Thursday, September 17, 2015

dream cloths

Tom Sach's mother raised him to love beauty and well-crafted things.  "If your art doesn't look good, when you die they're going to throw it away" she told him.
I think I agree with her.

Lately my quilts have not been bed-sized.
Have I abandoned the rich metaphoric language attached to the bed that I relied on and loved?  So much life (and death) happens in bed.
The two quilts I'm working on now are odd shaped.  The black one (above) is really tall and thin, while the beige one (below) is small and soft.
Look at it.  It's all about soft.  I want to put my face on it, close my eyes, put my cheek next to it and let it kiss me.  I reach out and pet it because I can't help but do so, and the touching triggers so many memories and dreams it makes me dizzy.
These pieces are not made to do what a quilt usually does.  (keep the body warm, protected and covered with symbols that women used to understand about fertility and safety)

Instead they refer to that other thing that happens in bed when we abandon control and fall asleep. When we enter our dream world place.


I have to take chances and do things I don't fully understand because an artist's best work lies just beyond his understanding.  I live for finding the place and the confidence to do that.  Tom Sachs

12 comments:

Mo Crow said...

would it be a pillow for the best dreams?

Judy Martin said...

I have considered making a pillow from the velvet piece, Mo....

but am not ready to give in to that just yet.
x

Mo Crow said...

I made embroidered dream pillows filled with mugwort lavender and rose petals back in the late 70's early 80's for special friends and have had the same pillow all my life ever since I had a bed to sleep in, it holds all my dreams...

Debbie said...

Lovely work, loooks beautiful to touch, I like Mo's idea, I have a lavender pillow and a small pillow my daughter gave me on my bed.

Velma Bolyard said...

these two pieces are lovely and strong. really lovely, and that long piece has a huge presence to it.

Sue Marrazzo Fine Art said...

all are perfect and so LOVELY!

Nifty Quilts said...

Both of these pieces provoke a lot of feeling, the soft one especially. Just seeing it conjures up so many very young memories. It makes me wonder about the tactile memories of our infancy. The contrast of the other beautiful piece, tall, darker, more stark, like adulthood. Still, there's the round opening to something else. Thank you.

apiecefullife said...

Lovely pieces. Very tactile. Will people be able to touch them? They always want to.

Anonymous said...

I WANT TO TOUCH IT!!!

You don't have to be in bed to dream. That's what I thought of when I read your words, and I'm grateful you made me think about that.

Hugs and peace to you.

jess said...

(sorry, wasn't anonymous!)

Caterina Giglio said...

it does beg to be touched.. and the color is soft as clouds...

mansuetude said...

Touch sometimes awakens the inner dream to cross into outer dream mingling inside and outside in symphony. Beautiful work