Friday, December 01, 2017

earth and air

I've named this piece Earth and Air, and I've been thinking about why I did.
Initially, it came out of the Luce Irigaray quote I was inspired by for my exhibition entitled The Cloud In Me.
"How do I make earth out of air and protect the cloud in me?"
The earth figure is intuitively pieced from men’s wool suiting fabrics.  These were dyed with a variety of plants gathered from the ditches and fields of Manitoulin Island, Ontario, Canada where I live.  The figure was hand quilted by hand to a linen tablecloth with coloured threads, a little red.
Surrounding the figure are wide expanses of torn linen damask table linens.  These strips have been pieced together so that the horizontal seams are exposed.  The raw edges seem fragile, but in truth they are strong.   This sky area has also been hand quilted to the tablecloth backing, with white silk thread.
The dualities contained in the work are:  horizontal / vertical, wool / linen, colour / white, male / female, and Manitoulin Island’s Indigenous / European settler societies.
This artwork is about the affirmation of nature and the support of the huge sky above and around all of us humans in the world.  We all, at some time in our lives, stand alone and look out over horizons.  We are all given access to our own inner immensity by such standing and looking, and we all feel connected to the place where we stand.   Being quiet and alone in nature, we begin to understand how the earth has been here a very long time and we begin to believe that it will continue.  

13 comments:

Unknown said...

Your soulfilled art speaks volumes of the woman you are .... simply said AMAZING!

Tina said...

WOW-this is mysterious, thoughtful and invoking

Judy Martin said...

All photos in this post are by my friend and excellent photographer, Frank Myers. Except for the top photo of me, which is by Basje de Bakker Myers - Frank's wife and my friend. The photos were taken at the David Kaye Gallery in October 2017.

Mo Crow said...

deep heart materialized

Liz A said...

How edges hold ...

Morna said...

Your creativity is boundless ... I so enjoy seeing each new thing you do.

roccagal said...

I follow ur blog regularly and every time I come to visit my soul is touched by ur words and ur art.thank u Judy 💕

blandina said...

Oh Judy, how did I you know that right now I stand alone and look out over the horizon?
Your words resonate deeply into me.
And of course your work is talking the language of the heart.

Janice Mason Steeves said...

I'm a huge fan of your work and your words.

Sue McQ said...

Friend...some of my favorite colors captured. I am running my fingers over the stitches.
Blessings

Velma Bolyard said...

yes. (i want to shout yes, but a lower case, quiet yes seems appropriate.)

susan hemann said...

what a stunning piece of work! and the thought and labor that went into the making, you are amazing!

Vivian said...

A beautiful synthesis of your thinking, where you live and where you come from Judy. Stunning!