Insalada Caprese
Insalada Caprese ©2002 24"x24"
I was going to post images from the Mesa Contemporary Crafts exhibit today but either my USB 2.0 PCI card is broken or my USB hub is broken. Either case I can’t download pictures from my camera right now. Given that both of these items are brand new and they worked fine last week I’m a bit frustrated.
Messing around with the back of my computer involves a lot of moving of stuff so I gave up on trying to figure out the problem and went to my scanner which is not plugged into the new USB hub and crossed my fingers. I had to reinstall the scanner driver from CD but at least it worked and I was able to scan a slide of the above quilt for this post.
I have several pieces in 4 shows that are all traveling around the country for a few years and I don’t always do a good job of keep track of this work but they travel to interesting places and I know I should do a better job of paying attention to them and promoting them. So here goes.
My piece Insalada Caprese, above, is in the show Potluck Quilts: Art Quilts from the Piecemakers and is currently on display at the Grout Museum of History and Science in Waterloo, Iowa. This will be the final venue for this show that had it’s first showing in 2002 in Colorado.
I was invited to participate in this show by a small art critique group based in Boulder called The Piecemakers.
The requirements to participate in this show were as follows:
- Quilts are to depict some aspect of a potluck meal - food, drink, table decorations, etc.
- Each quilt is to incorporate in it red and white checks representing a tablecloth in some way.
- All quilts are to be 24″ square.
- Please include a recipe of the potluck dish depicted on your quilt to be published in the catalog.
Of the 50+ artists that participated I was one of a small handful to make completely abstract work. My piece, Insalada Caprese, is really part of my Structures series, modified just enough to sort of fit the theme. My red and checked tablecloth is that series of red and white stripes on the lower left.
My recipe was fresh mozzarella and tomatoes. Not really a recipe that needs much effort (cut up cheese and tomatoes and put on a plate) but it sounds better in Italian. The green is for a bit of fresh basil to make the dish (and art) more interesting. And of course I don’t grow just red tomatoes in my garden but also orange and yellow ones also.
I can’t say I’m real fond of how I quilted this piece. The big ugly red circles across the front of it were supposed to be tomatoes but I’m not sure they read that way. I hadn’t yet finalized on my tightly spaced back and forth quilting or I would have done that for this quilt also. I think it would have looked a lot better. But it’s easy to say this looking back. At the time I suppose I thought this was a good idea.
There were cookbooks printed up from this exhibit but I don’t know that they are available for sale anymore. I can’t find a source online. My quilt was printed upside down in the cookbook. That’s always a bit frustrating.
Anyway, the show ends March 24 in Iowa so my quilt will soon be home. If you are in the area and go see it I’d love to hear what you think.
Insalata Caprese
4-5 large ripe red and yellow tomatoes
1 pound fresh mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup fresh basil leaves
extra virgin olive oil
salt
fresh ground black pepper
Slice tomatoes and mozzarella, about ¼” thick. Arrange on large platter with basil leaves. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Posted by Lisa in: Art Exhibits
jafabrit said,
March 1, 2007 @ 6:28 am
What a great concept, and a challenge. I don’t feel the circles need to read as tomatoes exactly, you already have the red and the suggestion of the tomatoes with the round stititches.
shan said,
March 1, 2007 @ 12:52 pm
I love this quilt.
Colin Jago said,
March 1, 2007 @ 1:36 pm
Bubbles. Definitely bubbles.
Somebody got over-enthusiastic with the washing-up after the meal.
Nellie said,
March 1, 2007 @ 3:53 pm
It’s mouthwatering!
Karen said,
March 1, 2007 @ 8:41 pm
I love everything about this quilt. I like the idea of making an abstract wall quilt dealing with a certain recipe. You can have free rain with the food colors and textures, limited only by your imagination.
I think of the machine quilting as tomatoes or the drizzles of olive oil–I often drizzle olive oil in circles, since I purchased an olive oil bottle with dispenser top!
Imagine my surprise when I realized that I can travel to see your quilt. I am only 1.5 hours away–can’t wait!! I plan on making the trip to see the show–if it ever stops snowing…
Lisa Call said,
March 1, 2007 @ 9:16 pm
Jafabrit - it was a cool challenge idea - the exhibit is interesting and got some nice reviews.
Thanks Shan and Nellie
Colin - I hadn’t thought of bubbles but now I can’t get that image out of my head - too funny.
Karen - thank you! I’d love to hear what you think about the show if you get a chance to see it.
Frances said,
March 2, 2007 @ 2:18 pm
Lisa I really like this quilt and love it after reading the story behind the quilt,
Lisa Call said,
March 3, 2007 @ 6:48 pm
Thank you Frances. I enjoy knowing the stories behind other artists’ work also.
janina said,
March 7, 2007 @ 2:09 pm
This may be a little out of left-field for you, but it reminds me of flying low in a ‘plane over a kitchen garden, that has raised beds growing all sorts of things, green, red, pale yellow, etc, and with paths in between for easy access to those raised beds to tend to them. I think, deep down, that is what you ’saw’ before you made this quilt. Again, I like it; it feeds my abstract nature. Cheers!
Jessica said,
March 9, 2007 @ 6:54 pm
I was skimming and scrolling down your blog rather quickly and had to back up for this one. I really love the circles you quilted, the uneven overlapping pattern really appeals to me. thanks for posting this pic and the story.
Lisa Call said,
March 12, 2007 @ 11:29 am
Janina - very cool interpretation of my work - thank you so much for taking the time to comment. I love hearing what others see in the work.
Thank you Jessica. I guess I shouldn’t be so hard on myself over the circles!