Friday, January 20, 2006

A Week's Worth of Work

There was a little of this, and

a lot of that and then finally, a big bunch of this..


Can you even tell it's quilted? Not so much. OH WELL.
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The Dance
Hand dyed cottons, fused, machine quilted, 57 x 60"
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It lost a few inches in the quilting, but I must say it was like buttah to quilt. Everything lay flat as a pancake and the thread broke about five time for the whole dang thing, which is like a miracle.


For the pictures it got a good pressing with a dampened press cloth. I spray the cloth and then press like mad. I got up earlier than usual to do this for the blog today.
I am greatly relieved to have finished this.
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This kind of quilt is not my usual competition kind of quilt. I mean quilt show stuff like for Paducah. It may be entered in art quilt shows in the future, where workmanship is not a major concern. But the quilting I do is the kind that regular quilt judges look at and say, 'Well if it weren't for the weird design of the piece the thing would have a chance at winning here. But we can't give this a prize because it is...not something...that we want to say we...endorse"
Which makes me think of other art work that may have seemed unlikely to win a prize at shows when it was premiered.

We are now so familiar with this image that if it were to fall into our laps, we would jump for joy, at least until the cops arrived. But imagine at first what the viewers must have felt when it they first saw it. Not something you'd wanna hang in your living room.

Well that is the conundrum for me. I want to make new looking art and not settle for the acceptable. So half the time I am less than confident about the results. I take a cue from my husband. At first he really doesn't like a lot of my work but later after he has seen it several times, he makes noises like "O that's a good one" or "We should hang that one up here".

Sometimes art takes a while to sink into our consciousness and become agreeable.

16 comments:

  1. This is more than agreeable... just plain lumcious... beautiful work as always! It has a very commanding presence.

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  2. Anonymous8:46 AM

    every morn i check melody's blog and am seldom disappointed. maybe this will introduce quilt show attendees adn judges modern abstract art.

    well done-again

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  3. Anonymous9:08 AM

    Wow Melody! Very impressive.
    Sew on,
    Anna

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  4. Anonymous9:08 AM

    Wow Melody! Very impressive.
    Sew on,
    Anna

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  5. Stunning - and I LOVE the quilting (although I'm thinking you might need a massage for your shoulders and neck after all that work).

    Re: being uncomfortable entering it into the standard quilt shows - maybe you should go the other way. Make your next quilt even further from "traditional", something that even shocks you. Stretch even further! Then, when you are looking back at The Dance, it will be the perfect in between step, and just right for Paducah.

    Yeah, like that's not a lot of work. Oy. Or, you could make socks. ;-)

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  6. I took a link to this blog and feel like I've been given a gift. Your work is amazing . . . stunning, beautiful, and well executed. While there is movement aplenty in the piece, there is an inviolate stability that radiates strength. (Whoa, what a mouthful.) Thank you so much for sharing this. I hope to see her win a prize or two or three.

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  7. IT says.."I rule the world"...how strong is that? You may fling that one into my yard also lol..it sure makes a statement. Enter it everywhere.

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  8. Anonymous11:29 AM

    I can't imagine anyone not wanting to endorse "the Dance," but then again, the Impressionists were pretty much laughed out of town when they entered the art scene. Ha, looky now, pretty much *everyone* likes impressionist artwork. So, go knock the socks off those AQS people, and show them the future of quilts for the wall :-)

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  9. I agree with all of these comments, Melody--this piece says power, and triumph, and flight... There's a lot here to look at and capture the imagination. If you feel that this is important work for you, then forget about the AQS folks.

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  10. As someone who has judged said show and many others, I can with certainty say that this quilt would definitely be acceptable and probably given points for orgininality in the quilting designs. Sorry to be honest,but the overall stippling is getting old. It is way over used and often detrats from the design. As opposed to this quilting which enhances the design....JHMO.

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  11. Many of the Masters died as paupers because their work just wasn't accepted by the "public"!

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  12. I totally agree JHMO. I have never seen quilting like this. It is indeed awesome to look at and very original...

    Rosy

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  13. Anonymous9:18 PM

    Mrs. Mel,
    Everytime I see The Dance, I think of "I am woman hear me roar". It is beautiful and exudes strength. It is a powerful piece that makes me sit up straighter just looking at it!
    Jeannie

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  14. I keep thinking about your comment on about your dyed fabric "making" the difference ( at least that is what my brain read and remembered ) and I think that that is very right...I look at this dancer and see that that fabric melds...is that a word...maybe connects is better...the individual shapes are still individual but have a connection that is made in the colors of the fabric that would not be there without your particular dyer's artistry...thank you for bringing this to my attention....and enjoyment...Ginger

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  15. The quilting is fabulous. I agree with you about new art. New ideas are always met with resistance, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't continue to innovate!

    Beautiful piece. They always are...

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