Inner Glow

Cathi Bodine Water Lily

My husband has told me more than once that “we’re not models”. Usually this is proffered in response to some disappointment with my appearance or an ill-fitting outfit. He reminds me that beauty emanates from the inside: how we think, how we act, what we say. Sure something can be beautiful on the outside, but lasting beauty is from within.

I was reminded of this when I decided to create “Inner Glow”. At first I couldn’t explain my fascination with my friend Cathi Bodine’s photo of a water lily. I have never wanted to make a flower. Even though this flower is beautiful, flowers just aren’t my thing. But the image was so compelling! Eventually, I realized it was the glow emanating from the center of the lily. I really wanted to capture the essence of the flower more than the structure.

Inner Glow

For months I stared at the photo, certain it was beyond my capability. When Diane issued the challenge to swing for the fences, I knew my time had come to attempt this piece. In addition to the subject matter, I stretched myself with the quilting. 

I typically use a single color thread in the bobbin when I quilt. It’s also not unusual for me to create an envelope binding where the quilting is not visible from the back. On this quilt I decided to reflect the front on the back by using the same color thread. I guess it could be considered a variation of the inner glow, but my true motivation was to swing for the fences by going beyond my norm.

Inner Glow - Back

To create “Inner Glow” I painted a piece of white cotton muslin with Dr Ph Martin’s india inks. I used a variety of polyester and cotton threads for the quilting. I got carried away in the process and went beyond challenge dimensions (divisible by 9). My apologies. The piece measures 41” W by 24 ¼” H.