Friday, July 22, 2016

turning the air to cloth

turning the air to cloth
Watching the birds whirling gracefully across the blue sky with undulating curves, I think how they look like cross stitches.  Then they disappear, fly away.
I was inspired to make something that might hold that ephemeral moment.
In this piece, embroidery is used as a quilting stitch to connect the birds and the air around them into a kind of spirit cloth.
The black birds that move so beautifully in unison over the fields could be seen as a metaphor for those dark yet brief moments that happen in all our lives.

Or perhaps they just show us that it's time to make a change in direction.
Round Lake Mud Bay 1915 oil on wood by Tom Thomson
There is an exhibition opening this weekend at the Perivale Gallery and I am showing this bird quilt.
Images of the full quilt can be seen here.

It is a two sided quilt.
Above Us is the second side of the wall piece turning the air to cloth.  The dark outlines of the birds in flight are filled with white or light coloured threads to signify peace and calmness.  The underneath side of the common embroidery stitches that cover the body of the quilt mark it with an unexpected, subtle drawing.

9 comments:

Mo Crow said...

such beautiful colours and textures, Tom Thomson's work is a wonderful point of departure

jude said...

beautiful. the spirit of it.

Els said...

Simply magic Judy !

Martine said...

How you stitch life..........

Ms. said...

It's a winner....the LIFT of those black birds and the turning of the sky round!
An exciting piece, embodying that surprise moment we are sometimes privileged to witness in life. That they are black gives the metaphor gravity.

Margaret said...

A particular kind of peace in those birds...and ephemeral freedom. Lovely!

Velma Bolyard said...

that sky!

Morna said...

ohhhhh .... those colors, those blues, that turquoise .... beautiful!

mansuetude said...

James Taylor song lyrics come to mind. Deep greens and blue r the cors i choose/ wont you let me go down in my dreams.
And rock a bye sweet baby james. "

You r beautiful!