece more interest. Using only a portion of the moon adds more interest. I also love the glitz on the icicles. What would you think of adding more quilting to the snow to give it more texture? Thanks for sharing!

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  3. The colors in this certainly evidence the feeling in your haiku.. and love's disdain can be interpreted as an icy winter .. the season aspect. I certainly like it and the only thing I would suggest is that the icicles be sharply pointed to represent the 'piercing' and in real life they can be pointed [a double play]...
    I sure wouldn't be changing much...

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  4. Wonderful, and I certainly can feel the words of your Haiku in the piece. A very lovely piece of work. The moon on the horizon is a great addition.

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  5. Brrr...chilly! What if the icicles were dripping ? I would love to see a little sparkle and glitz in the snow as well. I love the verticle linear quilting in the sky.
    Cherie

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