Moving On, But Not Moving Out Yet

As I go through layers-of-thinking about simplifying our lives, it is clear we can do with less. I'm impressed by how getting rid of stuff has a wonderful lightening effect. I had never acknowledged my collections as being burdensome. I am quite surprised by this. 

As before, I am offering to friends & family another batch of quilts that I made & two pieces that I collected. Please let me know which piece(s) most speaks to you. To honor the time and care that went into these quilts, I would be delighted if you would make a donation to the Vancouver Art Gallery Program in Education. I am suggesting a minimum donation, but you are allowed to exceed that.  Please let me know what your donation amount would be; then if an item is wanted by more than one person, I will have a way to chose. I'm excited to invest in a next generation of artists together. 

 In the end I will let you know how much we raise.  

 Only a few weren't spoken for, so the prices are still there.

                                        Larger quilts

Earth & Sky  55 x 61 cotton, hand-quilted, quite faded  1980    

Summer Slumber 52 x 63  utility quilt, machine-quilted  2007

Tree of Life, Ghanian hand-appliqué, 68 x 98 bedspread size, year unknown, two layers of cloth-- so a lightweight piece. It is made in a style typical of Asafo flags. 

I love the two figures under the tree! Undoubtedly they are characters in a well-known story.

Here's more about Asafo flags.

https://wepresent.wetransfer.com/story/asafo-flags/

Sea Foam   68 x 74    batiked & hand-quilted, faded. 1976.   

  

Playful Quilts/Shapes at Ease

Fall Cross  43 x 34 cotton, hand-quilted  1995     

Actually it got LOST!! Yikes. I don't know where.

An Important Shape  40 x 30  some hand-dyed cotton, machine-quilted 2013     

Houses on a Snowy Hill  35 x 28   hand-quilted   2013.    

Jumping for Joy  43 x 38  cotton, some appliqué, machine-quilted, 2013     

Summer  27 x 29   cotton, hand-quilted.  2019      

Arctic Earth, Air, Water 39 x 37 cotton, raw appliqué, machine-quilted  2014     

Arctic Rock, Sky, Water  39 x 37  cotton, raw appliqué, machine-quilted, 2014    

These Arctic quilts are based on a piece of shale rock I pulled out of the ground. It was a shape with 2 panhandles -- a double Utah!.

Colored Windows  43 x 40  hand-dyed cotton, machine-quilted     2014  

Grey Moths   31 x 28  cotton, machine-quilted  2020.   

Pair of Pants, Front   31 x 41  cotton, front-of-old-jeans, hand-quilted, 2020     

Pair of Jeans, Back  31 x 41  cotton, back-of-old-jeans. machine- quilted  2020     

Jeans quilts together:

detail of Jeans Quilt, Front

Madras Pair

Ladders, No Snakes   30 x 29   cotton, hand-quilted  2017      

Aqua Snakes & Ladders  38 x 34   cotton, hand-quilted     2014    

Circle Quilts

Up-Country Circles  45 x34  cotton, raw appliqué, hand-quilted   2006 

 Transparent Circles  33 x 33, polyester transparents, raw applique onto a linen tablecloth, hand-quilted.   2007  

Those Quarter-Circles Made Me Do It   46 x 33 cotton, hand-quilted, 2018     

Going Back, Revisiting

Yankee Doodle Dandy   35 x 31   cotton, some from a ~100 year old patchwork quilt-top, hand-quilted.     2018       

Going Back to my Beginnings    32 x 31  cotton some from a ~100 year old patchwork quilt-top, hand-quilted    2017      

Idiom that Can't be Overcome,  35 x 35  cotton some from a ~100 year old patchwork quilt-top  hand-quilted   2018     

Sawtooth Variation  40 x 30   hand-made paper, cotton from ~100 year old patchwork 2001   

Framed work

X-es Mark the Spots 15 x 11, printed fabric, patchwork, framed     2016

That's it for now.

The Time Has Come

 "The time has come," the Walrus said, "to talk of many things-- of shoes & ships & sealing wax, of cabbages, & kings...."

This has been an intense month of dealing with two health issues, the rather large burn on my right haunch & George's bleed into his right knee joint. We suddenly started to feel the need to get more of our affairs in order. We might move, we might not, but in any case we need to simplify.

So, after years of amassing, we are starting to disperse stuff.     

I've gotten to thinking how much my daily life over time is (& was) given over to moving things around & keeping them orderly. I think my first awareness of the transformative power of material goods came when my Grandmother Harwood died & my family got amazing things from her house.

I collected cloth from our youthful sewing projects to make clothes starting when I was eight [2 sisters & I  + a Singer Sewing Machine].  That led to my first quilts because there were so many scraps. Other collections evolved: wooden thread spools (thanks to Grandma Garrison), scissors, thimbles & other sewing tools. 

Then there was the Imagination Market which was basically rescuing stuff from the waste stream & squeezing more good out of it. In the classroom I was a manager of all manner of things to enhance/promote learning.

As I have started to "de-mass" (as opposed to amass) I am finding a sense of relief. I'm getting down to essentials. What is staying is the stuff I feel deeply connected to.

SO... I am going to start offering quilts to my extended friends & families. Shockingly, when counted, I discovered I have over 60 quilts in the house. 

I'm happy to have you pass this on to your immediate people who you think might want/need what I have to offer.

So here is the first flush of potlatch offerings. Titles, sizes [horizontal first, then vertical] , methods of making, & year made.

Experiment with Eye Shape   17 x 23  cotton, some appliqué, machine quilted    2020.  

                

Below: Story of a Piece of Cloth cotton, hand-quilted 26 x 37   2020                     

                                 Eucalyptus Array 32 x 29 eucalyptus dyed, hand quilted,  2017

Sea, C, & See    23 x 20 cotton, hand-painted, hand quilted,    2011

Umbrella Dancer  24 x 29 cotton, hand-painted, hand quilted,  2011

Waffle RollingPin/Indigo Dip  35 x 26   cotton, indigo-dyed, resist method, 2018

Transparent Embroidery  12 x 15  matted & framed in black

I went through a period of what I called Cleaning My Plate. This next bunch of quilts fall in this zone.  It started with my yellow scrap bag.

Yellow Scrap Quilt   37 x 35, machine quilted, 2018

Red Scraps  38 x 30,  machine quilted, 2018

Rhythms & Blues  36 x 32, machine quilted, 2018

No Why, Just Because   28 x 37  machine quilted,  2018

2 Openings, 3 Colors 27 x 34 machine quilted  2019

3 High-rises.   32 x 40   machine quilted 2019

African  Echoes 24 x 41  stitch resist dyed, hand quilted,  2016

The Geometry of a Dancer, 25 x 24, cotton with silk-screen image, 2020

If you speak up for a piece I'd love to know why you chose it. You may pick it up at my house or, if you are far away, I can mail it to you.

That's it for now. 15 pieces!

They all were spoken for. I was so happy. My only regret was I could just as easily have asked for some money for them, as I did in the next batch. 

Oh well. It's OK. Potlatches are very good for the soul, for giver & receiver.