The Big Tada
I spent the first half of 2023 immersed in a workshop run by Alaskan modern quilter Maria Shell. The workshop was called Stitching Towards Discovery and encouraged students to take their quilting to the next level, until a regular working practice, and explore their ‘voice’ via their quilting. At the conclusion of the workshop, students were to present their body of work via a zoom presentation and this would be recorded and available on YouTube for public access.
Here is my presentation.
Quilt 1 - Untitled 41”W x 32”H
This was my first improv quilt. I attended a workshop with Irene Roderick last November, and this was the result. In making this quilt, I discovered that I really enjoyed the process of improv piecing. This quilt includes a lot of shapes as well as techniques that were new to me. I had plenty of fun trying to make it into a cohesive composition. I am not sure how successful that was, but we all start somewhere. After making this first improv quilt and wanting to do more, I joined this Stitching Towards Discovery class.
Quilt 2 - Cells 66”W x 47”H
The prompt I used for this quilt was monochrome. As my career background is in medical research, I wanted to see if I could make quilts depicting biological themes. This quilt represents generalised human cells as seen through a microscope. For me, the quilting is important. The detailed freehand quilting here represents the massive surface-area interfaces where life-giving biochemical interactions occur. The piecing was complex, and I learned a lot making this quilt. I really enjoyed the challenge of it.
Quilt 3 - Insulin 58”W x 58”H
Continuing the biological theme, I made this quilt to represent Insulin. Insulin is an essential hormone comprising two peptide strands joined together. Dysregulation of insulin in the body results in diabetes. The cartoon-like bold simplicity of this quilt is appealing to me. Each square of colour represents a specific amino acid in an accurate representation of the protein sequences of insulin. Fitting the two chains separately into a grid and connecting them where appropriate was quite the task. My aim for this quilt was to open discussion and provide an opportunity to educate about diabetes, which is a massive medical and social issue related to insulin.
Quilt 4 -Null Hypothesis 44.5”W x 55.5”H
Another quilt with a scientific approach is this one. A Null Hypothesis claims that no relationship exists between two variables. It forms the premise of almost all experiments. This quilt explores the relationships between variable colours. In my first real experimentation with colours, this quilt feels like it is setting a foundation for me, becoming a baseline for future investigation of colour in my improv quilting. This quilt has inspired me to spend much more time exploring colour, which I have felt somewhat afraid of doing before. I am excited to take this idea and keep playing with it.
Quilt 5 -Ebb and Flow 16”W x 16”H
A result of taking the Stitching Towards Discovery class is that I have gained confidence in my work and have become brave enough to show and share it in a public platform. This quilt, Ebb and Flow, was made to enter the curated ‘In Conversation’ exhibition. This exhibition of international quilt artists is currently showing in Sydney before it travels to Melbourne and on to other venues in Australia. This quilt depicts the ebb and flow of conversation that is sometimes back and forth on a single topic, and sometimes covers a whole range of ideas.
I am grateful to both Maria and my amazing classmates for their support and encouragement. Moving forward, I will be continuing my improv quilting journey, and working towards constructing a more substantial body of work. THANK YOU!