Father and Mother

(Grave Rubbing Quilt Series. Father and Mother. 29" x 30". Crayon on silk rubbings. Vintage drawn work linen. Silk. Hand and free-motion machine embroidery.)

This quilt was accepted by juror Cynthia Bringle as BEST OF SHOW at Palmetto Hands 2009, the annual South Carolina fine craft exhibition held at the North Charleston Convention Center. It was also accepted by jurors Sylvia Einstein and Judy Becker into Art Quilts Lowell 2009, a national juried exhibition held in the Brush Gallery, Lowell, MA from August 5 - September 19, 2009.

This quilt was finished in early February 2009. The following words accompanied the blog post I wrote at that time. To access this original post and the images that can "clicked on" for enlargement, please go HERE!

Okay, this is officially a series: The Grave Rubbing Series.

I made all these rubbings in Maine while at the MacNamara Foundation residency program. I had fantasies of making art with the results. It all seemed so bohemian and exotic...dancing alone in a cemetery with yards of silk fabric and a child's brown crayon...dreaming about the art I'd make...letting nature and a sense of eternal peacefulness take control.

Somehow...in the autumn sunsets and the picture-perfect setting...I thought this was just a "wish" or wishful thinking. I thought that I'd feel regret for purchasing the fabric and wasting a perfect afternoon pursuing an idealized idea of "being an artist". Honestly, I hoped to make art...but never would have bet on actually doing it. The "censor" in the back of my mind chided me...saying, "You'll never really DO anything with all these grave rubbings"

Well....I did. I am.....and.... I will be doing even more. This is officially a series. Where it is going is anyone's guess. Father and Mother is the latest one finished. I think I stitched it to within an inch of its life...or death! I used some sort of Pellon, stiff material on the back so that the corners would hold their positions despite a lower placement for the rod sleeve on the reverse.