Structures #8
Tonight it’s time to look back at an older piece Structures #8. First the images then the story. Click for larger images, this is an 8 foot tall quilt so you can’t see much detail in the little image.
Structures #8 ©2002 39" x 86"
Detail:
I lived in New Zealand from Dec 2000 through April 2001. Three months were spent touring the country in a mini van and living in a tent with my kids (at the time 8 and 4) and my now ex husband. February and March were spent in Dunedin so my husband could work at Otago University doing research and teaching a class.
Camping before the Christmas holidays was quiet and peaceful:
It was a little more hectic during the holidays:
Living out of a mini van is an interesting experience:
My plan for those 2 months was to see the local Dunedin sites with the kids but we ended up putting them both into school and I was faced with 2 months with no kids on many days. What a treat. I hadn’t planned on quilting while in NZ but I couldn’t help myself. While I did do some touristy things, I did what any normally obsessed artist would do - I set up a quilt studio in our tiny apartment.
Our apartment in Dunedin:
I ordered 100 meters of fabric, some procion MX dyes and buckets and turned the tiny laundry room into a dye studio for a few days.
Dyeing Fabric in the Laundry Room:
100 meters of newly dyed New Zealand muslin:
I then bought a sheet of 8′x4′ foam insulation and flannel and built myself a design wall, borrowed a sewing machine from one of the very gracious local quilters, and took over the entire dining room and a portion of the living room (the only common areas of the apartment).
Studio in the apartment:
While I was waiting for the dyes to arrive I sewed a twin sized bed quilt for my daughter, I had to hunt around but finally found some warm and natural type batting and finished it fairly quickly. I then made a small practice quilt to warm up (the blue green quilt on the design wall in the above photo - it’s never been finished) and then Structures #7 (which I’ll post another time - it’s travelling and I don’t have good digital images right now).
With maybe 3-4 weeks left in Dunedin I started Structures #8. I spent a lot of time picking the fabrics and planning the block design. I know the colors were influenced by Dunedin. Our apartment was on the hillside and overlooked all the colorful roof tops and houses down the hill. This quilt always reminds me of our view from the dining room of that apartment.
Structures #8 In Progress:
I finished piecing this quilt top together only a day or 2 before we left Dunedin. I’m guessing other folks might have spent their time in a foreign city doing more site seeing but I guess I’m clearly obsessed with my art.
I also feel that I really got to see the real Dunedin. In addition to gymnastics and swimming classes with the kids where I met the mom crowd, I also attended the local quilt guild meetings during my time there (where I showed slides and gave short talk on my work) .
I was also invited to join 3 small quilt groups. One that met every 2 weeks and did a project together, a small art quilt group, and a wonderful quilt bee that met weekly in each other homes. It was quite an honor to be invited to join this group. Sitting and talking with these ladies once a week was such a treat. I really got a feel for what life was like in Dunedin and I will always cherish those memories.
Posted by Lisa in: Abstract Contemporary Textile Art
Mary Manahan said,
March 23, 2006 @ 5:17 am
Structures #8 seems to have more contrast than your later work. Is there a reason for this? Those assembled hand-dyes look so mouth-watering delicious. What an adventure that year must have been!
Karoda said,
March 23, 2006 @ 4:37 pm
What a nice peek into your time there…are you still in contact with some of the quilters you met during that time?
allison said,
March 23, 2006 @ 6:13 pm
No stopping the impules of the artist, that is for sure!
Lisa Call said,
March 23, 2006 @ 8:09 pm
Mary - interesting observation. I think maybe I just go through phases. The work I’m doing now is pretty high contrast.
Karoda - unfortunately I’ve lost track of everyone. Few of them had email when I was there and that seems to be the easiest way to keep in contact these days. I’d love to go back and visit them again.
Pam RuBert said,
March 24, 2006 @ 7:46 am
Interesting stories. thanks
Melody Johnson said,
March 24, 2006 @ 1:33 pm
New Zealand is one of my most favorite places on earth. I was only there for 8 days, teaching, and it was still just wonderful. I would love to return. I would dress warmer this next time. It was Spring and I froze to death.
I loved the combination of exotic and so British. The fact that workshops stopped at 10 and 2 for tea was a great idea and one I wish to implement her in the US.
Kat said,
March 24, 2006 @ 3:17 pm
I am impressed that anyone on holiday would buy so much fabric and dye it all to satisfy their obsession with fibre.
Frances said,
March 25, 2006 @ 7:19 am
thanks for the story Lisa, the dyed fabric looks wonderful and the quilt is amazing, I marvel at how fast you make such large quilts,